Why not go part time for the boss , how can he say no , its your van and gear after all !
If you mean so much to him he would be a fool to just rely on the muppets , get yourself out knocking the doors like crazy , it wont take long to build up a basic round , plus you would still get part time money from him , you wont pay much tax and you could be in line for some sort of working tax credit .
Its easy for me to say sitting here , but that is exactly how i started 10 years ago , it just takes balls to take the leap , but only you know whats involved with the gamble .
Good luck Rich