[umjames]

Having done mostly 9 to 5 and only consulting once, I'm convinced that working on your own start-up provides the best chance for happiness. I think this is mostly true because in a 9 to 5 and consulting, the primary metric is time instead of productivity.

Most 9 to 5s are about face time (or butt-in-chair time) and consulting is about billable hours. If you can do your job more efficiently (better job done in less time), a 9 to 5 says you still have to be at work looking busy until a certain time and in consulting, getting the job done faster can result in less money earned (if you're charging by the hour).

In your own start-up, finding more efficient ways to get things done benefits you directly. You now have more time to complete the next task. The sooner you finish, the better.