Are you running a business or are you self-employed?

One of the points that many entrepreneurs get confused about is whether they're running a business, or if they're just self-employed. I'm not talking about what's in the IRS code here, but the actual realities of running a small business.

The first question you should ask if you want to determine if what you have is a business is whether you could take a year off and come back and you're business is still functioning. This is an important goal to set, if you're not already there. Your business should be able to keep itself running without you being present.

Another measure is how much you could get if you were to sell your business. If nobody would be interested in buying, then what does that tell you? Talk to a business broker about it. You don't have to sell, but you might find it interesting what you'd learn in talking to one.

Another mark of a successful business is when you're able to hire people to work for you and maintain an acceptible profit-margin. When you get to the point where you value your time more than you can pay someone else to do the job for you, you know you're on the right track. I've never heard of a successful business that didn't have at least one employee, most have more.

Do you run a business?

PS: MLM can never be a business, unless you're the one who founded it.