People who own their own businesses in the current recession don't necessarily think they're facing much more risk than those who are worrying about hanging on to their jobs.

A recent report by Reuters notes that there are between 16 million and 21 million self-employed people in the U.S., and that about 800,000 of those jobs were lost between August and December of last year.

Perhaps worse, an expert on startups, Scott Shane, told the wire service that about 55 percent of startup companies disappear in five years, while 71 percent are gone within a decade. Still, Reuters spoke with several self-employed entrepreneurs who aren't particularly worried about their own prospects at a time when many people they know are equally worried about keeping their own jobs.

"Watching my friends' careers go up in smoke and watching tons of people getting laid off gave me the strength. I thought, 'Who knows when that's going to happen to me?'" Rachel Dooley, founder of Gemma Redux jewelry, told Reuters.

Separately, a report on CNNMoney.com observes that the recession also means that entrepreneurs don't have to wait as long for any possible cracks to appear in their business plans. The report also advises business owners to pay particular attention to their accounting methods.