Oct. 5--LAS CRUCES -- So many small business owners have told me that running their own company has been the most fulfilling and frustrating thing that a person could ever undertake.

When you walk into your own place each morning, the thoughts, "I've created this, I've made this happen, this is mine," can bring about a smile and a strong sense of accomplishment.

But when there is trouble, you can't pass it along to the boss when you are the boss. When you're the boss, you don't clock out at 5 p.m. and forget about work until the next day. You might wake up at 2 a.m. -- that is if you're not still awake -- wondering if you've paid a certain bill or placed an order.

My colleague Richard Coltharp told me the owner of DandK Electronics in Alamogordo, who has since retired and closed shop, used to have a sign hanging on his wall that read: "The two most overrated things in the world are natural childbirth and owning your own business."

Still, for many Americans, owning a business seems to be the key to happiness.

The Associated Press recently reported that the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index shows that business owners scored highest, with 72.5, in "overall well-being" in a poll of more than 100,000 Americans in 11 sectors.

Gallup asked respondents questions about how they feel and what is happening in their life in six different areas such as: work environment; self-evaluation; physical health; healthy behaviors, such as not smoking; emotional satisfaction; access to basic necessities such as food, shelter and health care.

So as hard and stressful as owning your own business can be, it appears the level of satisfaction trumps the problems for many.

Professionals and managers/executives came in second and third place respectively.

In at fourth place, despite having a salary level in the bottom category, was those who work in farming, fishing and forestry. I can see how the lure of the great outdoors could lead to happiness at work.

The least satisfied were those employed in manufacturing, transportation, installation and construction.

The Associated Press business writer Tali Arbel contributed to this report.Brook Stockberger can be reached at bstockberger@lcsun-news.com; (575) 541-5457

Looking for help?

Here are some organizations that can help a you if you wish to start a business and/or look for funding:

SBDC:

-- Phone: (575) 527-7676

-- E-mail: fowensby@nmsu.edu or mlevine@nmsu.edu or chadley@nmsu.edu

-- Web page: dabcc-www.nmsu.edu/comm/sbdc

SCORE -- Phone: (575) 523-5627

-- E-mail: www.score.397@zianet.com

-- Web page: www.zianet.com/score.397/ WESST

-- Phone: (575) 541-1583

-- Web page: www.wesst.org

To see more of the Las Cruces Sun-News, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.lcsun-news.com.

Copyright (c) 2009, Las Cruces Sun-News, N.M.

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