If you’ve recently started your own business—or if you’re thinking about it—you have a lot of company. Entrepreneurship is becoming an increasingly popular career choice in today’s marketplace.

While many individuals go on their own internal reasons—a passionate need to be independent, a burning desire to turn a hobby into a profession, or the love of a challenge—others have chosen the entrepreneur route in response to external situations, including layoffs, frustration with their current workplace culture, or a need for greater flexibility in their lives.

Owning a business has become the twenty-first century version of the 1950s American dream of owning a home. But entrepreneurship is not for everyone. It’s important to consider whether you have what it takes to start a business and run it successfully.

You’ve probably heard that start-up statistics are grim. The truth is that just 30 percent of business start-ups survive more than five years. Stories of overnight successes and young millionaires are rare. The dot. com era ended two years ago, and venture capital money is increasingly hard to secure. The hardworking, determined, visionary who dedicates long hours and endless energy to his or her business is the more realistic picture of today’s entrepreneur.

Entrepreneurs face a myriad of internal and external challenges. Within their companies, they need to offer a superior product or service. They need to manage cash flow and maintain profitability and hire and retain the right mix of people. Externally, factors such as access to financing, the economy, government regulations, and technological issues impact entrepreneurs on a regular basis.

Many small businesses fail because of weaknesses in general management, fi