One of my friends, Shalini, who is working as a full time sales executive at an upholstery manufacturer often dreams of starting her own business making home-made nutritious organic biscuits. 'With no preservatives and artificial colouring," she says proudly. She has already experimented a lot with biscuit recipes.

We have often discussed her business plan quite passionately during several evenings, after her office hours.

But when it comes to really turning to the oven to bake her biscuits, she develops cold feet. She is unable to leave the security of her job. There are EMIs to be paid on the home and the car loans, and how would she compete with the big businesses, and she has no skill to market her product, well, there are many reasons.

Many people like my friend Shalini, with a regular fixed-hour job at some or the other time wish to be on their own, to be self-employed, and to start a business of their own.

A lot of people already have a business idea. But before one takes the first step in one's quest to become independent, there are many pros and cons to be considered.

Some people start a side business while on a job. But with two things to handle at the same time, their personal lives get affected. So there is no satisfaction on either front.

A fixed hour job has many advantages, an assured salary at the end of the month, paid holiday, medical insurance, gratuity, pension etc. But the other side of the coin is, you have to spend grueling hours in traffic every day, you have to work under lot of people and that can cause stress at times, there is anxiety over promotion and competition with colleagues adding to pressures. Besides, there is a nagging feeling of dissatisfaction, of wanting to do something more with life.

The lure of being on one's own is quite strong. You are your own boss, you become the champion of your life, you can take control of your time, you can make time for your family when you want, you can take holidays when you want. And with lot of hard work, there is a possibility that you will be able to boost your income.

There are two ways to be self-employed, one is by starting your own business. This may need real money. On the other hand if you have a specialization, or certain unique skills like web designing, graphic designing, writing, editing, photographing or many more you can become a freelancer. In this case the risk is not that great, it is only your time and effort.

To quit one's job and starting on one's own is a big risk. Weigh your risks properly, emotional and financial. Think how your decision is going to affect your loved ones. And do not take any decision without consulting your family members and thinking thoroughly how your quitting will put them at risk too. In the end, do follow the desire of your heart. If you are happy, in the end, your loves ones will be happy for you.

But most important thinking, you should do a lot of ground work, either for starting your own small business or going solo as a freelancer, before you quit your job.

Give at least 6 months to 1 year to prepare the ground for quitting. Many people feel like quitting their jobs impulsively and then they regret it and become depressed.