I have no sympathy for the self-employed, well no more than anyone else really. Fundamentally they went into it knowing the pitfalls, or should have done anyway.
More than that they’re rewarded by taking risks by some generous tax breaks – no one self-employed is trying to make out they’re PAYE to save a quid, doesn’t happen.
Everyone starts at zero, the difference is unlike someone who’s employed they can, with hard work, determination and a bit of luck earn a great deal of money, or work 2 days a week if they want, some I know don’t work at all, they sit back and let someone else run it and still make £100k a year – that’s the upside, the downside is the stress, the risk and the not much money in the early days.
Rough with the smooth, if you don’t like it – it’s not forced upon you.