Part of it is being my own boss, working on stuff I choose. But honestly a big part of it is the potential for profits to scale independently of, or at least a

Part of it is being my own boss, working on stuff I choose. But honestly a big part of it is the potential for profits to scale independently of, or at least at a very high ratio to, my effort/time. Working for someone else you'll never make more than $X/year, where X is some general high point for your position/field/location/etc... That could be $50k, $100k, or $300k, but it's unlikely to be much higher (unless your position is CEO, investment banker, or thief (wait is that two or three positions?)). By building a business, my hope is that the business will expand, I'll hire people, I'll have long term contracts, recurring revenue, and other mechanisms in place that will allow me to work 40 hours a week and make $200k one year, $500k the next, and so on. When you work for someone else in general your income will be fixed to some hours*$Y formula. Building your own business can free you from that limitation.