Currently...

I founded a business last year to help my clients find great art, whether they're buying for themselves, promoting a business or just viewing for pleasure.  The inspiration came from a frustration about the way that the art market feels the need to make everything opaque and complex, which alienates a large number of people unnecessarily, makes it extremely difficult for people to make rational decisions or even understand what's going on.

I have basically three types of clients:

1. The first group consists of people buying art for themselves. I help them expore their tastes and interests, show them a huge number of new artists and opportunities, guide them through how prices are set, and help them save money.
2. The second group consists of people using art to promote a business. Art provides an amazing way to visually demonstrate a business' strategy, whether it is building a corporate art collection or creating a marketing event which delivers a message efectively to their clients.
3. The third group consists of new and emerging galleries. I help the owners explore new ways of presenting their work, discover new artists and understand the commercial aspects of the art market.

Before I escaped...

I was a competition lawyer at a magic circle law firm, where I worked for 5 years. I found the work engaging, but over time realised that it just wasn't I wanted to do for the rest of my career.

I wanted to do something more entrepreneurial which really challenged all of my skills. And I had wanted to work in the art world for years, so I decided that this would be the best way to combine all of my desires!

My moment of truth...

I wish I could point to one, but the simple truth is that I experienced a growing sense of not wanting to work as a city lawyer. I do think it's a great career for some people, but don't believe it makes a large number of people happy. One day I just woke up and realised that the negatives outweighed the positives, and realised that I should move on.

I left my job with a few ideas about what I wanted to do, but had no clear plan. I went travelling for a few months to give myself some thinking space.  I remember sitting outside a cafe in rural Sri Lanka, where I wrote down a list of everything I would do if I won the lottery in order to take financial considerations out of the equation. I realised there was one career I was really passionate about pursuing, and that was this one.

Planning for it...

After finishing my travels I returned to London, researched researched researched, spoke to as many people as I could find, did some more research and then took the plunge. I think it's difficult to give advice about the best way of planning, as it's so dependent on the business, but perhaps the most important factor is talking to the right people and getting the right support structure in place. As anyone who has done it will tell you, starting your business is an emotional roller-coaster.

The worst and best bits...

Best: The most overwhelming positive is the ability to find something you think isn't being done properly at the moment, and address it head on. With your own venture, you set the rules and your own agenda, which is an amazingly affirming experience.

Worst: As I mentioned earlier, it is a real rollercoaster, and you will always have days when you're not in the most postive mind-set and everything seems difficult. You have no boss so it's down to you to pull yourself up and keep on going.

Best advice...

It's just as hard as you think it will be, but is so worth it.

Useful resources and information...

Without sounding like a broken record, it's so important to talk to as many people as possible, so I'd advise anyone who's thinking of talking the plunge to talk and network with as many people as possible.

I've also received some fantastic help from my website designers: http://www.sav.co.uk" rel="nofollow">SAV