Plumbing for Joy? Be Your Own Boss

Plumbing for Joy? Be Your Own Boss(online.wsj.com)

15 points by vrao423 16 years ago | 5 comments

hristov 16 years ago |

One thing the WSJ does not notice is that the business owner category definitely self selects for success. If you are one of that majority of businesses that fail, than you soon stop being a business owner and you won't be measured by the survey. Also if you do not like being a business owner, or you are not good at it, it is a very easy category to exit.

So the survey will tend to measure at least relatively successful business owners. Nevertheless, I have noticed that business owners tend to be happier.

One thing that worried me about the survey is that it put professionals second. I do not know much about doctors but I am a lawyer and know many of them, and if we are anywhere near the second profession in terms of happiness and wellbeing there must be a lot of suffering out there.

nopassrecover 16 years ago | |

Yeah happiness isn't something (in my short experience) that comes with the early days of starting a business/being self-employed.

Perhaps once you are established and successful sure, but until then.

tptacek 16 years ago |

Told you you could get rich being a plumber.

http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=800487

mrshoe 16 years ago |

I would never call pg wrong (especially not on HN ;), but I side with DHH on this one:

http://37signals.com/svn/posts/1159-you-dont-have-to-sell-yo...

I suppose they're both correct in their own ways, but that's a pretty good description of why I'm working on a startup right now.

buugs 16 years ago | |

Whether selling a startup is a good idea or not is really different for each and every startup. Some good ideas would probably be youtube/twitter, some bad ideas would be more along the lines of facebook, skype(especially considering market but you can't go wrong with pricetag so probably better they did). In the end though it comes down to weighing price to what you value.

I'm gonna say I must belong to the don't mess up parentheses for smilies group (seriously ;)) I prefer Aliens.