"I plan to break down the myths that exist over entrepreneurship," he said. "People have the strangest ideas about it, which leads those who dream of having their own business to give up. My job is to break through that anxiety barrier."

Michielssen is a former copywriter who became a coach for start-ups for Unizo, the organisation that represents the self-employed. He's since moved into communications consultancy for clients like Belgacom, Brico and Van Marcke, and he special weekends in which the owners of 18 start-ups are locked up in a castle for an intensive mutual evaluation of their business plans.

It's his coaching experience he'll be relying on during his 100-day quest, and the timing could not be better. "Whoever starts now and goes about things a little smartly, would normally be established within three to five years. By that time the economy will have turned around and as an entrepreneur you'll be able to get the best out of your company."

It could turn out to be you, he says, whether you see yourself as an entrepreneur or not. "Doing business is human nature. Look at kids and how they swap and trade their marbles with their classmates. Sometimes it seems as if life revolves around a single choice: do I go into business for myself or do I take a job? So many people go for option two, it seems."

www.gunnarmichielssen.be