I want to work for myself!

Countless frustrated (and sometime fired) employees say that every day. Some actually make the leap to self-employment.

Warning: Doing it is harder than dreaming it.

One of my sisters in law opened her own business 18 months ago after another 18 months of research and planning before that. She just took her first week's vacation, laptop and phone always at the ready, but at least she -- unlike many newbie entrepreneurs -- could take a break.

That she was able to leave her fledgling operation was a testament to the groundwork and good hiring she'd done. But, whether a new entrepreneur has employees or not, there's common ground -- it's hard to separate oneself from the business, or vice versa.

Before saying That's it, I quit, I'm going to be my own boss, be sure you know yourself well. Do you have the stamina and the true passion it takes to allow your new venture to take over your life? It will.

And if you don't have the energy and interest to invest in it, it will fail and you'll be more unhappy than you are as a wage slave.

And, speaking of investing, do you have a realistic picture of your household finances? Exactly how much can you afford to invest? How long can you go without a paycheck? How much can you afford to lose? How good is your credit rating? How much can you borrow?

My sister in law, whose business has gotten off to a great start, expects it to take three years to pay off her startup bank loans. That time frame was built into her business plan, and she thinks she's on target. Sadly, too many other startups fail before their startup loans are paid, and the financial and psychological hole is deeper than it was before the venture began.

She's confident because of the huge amount of market research she did. She knows a lot about her competition, their prices, their locations, their operating costs. She knows what her clients want. She knows the laws governing her business. She knows the importance of marketing, and she's been actively networking in all the relevant civic, neighborhood, and business associations connected with her enterprise. And she really, really believes in the value of what she does.

While the money stuff is crucial, it's the emotional side of entrepreneurship that counts, too. Anyone considering a first-time jump to becoming one's own boss needs to carefully analyze one's own character. Lots of people are better employees than they are entrepreneurs. Know yourself first.