For some people the word entrepreneur automatically brings to mind Richard Branson and his ilk - those high flyers who set up and run more successful businesses than most of us could manage in several lifetimes. But actually an entrepreneur is anyone who chooses to go it alone and make the most of a business opportunity for themselves no matter how big or small.

For more and more people this is becoming a legitimate career choice. Gone are the days when you had to have years of business experience under your belt before you might even consider taking the plunge with a startup of your own: nowadays everybody's doing it. And if you're reading this, you've already taken your first steps to joining them.

Reasons for starting

People choose to become entrepreneurs for a variety of reasons. For some it will be an opportunity to escape their mundane nine-to-five existence and to commit their working lives to something which is a lot closer to their heart. For the 'lifestyle' entrepreneurs the important part of the deal is not how big their business ends up but the effect in has on their lives.

David Creswell, 27, of comics website ComicDomain.co.uk falls into this category: "I don't care if I'm a comic geek, it's my hobby and I've turned that into a small business, I'm proud of the service we provide and our customers are also happy."

For others the motivation for starting up will come from spotting a gap in a market they know well. 'Ski Bums' Tim Slade and Jules Leaver spotted an opportunity for 'been there done that' T-shirts to sell to skiing holiday makers. Their high street chain Fat Face now turns over £25 million.

And for Dee Edwards, 29, the same sort of insight helped her to launch internet company Habbo Ltd. "I really believed internet business could be made successful by using technology to run a business effectively and leveraging the different way people were changing their communication," she says.