I embarked on the journey of solopreneurship this April.
I have been unemployed since last November but have been trying to understand what I want from my life.
It wasn’t laid out for me.
It wasn’t easy.
I had a lot of doubts, questions and concerns.
Most of all, I faced a discomfort.
The discomfort that you face when your plans go down the drain — that discomfort.
Well, above everything, I wanted to gain clarity on whether I wanted to do my own business or not.
Initially, the question started about what I would do.
Whether I want to do dropshipping or I want to open up my Etsy store. Or did I want to get invested in my family business, I had no clue.
To answer this dilemma, I paved my way backwards and thought about what I was doing before. I have 3+ years of experience working as a freelance writer and brand strategist.
And that’s when I landed on working as a solopreneur.
After deciding and somewhat getting convinced with what I wanted to do, the question was how.
Take your own sweet time. Don’t rush it.
If you are facing a career dilemma, remember that everyone will feel and look better than you. You will look at your friend and think — wow, it’s sorted for them. Well, maybe it is. But them being sorted is not going to help your story — is it?
Also, when you start looking outside, you lose sight of your own story. Everyone around you grabs an opportunity there. Well-wishers, family, and friends will line up in front of you to give you advice about your career.
They aren’t always wrong. But don’t blindly follow their advice. Listen to your gut and what that has to say about you. Nothing will ever tell you harsher truths than your gut. Develop a skill to listen.
Evaluate your knowledge and your skills.
No, delulu is not the solulu.
Face the facts.
If you want to be a business person, sit and test your knowledge and your experiences. Ask yourself what skills you have and what the market needs. Identify the gap and ask yourself how will you fill the gap.
If needed, get on calls with your peers. Ask them what would they do differently.
Ask them to bash you out of your little bubble and give you advice on how to improve.
If this doesn’t work, start putting your thoughts out there — LinkedIn, Instagram, Twitter, wherever you prefer. You just have to take the first step of putting yourself out there.
Invest in yourself
When people say you need 0 investment to start a business, they are lying on your face.
You need to invest the biggest asset — your time — which never comes back.
Invest in your education if you need to. Work on your craft.
You have to sit and work on things endlessly and wait for the gratification which may not come when you expect. It is always delayed.
It is like walking on an endless path wherein you won’t even get to see the end while walking.
It’s all in your head where you want to go.
Make sure that the end goal in your head is a nice image. Because at the end of the day, all the actions you are taking today are leading you towards that image.
Make that image beautiful.
Find your people
Solopreneurship is hard.
It gets isolating and lonely and it is not for everyone
You need two people. One who is 5 steps ahead of you and the other who is 500 steps ahead of you.
The person who is 5 steps ahead of you will know exactly how to pull you to the next 5 levels. The person who is 50 steps ahead of you will help you to see the bigger picture. It’s like you are building a contrast between your daily actions and what the bigger picture looks like.
You need to find an accountability partner and a mentor. Find them.
Repeat and do it for yourself
Most days, you will lose meaning and purpose behind the things you are doing.
You will feel like you are falling behind and what’s even the use of doing all this?
Going through all the struggle.
The questions will come and go.
But your spirit should stay high.
There were days in the last month — yes days — when I felt like I should give up. It is getting consuming, and I genuinely started hating everything around me.
But then something good will happen, like a client would come back to me or I would get a LinkedIn top community voice badge. Then, life feels better.
This made me realise that it’s not about a big massive win, it’s about the little achievements over and over again. you don’t need to achieve something great but just some little wins to keep pushing you should be enough.
In the end, make sure that you are giving your 100% in what you do.
Now this 100% will look different every month. It is good because you are improving but if you sit today. Make sure to give your 100% today. That’s all you need.
With this, I am proud to say that my first month of solopreneurship was not a no-profit month. Yes, we closed clients. Yes, we got paid.
To Building and Becoming,
See you next week
Twinkle
Hi, I am Twinkle, your brand strategist.
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