For some people, the prospect of being stuck in an office between the hours of 9am and 5pm is simply unbearable. Opening your own business is a very appealing way of taking back control of your working life. You can set your own hours, you don't have an overbearing manager breathing down your neck, you can even answer your e-mails in your pyjamas if you wish; try doing that in an office job and you'll get some funny looks. Unfortunately, it's not quite that simple- being an entrepreneur isn't easy.
It requires the tenacity to get your business off the ground, the self-motivation to be productive without anyone to answer to but yourself, and the resilience to keep going if things get tough. If you feel these are characteristics you possess, however, then maybe ditching the rat race and going into business yourself is the change your life needs.
If you choose to give it a try, the benefits will be much greater than breaking free of the monotonous 9-5 grind. You can pursue your own dreams and ideas; the only limit is your imagination. The opportunities for learning are limitless. You can meet an array of people so much more diverse and exciting than the same old cast of characters in the office. You might even change the world; some of the most important creations in history have come from the minds of one or two individual mavericks who were unafraid to take risks. Imagine the feeling when you see something you've created being used by someone, and knowing that it was you that brought it into the world, you take on a lot of responsibility, but the rewards are tantalising.
Of course, there are certain jobs that will realistically lend themselves to working from home a lot better than others. You are unlikely, for example, to be running an international oil conglomerate any time soon. If you don't have a mind for business but still want to be your own boss, why not work in a creative industry? You could become a freelance writer or designer, still able to set your own hours and work on projects you personally find appealing. If you love children, you can become a nanny, again working for clients that you select yourself and having a profound effect on a child at such an important stage of their development. Maybe you'll even write that novel you've been thinking about, another avenue through which self-employed people can create things that change the world.
So, do you think becoming your own boss is for you? If so, what are you waiting for? Taking the plunge of becoming self-employed is undoubtedly a serious step, but it's one that has changed so many lives for the better, and it could do the same for you.