[Ferrino]

I've refrained from posting this for a while as I'm a little thin-skinned, but I'm in need of some inspiration/ideas, so I'm prepared to toughen up!

Here's the skinny version: mid-30s PhD-level scientist, currently working in pharma/biotech in SoCal, making decent money/benefits, but not particularly enjoying the prospect of doing this for another 35+ years (actually, dreading it). It's not a stable/great industry to work in and there are very few opportunities in my area of expertise, since it's so highly specialized (and one of the first roles to be outsourced - we just lost half our group to layoffs).

Wife is fed up of SoCal and wants to move family back to home state of Michigan, to be closer to her family, including two very healthy and actively involved grandparents to our children (outskirts of Ann Arbor). With the equity we have in our SoCal home, we could just about buy a house in cash in that region. With the reduced cost of living, I am therefore exploring the possibility of self-employment out there.

I don't see any real prospects of doing what I currently do on a self-employment basis and, frankly, I just want to do something different. I am trying to identify in-demand services that I could develop from home and return a modest income (I have a vision of a detached garage/office/workshop). Given my skills, this would probably be something tech/internet/e-commerce based. If there was a link to something car-based, that would be very appealing to me too. I guess I'm looking for some starting points and suggestions on what I might look into, please.

There's a local guy I know who used to run a lab at one of the research institutes here and now runs an e-business selling vintage car memorabilia - I think that's my role model right there (albeit in a cheaper part of the country)!

Please assume:
I have no problem whatsoever abandoning my area of research training and expertise.
I am under no illusion that anything related to self-employment will be easy.
I am under no illusion that anything related to self-employment will happen overnight.
I have no problem moving to a cold-weather state for my family.

Thanks!