Why freelancers aren't their own bosses

I saw a bumper sticker on a cab the other morning stating, "Be your own boss!" with the cab company's number.  While I do love the independence of being self-employed, I've always thought that "Be your own boss" was a bit untrue.

Although in some respects a freelancer has much less oversight than a full-time worker in an office, in other respects there is actually more.

There isn't someone watching your working habits and insisting that you actually work during those hours on the clock, for instance.  You do, however, still have to take direction from your clients -- and since you have more clients than you would have bosses in an office, when you look at it from that point of view, you actually have more oversight, or at least more people to keep happy.  If you are difficult to work with, you won't get continued work from your clients, and even worse, word may get around that you're not a good freelancer to work with.

My point is that it's not like you can just do what you want all day and give the world the finger.  You're not bucking convention, you're establishing a business for yourself -- and if you want your business to last, you actually need to be more conscientious about pleasing your "bosses," not less.