Being your own boss can be a liberating and exciting experience. If you are self-motivated and reasonably comfortable taking risks, then starting your own business can be a way to express yourself creatively, manage your time to your own advantage and even make money. But self-employment isn't right for everyone. Many independent entrepreneurs find themselves working longer hours than at conventional jobs and incurring steep financial losses. If you are patient, persistent and resourceful, you can improve your odds of building a successful business tailored to your personal needs and passions.

Creative Freedom

When you start a company and become your own boss, you make a vital decision about which products and services you want to offer to your customers, as well as how and when you want to deliver them. As your company evolves, you have the freedom to revise these decisions if your customers are not responding to what you are offering, or if your initial choices simply do not interest you any longer.

Schedule

As the owner and founder of your company, you have the freedom to create your own schedule. Although many business owners do find themselves working longer hours than they anticipated, they still have the flexibility to rearrange their operations to start later in the day, take vacations and prioritize personal emergencies. You will have opportunities to create your own schedule when you initially set up your company and also in the course of day-to-day operations as your business evolves.

Values

You have the power to create a company that is consistent with your personal values, and then infuse every aspect of its operations with your vision. You might start a business dedicated to addressing a social or environmental concern, or you might simply inject every aspect of your business operations with moral imperatives such as honesty and integrity. This differs from the situation at a conventional job, where you may be expected to take actions or treat clients in ways that are not consistent with your own moral code.

Money

Although business owners are certainly vulnerable to financial losses, they are also capable of earning virtually unlimited incomes. Unlike a conventional job where you know precisely how much you will make relative to the time you put in, entrepreneurs have the capacity to earn substantial profits once they set up their companies efficiently and effectively. In addition, business owners can take advantage of a range of tax benefits despite paying higher Social Security and Medicare rates. They are allowed to accelerate or delay particular expenditures, hire family members and write off a greater variety of business expenses. These options can dramatically reduce the tax burden.