Perhaps I'm independent and entrepreneurial because I prefer less risk.

Yup, you read that right.

Being in business for myself ties my fortunes to management I believe in, doing a job I believe in. There is little such security in the corporate world.

Being independent helps me spread out economic risk. In a corporate environment, I might work on behalf of a few clients (or even just one), and my job security would depend on a long chain of people between me and those key clients. On my own, I can work for more clients, of more sizes, in more industries, and in more locations. I'm in direct contact with each of them, which improves communication and reduces screw-ups ... and risk.

When I see a business opportunity, I can move on it instantly, instead of making recommendations via internal memo and waiting for the corporate machine to slooowwwwly ease into gear.

I can select work partners I know and trust and value, from start to finish. That should be true in a corporate environment, but it's often not the case.

Yup. For my money, and for my situation, there are few career moves riskier than joining a corporate environment. I can sleep at night unworried by what co-workers might be doing or not doing, and I wake up excited, truly excited, about getting into my office.


John Kuraoka, freelance advertising copywriter