"The freedom that owning my own business has given me is to often NOT have any freedom. I work long hours, sometimes seven days a week. But it's my choice so I love it."

There are approximately 2.5 million self-employed Canadians.

Danielle Carignan describes herself as independent and a bit of a perfectionist. She's always loved functional art and once dreamed of becoming a sculptor and making lots of money. But how do you join all these elements in a career?

The answer came when she toured an international cabinetmaking show. Since then, she's known exactly what she had to do.

Did you know? About 18% of the total Canadian workforce is self-employed.

Danielle subsidizes her sales earnings through grants and aid from various agencies set up to help and support young businesses. One of the upsides of this is Danielle is getting quite a lot of knowledge and experience on dealing with the financial side of owning a business.

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SYNOPSIS:

Danielle has to be so involved in her business, since her business is only based on her, her vision and her talent. She finds that that leaves her with very little time left to nurture friendships.

But even with these drawbacks, Danielle is convinced she's made the right choice. No one tells her what to do or when to do it. She can be as creative as she wants to be and even work 16-hour days if she wants to.

PERSONAL DATA:

Education: One year diploma in cabinetmaking

Hobbies: Likes to spend time sipping coffee in restaurant courtyards when she draws and puts her ideas down on paper