If the financial and spiritual independence of self-employment appeals to you - no income limits, no boss and the ability to let your personal drive determine your earnings, then you will be eagerly going over the many options to free yourself from your current job.

However, the rush of financial excitement must be tempered by the necessary cost of time, money and effort in properly setting yourself up independently.

Despite income claims made by business opportunity companies, or even your competition, you must be ready to accept the reality of not seeing personal income for several months.

Starting a self-employed business on the side, while keeping your day job as your financial security, is a wise method of ensuring your income.

Another option is to have substantial savings that permit you the freedom to pursue your dreams unencumbered with other employment. However, the savings must also be capable of carrying the costs of developing a business along with providing for your regular expenses.

Make sure you understand that time is required in starting your own business. In some ways it's almost unnecessary to bring up the point since your passion will likely drive you to spend many hours in your pursuits. However, if you have other obligations such as family, job, social obligations etc. then you will have to ensure you can devote the time needed to get your business off the ground.

Having discussed both money and time, you must recognize that there is much more effort extended before a business is profitable than at any other time. Yes, once you are getting work and are satisfied with the income level you may be very busy indeed, but you will be getting paid! When you are still cultivating your business, marketing, doing free jobs, searching for clients and customers, then you may not be seeing any income, or a very meager one, which may make your effort seem immense for the modest reward.

This is the hardest time for every business owner and it requires a belief that you are doing the right thing - confidence.

When you come to the point when you are working your hardest and doing everything your business requires, but still not seeing the monetary results yet, you may hit a psychological wall. This is where truly entrepreneurial individuals see an obstacle to overcome as opposed to a dead-end to their hard work. A passion for your work and a strong desire to work for yourself will overcome any perceived barriers and motovate you to keep going and ultimately become successful.

By being confident and persevering you will get to enjoy the fruits of your labors and prove to yourself and others that the benefits of self-employment far outweigh the mediocre status-quo of the daily grind.

Onward!