DISCOVERY: 10 signs you're a true solopreneur
Who am I?
What do I want?
What am I here to do?
Answer these three and you will master your life.
As an only child, I never craved siblings. In a roundabout way, I had them.
A brother and sister (to another mother) who were 10 and 8 years my senior played the role of siblings but I always looked upon myself as an only child. My sister left home when she was 15 and my father, mother and I moved away to start a new life in Brisbane when I was 8, leaving my brother to pursue a professional fishing career in our hometown of Gladstone, in north Queensland, Australia.
And so, from 8 years old, I grew up as an only child.
I guess I was used to being on my own. I had few friends in high school, and the ones I chose I kept close. I was the girl with the one best friend rather than several friendship groups. I felt more comfortable this way.
It seems that for me, the seeds of introversion were beginning to sprout from a young age and it was probably my high school formal where I really noticed how different I was. When the music played and the girls danced, I just wanted to disappear into the background and slip out the side door to a place of solitude.
As solopreneurs, we never just wake up one day and decide, I’m going to be a solopreneur. It’s something that creeps up on you following a journey of self-discovery.
I also feel that introversion and solopreneurship link hand in hand, which is unsurprising since true solopreneurs, unlike entrepreneurs, build the business around them, and them alone - hence why this career path has always felt right for me.
So let’s explore the signs you could be a (closet) solopreneur.
These were prevalent for me and if you resonate, the solopreneur path is likely one you too should explore (if you’re not already doing so).
1 / You like to work alone, in a one to one or small group setting.
2 / You’re an introvert.
3 / You don’t consider yourself a team player. (Perhaps you pursued a singular sport growing up, like tennis or swimming.)
4 / People have described you as being a control freak.
5 / You love the idea of starting a business but you have no intention of employing a team of staff or scaling the enterprise.
6 / You value freedom.
7 / You find the laptop lifestyle appealing.
8 / You are curious to how you can turn your creative passion into a business idea or side hustle.
9 / You’re a quick learner and avid multi-tasker.
10 / You don’t feel you need the help of others to be successful.
How many boxes did you tick?
For me, it is all of the above.
Being a solopreneur liberates me to live the life I want. I choose my clients. Set my own hours. Charge what I’m worth. And answer to no boss.
I tried the entrepreneur card when I was 23, setting up my first real estate office. We employed a total of 6 staff at our peak - 4 salespeople, a property manager and a receptionist, but I soon realised how draining this all became for me. It felt like I was the mother of 6 children who needed constant reassurance, guidance and emotional support.
I wasn’t ready to be a mum back then. At 41, I’m still not ready. And not only this, I couldn’t help but feel I could make more money if I just focussed on myself without the burden of staff to worry about.
Years later, I proved myself right.
I went from earning a couple of hundred thousand in the real estate business to three times this amount as an Independent Agent on my own, with just one assistant.
