On starting your own business

From Chris, a commenter at National Review Online:

Just gets funnier the longer you read.

Matt, one great thing about America is when you decide you can make the jump, you can become self-employed! Then you can keep all the profits you can scramble! And pay your own insurance and taxes (remember that FICA is now 15.3% since you are employer and employee!) and costs and licensing and fees and regulatory charges and accounting costs and legal costs and filing fees. But after that, boy, the profit is all yours! And the hours! All you have to do is work half days! And the beauty is that it's your schedule, so you can choose whichever 12 hours to work that you want! And no worries about that sad sack messing up your work while you're on vacation! If you're not there, it won't get done at all! Yessir, those self-employed guys all have it made, socking away sacksfull of dough while lounging by the pool!

 I have my own business (sort of).  It's a long story that I won't go into here.  I will say that as well as being amusing, this hits home.  I have, when business was good, worked seven days a week for five months in a row, with a total of two days off.  I have, when business was slow, not worked for three months.  For me it was OK because my business was supplemental, but one of the things that kept me from making the jump to doing it full time was the slow months.  I wasn't sure I'd be able to make ends meet if I didn't work for several months in a row, with no guarantee that being full time would translate to having business during those months.