"Americanism is spending money you don't have on things you don't need to impress people you don't like." This quote, slightly adapted though it may be, is best known as a quote from Edward Norton's character in the classic film Fight Club, although it was actually written in 1928 by the American journalist Robert Quillen.

I am sick and tired of a) reading about how such and such a restaurant/cafe/shop/whatever went out of business as unprofitable and b) listening to people moaning and groaning about how it's a big loss to have to squat. "So I used to go there many times to shop for clothes." Well, did you ever buy anything there? Or did you just go to try something on and order the same item online, where it was a few tens of pounds cheaper? Did you ever use the services of bankrupt bars, restaurants or nightclubs - especially the smaller specialist ones - or did you spend the evening at home drinking drinks shipped from Tallinn, then go off, already pickled, for an hour or two to crack a tentacle.

The summer holidays are now coming to an end, so to speak, and everyday life is back on track. Holidays - especially in summer when the weather is kind - are undoubtedly the best time of human life: relaxing with hobbies, late mornings and long summer evenings, trips to different parts of Finland or reading books on the pier. However you want to spend your holidays.

Workers have - up to a point - the possibility of underperforming. An entrepreneur, especially a sole trader, cannot afford such a luxury.

While the "I am my own boss" rhetoric lives on when talking about entrepreneurship, it is healthy to remember that every entrepreneur works for others. Each of us will have to make compromises along the way if we want our business to flourish. In this day and age, everything affects everything, and no business is an island.

"Before having a child, entrepreneurship was everything I ever wanted from my working life: the right balance of freedom and responsibility for my own actions. I created my own flexible schedule, so I could do whatever I wanted during the day. It was not uncommon for me to sit at the computer working while the rest of the world went out for the evening. In retrospect, that was true entrepreneurial freedom. It suited me."