One thing I will add to the discussion of someone running a 1 man "type" business (which would include both 1 man and 1 man plus some helpers part time, sub contractors, 1099's whatever) is that while the upside is capped the downside is also clipped.
If you have a 15 to 40 person business with lots of overhead and you have a few bad years you can lose lots of money. Because of that overhead.
But if you are running a small operation out of a small office (or even your house) you might not have a big top end potential but you also aren't going to lose much either.
A bad year might mean breaking even or making very little but your probably not going to lose your shirt (at least in 1 or 2 years if you have built up a reserve).
Plenty of 1-man "professional services" businesses are functioning as middlemen between big companies, or big companies and government. They have low overhead, but usually have a fixed, immovable deadline for paying their downstream companies. As long as the good times roll and the customers pay in time, life is grand.
If you have a 15 to 40 person business with lots of overhead and you have a few bad years you can lose lots of money. Because of that overhead.
But if you are running a small operation out of a small office (or even your house) you might not have a big top end potential but you also aren't going to lose much either.
A bad year might mean breaking even or making very little but your probably not going to lose your shirt (at least in 1 or 2 years if you have built up a reserve).