At some point in their lives, everyone has dreamed about starting their own business. Whether its selling cosmetics and beauty products, marketing your own personal invention or selling drop-ship items through eBay, there's just something really sexy about the idea of being your own boss.

And you know what? You're right. There are indeed many reasons that you should consider joining the ever-growing forces of the self-employed. Here's what I think are the top six:

No More Rush-Hour

Do you realize how much time is wasted sitting in traffic? Not to mention the stress and anxiety you endure when traffic doesn't move the way it should. Rush-hour is just bad, no matter how you look at it. It doesn't matter if you use that time to reflect on your day, chit-chat on your cell or learn to speak French with your audio course - it's still something that I'm betting we can all do without. No more rush-hour means you won't be wasting gas - and who can afford to do that at these prices?! No more rush-hour also means you don't have to worry about driving on icy bridges, sliding on slick roads or navigating in the middle of a "can't see 5 feet in front of me" downpour.

No More Pantyhose

Or stifling ties, business suits or uncomfortable shoes. In fact, no more dress code at all. Unless of course, you're opening a business where you actually meet your clients face-to-face but even then, you still have a little leeway in choosing what to wear.

No More Security Blanket

That's right... become self-employed and you'll no longer have the luxury of a fixed income every month. But was that security blanket really all that secure? A corporation can lay you off without warning - maybe you'll get a severance package and maybe you won't. But while you're laying awake at night wondering what on Earth you're going to do, they'll all be sleeping nicely. Doesn't seem fair does it?

No More Meetings

Okay, yes.. you might still meet with clients but what you won't do is attend meetings to plan a meeting about an upcoming meeting. No, that's not a typo. For all their innovation and manpower, big businesses have a lot of red tape. You can't just order something when you need it - you have to first fill out the proper form and get the proper signatures. If a problem arises, chances are you can't just fix it - it has to go through the necessary channels. And there's a good reason for that. With a staff in the thousands, you'd be crazy to just give every employee the "pen" and allow them to do things as they please. But you don't have a staff in the thousands. You have a staff of one. You. And if you want to make an executive decision, there's absolutely no one to say that you can't.

No More Vacation Days

Do you want to take a day off and go to the beach? Wish you could go eat lunch with your first grader? Now you can! Being self-employed may initially mean you work a little harder or a little longer but it also means that you have the flexibility to do what you need when you need to do it. As a freelance writer, I can adjust my days to meet the needs of my family. Sometimes, that means I'm up writing late at night when everyone else is sleeping but hey... I'm a night-person by nature and I don't have an alarm clock that's going to start chiming at some ridiculously early hour. So, if I need to pick my kids up from school, I can. If there's a soccer practice or a band performance or even if I just feel like sleeping in until 10am, I can. And as a self-employed person, so can you.

No More Raises

Perhaps the biggest reason to join the ranks of the self-employed is the pure potential for earning your worth. Yes, you might put in some long hours to do so, but working for yourself puts you in the financial driver's seat. No more raises, no more bonuses and no more steady paychecks but you have the opportunity to actually earn what you want. Why? Because as an entrepreneur, you decide the value of your work - not an employer.