Navigating the Transition from Full-Time to Part-Time Solopreneurship
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The Journey of Solopreneurship
Is the entrepreneurial route the right one for you? Should you leave your steady job to pursue your passion, or should you cultivate your business alongside your current employment?
I embarked on a full-time solopreneurship journey during a sabbatical of over a year from my previous job. However, I soon realized that this path may not suit everyone—and it certainly didn’t align with my personal needs. Here’s what I discovered during my experience.
Why I Chose Solopreneurship During My Sabbatical
After spending over a decade in the public sector, my focus had been solely on advancing my career, leaving little room for self-discovery and understanding my true purpose. Hence, I decided to take a sabbatical to explore my passions and interests, finally giving myself the opportunity to pursue something I deeply cared about.
With enthusiasm, I initiated my solo coaching business. Yet, just six months in, the reality of full-time solopreneurship struck me—it was far less glamorous than I had anticipated, and not in line with what I truly needed at this phase of my life. While I remain committed to my coaching venture, I realized that I would be better suited to develop it gradually alongside a full-time job.
Here are five crucial insights I gained that led me to conclude that full-time solopreneurship wasn’t the right fit for me.
Insight #1: The Reality of Solopreneurship
Although solopreneurship offers incredible opportunities to define your passion and serve others, it often comes with unexpected challenges. Transforming your passion into a business requires engaging in tasks that might not excite you, such as extensive administrative work, networking with uncertain outcomes, and frequent social media posts that may yield little engagement.
Freedom is often an illusion; success demands adherence to certain rules. For instance, the most successful coaches are not necessarily the best in their field—they are often the most adept marketers. This may mean consistently posting on social media, even on weekends, and prioritizing business principles over personal desires.
While these factors might not dissuade you from pursuing solopreneurship, it’s essential to grasp the full scope of what it entails.
Insight #2: Meeting Your Human Needs
Full-time solopreneurship can compromise basic human needs such as companionship, certainty, and stability. The solitude of working alone can be isolating; I quickly learned how much I missed collaborating with a team. I began to frequent coffee shops in search of social interaction, but that still didn’t fulfill my need for belonging.
Opting for full-time solopreneurship often means embracing a life filled with uncertainty. While learning to manage uncertainty is vital, it's important to question whether you wish to navigate a path laden with overwhelming instability.
The lack of essential needs being met during my solopreneur journey impacted my motivation and energy levels. There were days when getting out of bed felt more challenging than when I was employed.
Insight #3: The Benefits of a Steady Job
Maintaining a full-time position while building a business can provide numerous advantages beyond financial stability. The experience, skills, and networks developed in a job can significantly enhance your entrepreneurial efforts.
Your professional background can establish you as a credible expert in your field, which is crucial for personal branding and entrepreneurial success. Additionally, the stability of a job allows for greater creativity and boldness in your business pursuits, freeing you from the pressure of making your venture succeed overnight.
Insight #4: Prioritizing Energy Over Income
In the early stages of your entrepreneurial journey, it’s essential to harness your passion and energy. However, I found that the unmet needs of a full-time solopreneur made sustaining that energy more challenging.
Transitioning from corporate to entrepreneurial life often comes with heightened stress and anxiety, which can overshadow the excitement you anticipated. Rather than rushing to quit your job, consider building your business gradually alongside stable employment for long-term sustainability.
“At the early stages of a creative entrepreneurial journey, you need to follow energy and not money.” — Paul Millerd, author of ‘The Pathless Path’.
Insight #5: Aligning Solopreneurship with Career Goals
If your goal is to become a solopreneur coach quickly, quitting your job may seem like the right move. However, that wasn't my long-term career vision. I aspire to integrate coaching with public service and well-being, making it logical for me to retain a job while pursuing coaching on the side.
Consider whether your solopreneurship aligns with your career aspirations. If it’s merely a reaction to job dissatisfaction, it may not contribute to your long-term goals. Understanding where solopreneurship fits in your overall career plan is vital for making informed decisions about the timing and approach of your entrepreneurial journey.
Are You Cut Out for Full-Time Solopreneurship?
To thrive as a full-time solopreneur, you need certain qualities:
- Discipline and organization
- A strong sense of purpose and passion
- A proactive, entrepreneurial mindset
While I believed I possessed these qualities, my journey revealed the need for additional traits:
- Comfort with mundane tasks and following guidelines
- A preference for autonomy over team dynamics
- Flexibility over stability
- Acceptance of loneliness, uncertainty, and potential financial instability during the initial years of business growth
These characteristics are essential for enduring the challenges of full-time solopreneurship.
Ultimately, I’m grateful for my full-time solopreneurship experience, as it provided invaluable insights into my career path. If you feel drawn to solopreneurship, pursue it, but do so with awareness. Determine whether full-time or part-time entrepreneurship aligns better with your circumstances and aspirations.
Thank you for reading. I write to inspire and empower others. If you found this piece valuable, please follow my profile to stay updated on future articles. I specialize in helping mid-career women escape feelings of stagnation and build fulfilling lives. Reach out for a complimentary one-hour discovery call to explore how I can assist you on your journey.
In this video titled "3 Years As A Full-Time Solopreneur," the creator shares their journey from part-time to full-time authorship, outlining the highs and lows of the transition.
The video "Do I Regret Going Back to a 9-5?" explores the creator's reflections on their decision to return to traditional employment after a period of solopreneurship.