Each week the New Zealand Herald and Newstalk ZB's Cooking The Books podcast tackles a different money problem. Today, it's what it takes to start your own business. Hosted by Frances Cook.

If you've ever dreamed of ditching the nine to five and becoming your own boss, you're not alone.

There's a rising tide of people choosing to strike out on their own, whether that's as a freelancer, a contractor, or an entrepreneur who starts their own business.

Different people have different ideas of how this will look in the future. Research by Intuit in 2010 predicted that by 2020, 40 percent of the US workforce would be freelance. 

Forbes is going one further, saying that it will reach 50 percent by 2020.

Whatever the number, the experts think it's going to be big. It's not just foolhardy young people either.

Statistics New Zealand recently released figures showing the numbers of kiwis over 50 who are self-employed jumped 40 percent between 2001 and 2013. For people over 65, the numbers have doubled.

It seems everyone wants a piece of the so-called gig economy.

But is it all roses? One of the hazards of going it alone is that, well, you're all alone. There's very little safety net, and it's on you to make sure you succeed.

So for the latest Cooking the Books podcast, I called up Richard Liew, the founder and editor of online magazine NZ Entrepreneur.

We talked about what was driving the increase in self-employment, the appeals of running your own business, and what held people back from success. 

For the interview, listen to the podcast.

If you have a question, or something you'd like me to look into for the future, come and talk to me about it. I'm on Facebook here https://www.facebook.com/FrancesCookJournalist/ and Twitter here https://twitter.com/FrancesCook