Well done mate, my Dad, a commercial artist/signwriter, went out on his own after working for someone else for 30+ years, and he made enough money to travel to Europe and the US with my Mom every couple of years before they both retired around 15 years ago, when they travelled a lot more frequently.
He worked out of his garage and his only overheads were his electricity bill and materials, and when he retired, all he had to do to to close down his business was to switch the garage lights off.
Like you, he had a really good reputation and occasionally a new guy would turn up in our home town to undercut him, but Dad never worried about them, his customers (mostly realtors) would always come back when they realised that quality and reliability were more important to them than cheaper prices.
Dad told me that the 20 years that he worked for himself were his happiest, there were no "office politics", no unachievable deadlines, and no stress. I wish I had a skill that would allow me to stay at home and make some decent money, and it pisses me off to know that I don't!
