National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) in 62nd round reveals that Indians prefer Self-employment. The number of self-employed people was highest both in rural and urban India. While the national average was 254 per 1,000 people in rural India, it was 149 for the urban areas.

The first thing to recognise when starting your own business is that your degree rarely has a bearing on your ability to succeed. While qualifications may be essential for some self-employed professionals, such as dentists and lawyer, it is personal drive, attitude and confidence that generally define key entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals with qualifications need these attributes, too.

Self-employment is an attractive proposition for people who believe that they can successfully be their own bosses. Self-employment does not mean greater rewards for less sacrifice. It does not mean shorter working hours. It by no way guarantees success. It requires the need for the person to take complete responsibility for his/her own success or failure.

Even before thing of self-employment try looking at these questions below and try answering them honestly to have an understanding of how well-equipped you are?

*Are you a risk taker?
*Can you handle ambiguous situations?
*Do you see change as a challenge?
*How hard can you work?
*Are you a realist?
*Can you understand customer’s point of view?
*How well-organised are you?
*Do you have networking skills?
*Can you work with numbers?
*Do you have labour market awareness?
*How committed are you?
*Are you self-motivated?
  
Skills for Self-Employed Success
 
Curiosity
You need curiosity to stay on top of what your customer wants. It means engaging with them to find out what they’re thinking and feeling.

Self-Discipline
When self-employed it is easy to postpone things, but that can be a big barrier. Make a point of keeping regular office hours. Meet your deadlines. And keep your books up-to-date.
 
Organisational Skills
Lack of organisation can make you miss opportunities. Keep a place for everything and put everything in its place.
Today’s key to success is adaptability. Flexibility is required in your service offering, your prices, and how you package them. Listen to what the market needs are and be the first to flex.

Perseverance
People will take you seriously if you prove you’re serious – that you’re not going away. It communicates reliability, consistency and dependability.

Communication Skills
Self-employed professionals are solely responsible of their business. Everything they do has an impact on their public reputation. Because of this, well-developed communications skills are essential for every self-employed professional. (Give importance to writing e-mails, using proper tone in business writing and having active conversations with people)

Ideal Candidates for Self-Employment

· Ambitions: This is the most important trait. The self-employed person has to have something within that drives him/her to continuously strive for success.

· Self Confidence: The person should have confidence in his/her product and the ability to sell the same. Presentation skills are essential for convincing a person to spend their time and money on your product/service, rather than on one offered by competition.
· Business Acumen: This is an essential intangible that could make or break a business venture. It involves negotiating skills, knowing whether to bargain or not, the ability to envision business opportunities, even when they are not obvious.

· Money Management Skills: The success or failure of a business depends on the earning capacity of the business. The person should know how to economise efficiently, so as not to compromise the quality of the product, which areas to cut back expenses and which areas to spend more on and thorough and current knowledge of the money market.

 Resourceful: There should be sufficient knowledge as where to gather information from. Should be able to network, research and develop links to develop the business.

· Market Information: The self-employed person should know where his prospective customers are, so that an efficient distribution mechanism can be set up. No matter how good a product, it is completely useless if it does not reach the consumption point.

Top Self-employed Careers

· Website Designer
· IT Consultant
· Database Consultant
· Programmer
· Computer Programmer
· Software Developer
· Freelance Journalist
· Recruitment Consultant
· Technical Author
· Artist
· Graphic Designer
· Television Producer  
· Running a hotel/restaurant
· Exhibition Organiser
· Accountant
· Lawyer
· Teacher of English as a foreign language
· Freelance translator / interpreter
· Counsellor
· Coach
· Therapist
· Marketing Communications
· Consulting Engineer

Often the best way to start your own business is to try to set it up in your spare time while still working in another job (ideally part-time). This will allow you to test the water and establish networks of suppliers and customers while still having money coming in to support yourself. If you can work from home initially, this will avoid the costs of leasing premises until you have something established.