Cooking The Books

Each week the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's what it takes to start your own business. Hosted by Frances Cook.If you've ever dreamed of ditching the nine to five and becoming your own boss, you're not alone.There's a rising tide of people choosing to strike out on their own, whether that's as a freelancer, a contractor, or an entrepreneur who starts their own business.Different people have different ideas of how this will look in the future. Research by Intuit in 2010 predicted that by 2020, 40 percent of the US workforce would be freelance. Forbes is going one further, saying that it will reach 50 percent by 2020.Whatever the number, the experts think it's going to be big. It's not just foolhardy young people either.Statistics New Zealand recently released figures showing the numbers of kiwis over 50 who are self-employed jumped 40 percent between 2001 and 2013. For people over 65, the numbers have doubled.It seems everyone wants