Solo-preneuring™ - EmbracingThe Concept

On Wednesday, we talked about Solo-preneuring™. A big, unfamiliar word that sounds very foreign, very American. However, not only is it a very simple concept but it is actually one that many of us are familiar with. Most of us grew up with parents who had a side gig….it was (and still is) the only way for most people to make ends meet in Kenya and I am sure that is the same in other developing countries. Even some parents who were professionals had a side gig, some did it for extra money and others as a hobby e.g. the vegetable garden that not only fed the family but also brought in some extra shillings.


However, the lesson that was instilled in us was that there were certain careers (law, medicine, engineering, accounting) that we should aspire in part because that eliminates the financial need for a side gig. Those who had “made it” did not have side gigs. Consequently, most of us have been trying to establish and cling to these kinds of careers even though we dread the work. This approach takes the view that the only reason anyone would work is for financial reasons therefore find the best paying job even if you don’t like the work. It explains why Rafiki said that expressing a desire for a career in fashion, writing, hair styling would not have been met with the support and encouragement that such talent deserves.


Further, I think it is difficult for us to embrace Solo-preneuring™ because it does not have the same cachet that some jobs give us. Even here in “the promised land”, society has determined a hierarchy of professions and the jobs at the top of the food chain command respect though not always high salaries. As a result people identify who they are with what they do. If you ask someone, “What do you do?” most people answer “I am a teacher, a lawyer, a doctor, a manager,” rather than answering, “I work as a lawyer, a doctor, a teacher, a manager”. However, this is for jobs that are “higher up the food chain”. I have never heard anyone say “I am a fast-food worker” rather they say “I work at McDonalds or I flip burgers”.


I believe that current employees who want to transition to Solo-preneuring™ will have to let go of deeply ingrained beliefs that tie the type of work one does with self-worth. If you have spent a lot of time and money, getting a degree (or two, or three, or more) and spent even more blood, sweat and tears working long hours and navigating office politics to climb the corporate ladder, you may feel that you are throwing it all away, that you are giving up before you achieve the goals you had set for yourself when you embarked on your chosen career.


But don’t look back on what you have invested so far. Look forward and ask yourself is this what I want to do for the rest of my life? At this point, where you are going is all that matters. That said, your investments in yourself, in your education, the skills and knowledge you have garnered from your work experiences have not been in vain. If you want to use those skills, you can maintain a part-time position or do consulting work, only this time you are working on your own terms.


All this requires doing an honest assessment of your goals in life vis-à-vis where you are today. For some people, losing their job may be their greatest regret . . . there are certainly some jobs out there worth keeping. However, for others keeping their current job may be their greatest regret.


If you are reading this today, and are not happy with your current job, consider your options and have the courage to try something else. Life is too long to spend it working in “jobs that are too small for our spirits”.


Any Solo-preneurs™ out there? We would love to hear from you . . . tell us what you do, how you do it and why you do it.


In future posts we will feature resources we have found that will help you transition to a life of Solo-preneuring™.

Hate Your Job? Time For Something New? Try Solo-preneuring™!

Rafiki’s post last Saturday. “Overworking and Underthinking” did get me thinking. It reminded me of a quote from the Pulitzer Prize winning book, “Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do” by Studs Terkel. In the book, a woman called Nora Watson says in an interview with Terkel,



“Most of us have jobs that are too small for our spirits. We are on a quest for more fulfilling work, work that is equal to the size of our spirit, our energies, our passions”.



That was 1974 but it doesn’t mean that much has changed. Many people today, despite their advanced educations, more sophisticated jobs, more options for work, still feel the same way. Their jobs are unfulfilling and do not demand much from them. But they need the jobs; they need the money or the health care benefits that the jobs bring.



Like Rafiki said, we spend too much time working and not thinking about what changes we can make. The little time we spend thinking we do it at a surface level and the options seem near impossible to attain . . . a new career requires possibly going back to school; entrepreneurship requires a good-to-great idea or massive capital. Of course, nothing good comes easy but most of the time it seems easier to stay where we are than to try something new.



Rafiki’s article reminded me that a few years ago I had attended a talk on Solo-preneuring™ by Cathy Stucker that was very eye-opening, mainly for its simplicity. At the time I decided I would attempt it immediately but I let life and that soul-draining job get in the way i.e. I did nothing.



I dug through several cartons of books to find the manual I bought when I attended her talk. The manual is called “Solo-preneuring™ - The Art of Earning a Living Without a Job; The Self-Help Guide For Those Who Want To Escape Corporate Bondage And Find Success Doing What They Love!” by Cathy Stucker. It is available on her website at http://www.idealady.com/.



In a nut shell Stucker says, “The Solo-preneur™ is someone who has found a way to make money from her interests. One can earn money from a part-time job, contract or temp work, direct sales, a business, investments or any combination of these sources”. She exhorted us to ask ourselves:

What do I know that others don’t?
What can I do that others can’t?
What can I do that others won’t?
What can I do for others faster, cheaper, better than they can do it for themselves?

What I learnt from the talk was that I can quit my job if I can combine several interests that can generate the combined income that I want while doing work that I enjoy.



When I look at my options from this angle, suddenly it seems a lot easier to start doing the things I want to do. I don’t need some grand plan or great idea or massive amounts of capital to start. You too can start small and depending on your drive and ambitions you could scale up as much as you want, if you want.



Solo-preneuring™ is an unfamiliar term but it is one that we are actually very familiar with. Think about it—I will explain in Part 2. Stay tuned.

Thought For The Day