In May, I will celebrate six years of being on my own – a “solopreneur.” Can you believe it? I honestly can’t. Especially since the person who pushed me to do this had to tell me to do it TWICE. (Thank you, Todd!) When the idea was first brought up to me, I said no. This was not in my game plan. I was going to get a “big girl job” (that’s what we call the 8-5 gig). But the more I thought of it, the solo life appealed to me – the flexibility, the independence, the unlimited potential…
Our outdoor world is full of solopreneurs going out on their own and being successful at it! Most of the releases you are reading above this article are proof of that “can-do” attitude. Either they saw a need that needed to be filled – or they said “see ya” to their day job and created something better.
Of course, it hasn’t been all unicorns and sunshine. If you are considering embarking on a solo adventure of your own, here are a few of my lessons learned.
1. Go all in
I’m not really a fan of the side hustle – for one, I truly don’t believe you can give 100 percent to your goals if it is “on the side.” I know many people desire the side hustle as it’s an easy transition – but I feel you are just giving in to your mind’s scare tactics that you can’t make it.
To help ease in, do the following:
2. You need to know yourself
I’ve recognized in my short solo career that not everyone can be their own boss, which frankly, is kind of weird to me. But there it is. Some people simply need that regular paycheck every two weeks. Some can’t figure out the workload without a ‘boss’ telling them to do this, then that, and then finish this. I’ve seen it from all walks of life – and maybe you won’t know if you can handle it until you literally jump from the frying pan into the fire.
3. You can take all the advice in the world – but you just have to do it.
Like reading this article – and millions of other articles on jumpstarting your solo career. You can read and read and read – but at the end of the day – you have to DO. And do FOR YOU. I can’t tell you how you’ll work – or how you’ll be. You could be wildly successful – or you could have panic attacks. It’s really 50/50.
4. Your past is a reflection of your future
Did you ever sell Girl Scout Cookies? Go door-to-door hawking Christmas wreaths? Did you like it? Were you successful? Think back to those times as a kid. If your mom and dad sold the cookies for you – sorry, you failed. But if you put in the work – then there’s hope for your solo career. If you’ve led any sort of project management at work – and did it well – there’s hope for you. If you’ve had conflict at work and learned how to resolve it WITHOUT GOING TO HR – there’s hope for you. If all of the above scenarios, someone else had to step in and assist – you are doing it wrong.
5. Where’s the work coming from?
Probably the single biggest success to my career was keeping on my former employer as a contractor. Not everyone can make that work. I get it. But keeping that employer lead to other opportunities within the industry – which led to more and more. Referrals are my number one source of new business. Networking is a distant No. 2, but it has come to fruition. The majority of my networking is actually from other solos – you attend functions, learn from one another and once you discover each other’s strengths, bam! Magic happens. Its freaky.
Hopefully this article made you think – but I also hope it will help you DO. You’ll have ups and downs – all the clichés of “one door closes and another opens” is SO TRUE. Or “things happen in threes” is also very true. (good or bad) If you need someone to bounce ideas off or push you through that open door, I’m here. I know I needed it in the beginning.
Note – a very special entrepreneur in the outdoor world, Mark Strand, is being inducted into the Minnesota Fishing Hall of Fame this weekend. Mark has led a crazy entrepreneurial life before landing as the editor of Midwest Outdoors Magazine. I’m still learning all the businesses he has started – or still runs. Kudos to you, Mark, for this induction. Well deserved. Learn more here: http://www.fishinghalloffamemn.com