No. Assess the actual employment and ownership arrangement independently.
Keep the options distinct
A qualifying professional offer does not automatically establish permission to operate a separate business. Identify the work the applicant actually intends to perform.
Hypothetical example: a hydrologist offered a watershed-modelling assignment by an established engineering firm. Map the proposed duties line by line to the listed profession before deciding whether the degree, licence, and work description support one another. A generic consulting title is weak if the daily tasks belong to a different occupation. The first review should produce a short eligibility matrix: citizenship proof, employer identity, job dates, professional duties, qualification record, and any regulated-practice issue. Resolve a mismatch before travel rather than hoping an oral explanation fills it.
TN remains tied to a real, prearranged professional engagement. The applicant needs Canadian or Mexican citizenship, a listed occupation, and the particular education, licence, or other qualification the entry requires. A Canadian national can request classification at an inspection location; where appropriate, the employer can instead use Form I-129 through USCIS. The category does not permit the applicant to operate their own U.S. business as self-employment.
Use records created closest to the event: signed agreements, payroll or bank evidence, corporate records, licences, civil documents, and dated correspondence. A careful review identifies what each record proves and what it does not prove. Do not solve a factual gap by copying a favourable label from another route. Make the next decision only after the missing fact is either documented, changed, or plainly described as unresolved.