Have you ever dreamt of quitting your nine-to-five job and striking out on your own?

All around the world, more and more people are leaving the hierarchies and rules of traditional employment to follow their passion and start their own business.

They are creating micro-businesses, which allow them a life of freedom and purpose.

This form of employment, typically a one-person business, is nothing new: consider the street merchants of ancient Athens independently hawking their wares.

So what do you need to start a micro-business?

Probably a lot less than you think.

Every day, ordinary people are setting micro-businesses, often with no funding, no experience, no MBA and no detailed business plans!

Typical stories include that of two designers who, fresh out of school and on a whim, started selling beautiful custom-made maps online, and wound up making so much money they quit their day jobs after just nine months.

Or consider the piano teacher who created a piece of software to help him track his students and lesson schedules, and wound up turning it into a full-time source of income, generating over $30,000 a month.

There is no reason why your business can’t attain similar success.

The only things you need are:

1) a product or service that you can sell.

2) customers who are willing to pay for it.

3) a method for them to pay with.

It’s as simple as that.

The most important stage in the entire process is making the choice to act.

Many successful entrepreneurs feel the greatest struggles on their journey did not come from competitors or market forces but from their internal insecurities and fears.

Don’t succumb to them. Instead, make the leap.

You already have what you need.

Break away from the nine-to-five and become your own boss – it’s a lot simpler than you think.