Money for a Mortgage

I only work two days a week. I used to work longer hours for my employer, on the heavy end of the part-time spectrum. But then, all of a sudden, in this odd little market where there had been only a few small players, lots of competitors suddenly flooded in, and then the recession bit and sales leads dried up ... and, well, their business was not going well. Eventually after a tough 2009 I suggested that I reduce my hours because I could see these poor battle-weary business owners really needed to cut their fixed costs.

I was secretly quite pleased, in a selfish me-me-me kind of way, because obviously this change would free up some of my time to start my own business again - something that I have this overwhelming desire to do. Really, it is overwhelming, I have it all planned out and everything! Problem is, my Fella and I need to increase our mortgage soon because we own a small house up north in a modestly humble town, which - when we eventually sell it at a modestly low price - won't leave us with enough equity to buy what we want in the hugely expensive southern town in which we now live.

So ... dear reader ... Fella and I had a slight disagreement, which went something like this:

Me: "Hoorah, I've cut my hours, now I can start my own business"!

Fella: "Oh my God we're so poor, you've got to earn more money, I can't earn any more than I do already, we're going to be renting a shitty house for the rest of our lives, I feel so exposed, we're so financially behind, we should be sorted by now, the mortage companies won't lend on the basis of self-employed earnings, you could get a great job, go see a careers counsellor, you totally undersell yourself, I'm really worried, blah de blah de blah de blah de blah".

So, as you can see, I now have a dilemma. A career-confusing, money-draining, home-owning, dream-chasing dilemma. What to do???