When I was a kid there were still some old timers around who had started businesses in the 20s and 30s with virtually no government interference. They said that they could start a business on a whim with no government forms to fill out and no interference from government as long as their products and services weren’t killing anyone.
My great grandfather came back from “the great war” and went to work as a surveyor in Michigan’s upper peninsula. Just him, his surveyor equipment, his camera equipment and an old Indian motorcycle. When that job was done, he went back to the head of the line and became a lineman hanging electric lines. That’s where he learned his true trade.
When that job was done, he went back to our home town and proceeded to work as an independent contractor hanging all the power lines in the area. In his spare time he and a bunch of the local young guys wired virtually every house in town.
Those guys who worked with my great granddad have told me some great stories about “Poop” (My grandfather’s nickname) over the years. They say he didn’t pay them a lot but he was an honest broker who bought them tools, fed them and made sure they learned what they needed to know to pick up side work on their own. He paid each according to their ability and need.
Technology advances. It is harder to maintain that general knowledge. Every year it becomes more difficult. Moore’s Law.