Moving to a new city is a lot of work. Not only do you have to find a new place to live and new people to fill your social life, but you've also got to find a new job. If you were happy working for Riverside bankruptcy lawyers in California, you might be fine with being someone else's employee once again when you get to Cambridge, but if you weren't, this may be your opportunity to change things. You just have to ask yourself the question: "am I an entrepreneur?"

To answer this question, you need to take honest stock of yourself, your work ethic, your ambitions, and your ability to research, plan, and follow through. It's no use kidding yourself if you'd really rather someone else made all the decisions and you didn't have to keep abreast of the changes in gold bullion prices. The only person you're hurting when you force yourself into a business venture you're heart isn't in is yourself. But if you're a go-getter and you really feel like you have what it takes, go for it!

The important thing to remember is that you don't necessarily have to have business training to be an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurial spirit is something you either have or you don't. Are you interested in money? Do you have a special skill, like designing contemporary bathroom vanities? Are you a natural leader? Can you handle being in charge of something important? If you answered yes to these questions, you've got the entrepreneurial spirit and you would make a good small business owner.

Of course, there's more to owning a small business than simply being willing to do the work necessary to run it. You also need the know-how to make smart business choices. You can get that from a four year university program, but you can also get it from workshops run by the owner of Samuel Strapping Head Inc. and other successful business owners. Check with the Cambridge Department of Economic Development or the local YMCA to see when classes are being offered.

When you make your final decision to open a business, you need to make a serious effort to get it off the ground. That means finding start-up loans, creating a business plan, attending woodworking auctions to find products to sell, working long hours running the business, and so forth. Will you be able to keep up with the work month after month? If not, it's better to not even start.