The concept is simple enough. Rather than reporting to a manager, as an entrepreneur you are the one calling the shots. You submit to no one, the thinking goes. You have complete control over every aspect of your business. You don’t have a boss. You are the boss.

The difficulty with this line of thinking can be illustrated with a simple example. Let’s say you decide you want your company to make mud pies. Maybe you loved making mud pies as a child and always dreamed of turning your passion into a business. Your boss at your previous job wouldn’t let you make mud pies (he clearly didn’t see the potential). But now that you are your own boss, you have complete freedom to conduct your business as you see fit.

Or do you?

As it turns out, that’s not quite true…

[The customer is always the boss, even for entrepreneurs, but this may be a too-literal way of thinking about it. I doubt anyone believes that there’s a paying gig without ANY accountability, except for Lottery Winner (and especially Senior Lottery Winner). As Bob Dylan once sang — kinda — “even the president’s gotta serve somebody.” — Ed]