I'm interested in making a career change and would like to open up my own office in the area. I've thought about some different careers that allow you to be your own boss, but I think there may be others that haven't come to mind.

Right now, I work in marketing and public relations (think editorial/copywriting) for a small organization in a somewhat rural area and I'm ready to branch out on my own. I know I can't open up a proofreading shop (haha!), so I think I'll need to do a complete 180 and start fresh — something I'm actually looking forward to doing.

I love meeting with people and getting a sense of responsibility for providing them with a useful or helpful service. I'm very willing to go back to school to achieve my new goal. Here's what I've come up with. Can you add to it?
* CPA
* Attorney
* Marriage & Family Counselor
* Physical Therapist
* Massage Therapist

You should pick something that interests you and there is a need in your area. Maybe look into being a personal shopper, wedding planner, interior designer. If you go back to school maybe private investigator or optometrist. You may want to look into becoming a virtual assistant. "A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an independent entrepreneur providing administrative, creative and/or technical services. Utilizing advanced technological modes of communication and data delivery, a professional VA assists clients in his/her area of expertise from his/her own office on a contractual basis."(http://www.ivaa.org/). I have seen where virtual assistants "lend out" their services to companies that put them on retainer.

They are fighting for this in New York and i think one other state.
How in the hell can a self-employed person join a union? Who will they go on strike against? Themself? Their customers? The babies? LOL
This makes zero sense. These people are working in their own houses, setting their own wage. If they can't make a living at it, i feel bad for them, but unions aren't for sole proprietors. LOL

i am in Rhode Island and the homeday care providers were trying that here . . I was so confused by it? i was like so are they trying to get 'state' worker's benefits like healthcare etc.

Union? i totally didn't get it, but they felt they needed protection or whatever. . . I am not sure if i agree or disagree since i don't fully understand. . .

…and if you haven't already…what is stopping you?

Just curious.

For me, personally, I need to save about 150k to start a tanning salon. I would be a small business owner, and therefore my own boss. What about you? Any ideas as to why you will or will not work for yourself in the near future? What kind of company or practice would you like to start?

If you've got 150k of your own money, you're not small time anymore.

You have quite a few choices – one is selling food, cheap food. No matter what, people have to eat -right?. Fast food is not the healthiest but in hard times that's what people go for because it cheap. If you can get a good location which is the key, you can set up you own cafe or buy a KFC or MacDonald's franchise.

Another is day care centre/nursery. In central London, childcare sets me back about £1200 per month for a 2 year old. Do the maths on that.

Check out the entrepreneur website for other ideas and numbers

http://www.entrepreneur.com/

Everybody works for a reason, and that reason is seldom money. Some people work for the respect, some for responsibility or excitement or fun or personal growth. I have recently discoverred that I work to please my boss and hear that "job well done." What satisfies me most is when my boss tells me that I am doing a good job.

Now I am in an akward situation. I recently started my own business. It's ideal because I have freedom, responsibility, am making more cash and I get to be creative. But, now that I'm my own boss, I don't have anyone to tell me "job well done." And I don't feel like my own approval is enough.

I know starting the business was the right decision to make and I hate it that I just can't get motivated to work. I feel like this is sympomatic of a fear of loniless or something. Mostly I just hate it that I'm handed this great opportunity, yet – emotionally – can't step up to the plate. What the hell is wrong with me? Does anyone have advice?

I believe not everyone can be their own Boss. For what I know in logocial sense someone said I can be my own Boss which means they have the ability to do what they are good at – Their Normal Daily Jobs, this only part of the equation of a business. By just knowing this part is not enough since you only see the one side of the business; a business is like a coin (a coin have two faces) but with multi-dimentional faces; being an employee and good at what the employee is good at is just only one face. Very likely at this moment you already see some other face of being the Boss – to motivate your staffs.
As a Boss you must have your own self motivation because you are the engine of the business, if the engine cannot function 100% perfectly the other parts of the car will be not moving as good as expected.
I guess at this moment you at least have 4 options:
First: Turn back to become an employee again then you can easily get back your job satisfaction.
Second: Find a mentor who can coach you to move on, including provide you the "job well done".
Third: Start to shift your own belief about "I feel good when I heard JOB WELL DONE". This can be done by attend some self improvement class; such as RICH XXX POOR XXX, or Tony RobbXX etc.
Fourth: Hire someone who can be the manager of the company and you just be someone which is only good at what you good at in the company, and leave the company for the manager. Then the company can still run without you (because you are not in good mood) and as the Boss you can still get your earning.

Im going to college, i wanted to be a psychologist but now im interested in the business world. I want to make a 6 fuigure salary but i don not know what field i should study in. I want to be my own boss, tell people what to do and how it goes and be successful ofcourse. any help? thanks

I have some ideas lets talk…

I tend to see people who are the "boss" of a clique and boss around people who follow them. Then there people who follow the "boss" and do whatever the "boss" tells them to do for acceptance. Then there are people who are their own boss and dont take orders from nobody and has no desire to follow anyone. Which one are you?

i am far from a "follower."
so many kids in school these days just try and be like everyone else, and that makes them "followers," i'm guessing. i'd never be one.

i'm most definitely a leader or the boss. i tend to take control of everything, but that always screws me over in the end. i do like making my own rules and such, though. i enjoy making a statement. i'd rather be the "girl who never matches clothes or has her hair done the best," than the "girl who always looks like everyone else; the clone." i'm not conceited though. i like to stand-out, but i don't like being the center of attention. confusing, yes, but that's how it works for me. … sorry to get into a long paragraph.

:p