You'd be surprised how cheap or short sighted managers can sometimes be. I guess from their point of view they might see a developer as overly expensive and dogmatic.

I've seen companies with 7-8 figures and reliant on just 3-4 devs with unique and non overlapping abilities. It's more common than you think!

I developed the site entirely. To be clear: The site is essentially the interface to the business. I won't say I developed it "myself," since I was in a team with non-technical people who knew what functions they wanted from the site. However I was the only technical person involved.

Now we have more developers, for which I am very thankful. Unfortunately, way too much knowledge is locked up in me, and I never have time to commit that knowledge to bits, paper, or oral history.

Believe me, buses and beer trucks have been discussed as possible ends to my consulting gig. It is my fondest hope that this business has key-man insurance on me. I'd be pleased to know that they have such insurance, but less interested in knowing how much the policy is for!