We all know that financial success will make you happy when establishing your own business. What other factors determine start-up satisfaction?

A poll on the German homepage gruendungszuschuss.de amongst 2.221 founders suggests the following:

1. Monetary achievement
Founders having an above average income are 16.9 percent happier than those having a lower income.

2. Content and self-determination/autonomy/self reliance
The achieved level in creativity (+ 4.1 percent) and the achieved level in autonomy (+3.7 percent) have a positive impact on contentment.

3. Employment biography
Founders who build up their business after being unemployed for longer than a year are less content (- 8.7 percent) while earning the same as those not founding out of unemployment. On an average, founders who have experience in their respective field are 3.6 percent happier with their achievements.

4. Demographic characteristics
Senior founders are 3.2 percent less content than younger ones. Female founders are 2.7 percent happier than male ones.

5. Emotional stability
The better founders can cope the better with backlashes the higher their contentment with founding (+ 1.4 percent).

6. Working hours
Founders working more hours are 2.6 percent more content than those working little.

Do you find points relating to you in this list?
What is your personal experience and what makes you happy about having your own business?