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Recently, the European labour market has witnessed a shift in work structures, notably with self-employed individuals without employees. Many of these individuals are performing self-employment involuntarily, aiming for stable full-time employment. Due to insufficient income, instability, limited career prospects, and inadequate access to social protection, they are dissatisfied with their self-employed status. This dissatisfaction could potentially affect their overall job satisfaction and performance. The goal of this study, conducted on the basis of original primary survey among self-employed persons in Slovakia in 2022, is to explore the motivations influencing self-employment. Specifically, the research aims to examine the initial driving factors behind self-employment among 306 individuals, categorized into 194 traditional independent selfemployed and 112 economically dependent self-employed persons. Results indicate that among economically dependent self-employed persons, necessity-driven motives prevail, particularly necessity to enter family business, job loss, and employer-induced self-employment. For traditional independent self-employed persons, opportunity-driven motives predominate, notably pursuit of better working conditions, desire for independence, and efforts to earn more.