Self-employment is often discussed in terms of 'push' and 'pull' factors. The aim of this article is to assess not only the prevalence of 'necessity' self-employed and 'latent' entrepreneurs in Sweden, but also the characteristics in terms of socio-demography, personality traits, intrinsic work motivation and preference for independence associated with each group. In addition, the article investigates whether 'necessity' self-employment and 'latent' entrepreneurship are related to four measures of well-being. This is done using a nationally representative survey of the self-employed (small-business owners, n = 2,483) and regularly employed (n = 2,642) in Sweden. The main findings indicate that 'necessity' self-employed have characteristics and preferences that differ from other (non-'necessity') self-employed. They display relatively low intrinsic work motivation and preference for independence as well as scores on personality traits typically associated with entrepreneurship. They also report lower levels of work autonomy, job-satisfaction, life satisfaction and family-life satisfaction than other self-employed. 'Latent' entrepreneurs resemble entrepreneurs in many ways but they nevertheless report lower levels of well-being than non-'necessity' self-employed.