I'm in a similar boat, in theory. I set up a recording studio in my house and also have a record label in the very beginning stages, and a developing plan to grow both into successful businesses- all while my wife and I work to pay the bills and raise 2 kids! I'm 28 and she's 23, and we have a partner in the business who is also 28. It's a hard industry to get started in without prior name recognition but the goal is to create a body of work amongst ourselves that will hopefully attract clients to work with us. Fortunately, technological advances made startup costs VERY low and as the business grows, inevitably so will the gear list.
So why go through all this trouble? Simple... to work toward a career doing something we love that has the potential for a comfortable payoff in the end. (And, thus, a ton of money to sink into Z's!!!) The hardest part is maintaining day jobs to pay the bills and keep health insurance, time that could be spent making the business grow faster.
So what was the point of this story? It takes balls and sweat to do something like this, but the payoff of making nothing into something is a reward you just can't get punching someone else's clock. If we ever get the chance to meet up, Mike- I owe you a beer!