Page 183 - Marky Stein - Fearless Career Change_ The Fast Track to Success in a New Field (2004)

CHAPTER NINE

For Entrepreneurial

Spirits

Are You an Entrepreneur?

Although 80 percent of people in America say that they have
thought about running their own business, thinking about it and
actually doing it are two very different things. You may indeed have
had some fears about choosing another profession and becoming
part of a preexisting organization, but you may find that your uncer-
tainties increase when you think about going out all on your own.
The best ways to fend off those kinds of fears are with facts—
facts that you assess for yourself and objective data about the
nature of being a business owner. Those facts are exactly the ones
we’ll examine in this chapter.
There are decidedly many good reasons to run your own busi-
ness or become a consultant, but for every plus, there is also a
minus. Anyone who owns his or her own business or consulting
practice will tell you that there are both assets and liabilities in
being your own boss.
The purpose of this chapter is not to tell you how to set up and
run your own enterprise. That would be the subject of a whole book!
Rather, it is to assist you in figuring out the important question of
whether or not you want to take on the responsibilities of being an
entrepreneur or independent consultant and to point out to you the
best resources you can access for free to answer all the questions you
have about starting your own company or consultancy.

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