The American dream of becoming an entrepreneur is a powerful one that many people aspire to in the U.S. Careers in business give one a chance to be one's own boss, make one's own hours, and decide one's own fate.

In a column in the New York Times, small business owner Vera Kuzyk admits that when she went to business school, she did not have any particular plans to open her own business.

She writes that the long hours on Wall Street and the long commute from her home in Montclair, New Jersey wore her down and she eventually decided to go into business with a colleague she had met while attending school.

They purchased an ice cream franchise.

"Once a week I bring home ice cream for my children - they are big mango sorbet fans," Kuzyk writes. "The kids' absolute glee about the new career is fun, too."

According to the Small Business Administration, small businesses employ about 52% of all the private sector employees in the U.S. and have created 60 to 80% of net new jobs annually over the last decade.