The fact is you will work longer hours than you ever did for an employer when running your own home based business. The main difference, however, is that in your own home based business you will probably get paid to do something that you love. Today more than ever, people are starting home based businesses. By becoming self-employed they are taking control of their income and life. Unfortunately, many people just don't have the drive and desire to succeed when moving from employee to employer. Before you start your home based business you need to do some serious self-examination.

When people decide to make the leap into self-employment they set a variety of goals for themselves. These goals will differ for each individual based on their expectations, desires, and background. Ultimately the goals you set for your business will strongly influence every business decision you make. Every aspect of your business, including the structure, legal form, marketing strategy, aggressiveness and even your products and services will be affected by your goals.

One of the main reasons many people choose self-employment is to achieve a degree of financial freedom. Some express their financial goal in terms of a particular annual income goal. Some simply want to increase their income or improve the quality of their life. While there are risks associated with self-employment, the pay can often times outweigh the risk. Others may start a home based business to replace earnings lost due to a job interruption such as lay off or downsizing. Yet others choose self-employment to supplement household income.

Many self-employed individuals establish goals related to their retirement. Starting your own business can be an excellent way to provide a nice nest egg for retirement. Many feel that if they have control of their income then they can do a better job of ensuring their future. Some even choose to prolong their career in order to start their own businesses on a part-time basis to ease into their home based business venture without the risk of relying on the income to feed their family or pay their mortgage.

Others choose self-employment for personal, non-financial, goals. While these people appreciate the extra income that their home based business provides they are really driven by their own personal agenda. Often times the reward is the satisfaction of achieving things on their own. This allows people the freedom to make their own decisions, no longer subject to a bureaucracy, or a boss.

Frequently people turn to self-employment when they feel their employers do not value their ideas. The motivation might be from the feeling that they can do things their way in their own business. This allows them to make their living doing what they really love to do, rather than working their entire life doing something they don't really want to do. Flexibility is often a big influencing factor for these individuals.

Ultimately you will have to look within yourself to determine your motivation to become self-employed. The rewards, both financial and personal, can be tremendous, but they must be balanced with the risk of your new venture. You need to ask yourself whether you have the drive and desire to succeed as your own boss.