whats better, being a school counselor or owning your own center?

Megan,
Sounds as though you've had some less than great experiences with school counselors, if I'm reading between the lines correctly.

What is it that you want to do with your life? That's the question that you need to answer for yourself...perhaps with some good guidance from a counselor (school or otherwise, e.g., life coach or psychologist). I would suggest a number of vocational inventories for you through your school counselor...or psychologist or life coach to get you to focus on your career in the long term.

FYI: Running a business requires a very different skill set than counseling people 1-on-1. While some people are effective at both, as they've developed their business acumen and have learned about all of the local/state/federal laws that govern hiring people, many people are not. You don't need to be a counselor to own/manage a counseling center. A different degree is involved as it's a different skill set. Hope this helps.

If your long-term goal is to make a lot of money, the behavioral and social sciences are probably not the path you should be pursuing. While it's possible to lead a comfortable life by being a counselor, it's unlikely that you will become wealthy.

You are young, I assume. There's time for you to explore many options in a university setting. Find that which you are good at and for which you want to devote your life energies. Good luck.

They both have their perks and downfalls. If you work for a school your hours are set, holidays and summers off, and good retirement benefits. It is lame though :) and you're a cog in a wheel.
Your own practice is freedom to set your own hours and rate ($$$) but you're on your own for insurance and benefits and you're working solo.