I've worked for myself a couple of times, where I get to various degrees through the process... I've typically found a sweet spot with doing custom work that ha

I've worked for myself a couple of times, where I get to various degrees through the process... I've typically found a sweet spot with doing custom work that has proprietary code that I can apply towards new clients... the work tends to be more interesting for me. It might also be worth mentioning that product ownership isn't intrinsically better than providing a service if you have your business model honed really well. We tend to promote that bigger is always better and that scale is the only way to make money... neither are inherently true. ... but the above comment I was putting forward is based on the team from Basecamp and my business mentors. Regarding your question: The process takes balance and focus. Arguably, a harder part is customer selection to find the right client to help you with both your short term and long term goals.