Buying a business opportunity, distributorship, licensee opportunity or franchise means you will be joining the ranks of millions of other entrepreneurs who, given the opportunity, would advise you in advance of the ups and downs that come with the territory. A new Gallup poll released on Friday provides some valuable insight on what some of those are.

Given its sheer size of 273,000-plus American adults, the survey—which was conducted from January 2011 through September 2012 as part of the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index—showed some statistically significant differences between individuals who self-identified as both “self-employed” and “business owner” as compared to so-called “other workers.” Even when accounting for such factors as age, gender, race/ethnicity, region, income, education, marital status and weekly hours worked, the reported emotional differences between these two groups were notable.

In a nutshell, Gallup’s most recent findings suggest one of the biggest tradeoffs associated with being an entrepreneur may be with regard to overall fulfillment and optimism versus modestly increased levels of worry and stress. Here are the numbers that bear that out:

• Entrepreneurs in the U.S. are slightly more likely than other workers to report experiencing stress a lot of the day “yesterday”—45% vs. 42%.,

• Entrepreneurs are also more likely to say they worried much of the day as well—34% vs. 30%.

• However, entrepreneurs are also more likely than other workers to report learning or doing something they found interesting “yesterday”—71% vs. 66%.

• They are also slightly more likely to report experiencing enjoyment much of the day—89% vs. 86%.

• And lastly, entrepreneurs express significantly greater optimism about their future than other employed adults, with 30% of them placing themselves on the top rung of an imaginary ladder that measures their “best possible life” versus only 25% of individuals who work for others.

While it’s no secret that business ownership, much like any job, carries its own share of challenges, this survey confirms for the prospective business opportunity, franchise or other small business owner something that is also true. The incredible sense of both being able to do something you love every day and having greater control over your financial future that entrepreneurship often provides may just make it all worthwhile.

To review Gallup’s findings, click here now!