How do you know if you have what it takes to be among the successfully self-employed?  Over at the Career Intensity blog, Dave Lorenzo lists the personality characteristics necessary for starting and sustaining your own business.  He cites a willingness to sacrifice, a service orientation, leadership ability, business intelligence and creativity, management ability and organization, optimism, persistence, a competitive nature, a sales orientation, and confidence.

In the meetings and conferences I attend, people always tell me that they’re tired of working for others and would be so much more effective if they could just strike out on their own.  The truth is, though, not everyone is cut out to be self-employed, and you should think long and hard about whether you WANT to do it, in addition to whether you COULD do it.  A few years ago, for instance, I thought I would make my living as an independent freelance PR consultant.  I even tried it for a while, and attracting clients and generating a steady income were actually easier than I anticipated.  However, I soon realized how much I missed the camaraderie and teamwork of working in a PR organization, and how much I hated administrative tasks like invoicing and preparing status memos.  

When I worked for myself, I was responsible for every aspect of my business, even the parts I wasn’t great at and didn’t particularly want to do.  If you want to be an entrepreneur, keep this in mind.  It’s not

just the glory, it’s the guts too.