The tough job market continues to prompt would-be entrepreneurs to consider joining the ranks of the 9 million self-employed. Here, advice and ideas for getting started

• From Laid-Off to Self-Employed

  Advice for recently laid-off workers considering going into business for themselves

• Slide Show: 20 Steps to Self Employment

  We break it down here with 20 steps to get you from unemployed to self-employed, with links to in-depth articles on each step

• Beyond Eureka

  Looking for a great business idea? These five steps will take you from blank slate to booming

• Tax Strategies for the Newly Self-Employed

  If you're a staffer turned contingent worker, you need to rethink your business status, retirement funding, and deductions

• The Self-Employed Push to Repeal the 'Health-Care Tax'

  Nine million self-employed workers essentially pay a tax on health-insurance premiums. It's a relatively simple fix, but it amounts to billions in federal revenue

• Turning Entrepreneurial with Pamela Slim

  The author of Escape from Cubicle Nation turned her blog into a book. Here's her advice for frustrated workers considering self-employment

• Slide Show: 20 Part-Time Business Ideas

  You don't need to quit your day job—or invest a fortune—to get started on any of these ventures

• Slide Show: How 20 Business Ideas Were Hatched

  Business founders tell us how they struck gold, whether it was a bolt from the blue or the result of a disciplined search process

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