Starting as a “solopreneur” – my learnings from a rollercoaster ride

Another one of those year end Seasons Greetings messages🤪. I really feel the urge to share a reflection of this special year with you.

After being employed for 25 years in different fantastic companies, learning loads of stuff and gaining even more practical experience, I decided to open a new chapter in my working life: as a freelance consultant and interim manager.

👉🏻 You have no clue what it will be like until you do it!

Before I made the decision I thought about all the aspects and how this will work out. However, things turned out very differently.

👉🏻 I learned a lot – also about myself!

The challenges of being completely on my own and starting from scratch are very different from what I knew. Getting into a work routine by yourself, being a rookie in your job (again), coping with frustration and the loss of security are not easy. It showed me parts of my personality I did not know.

👉🏻 I am no different!

Many people out there share their experience in this change. All of it holds true, even though I had hoped that things work out a lot easier for me. This holds true for the bad things
– needing months to get everything ready and first contacts
– more months to get serious with first clients
– yet more months to successfully sign a project and
way more months to get revenues

But it also holds true for the good things
– success will come if you persevere

👉🏻 Life repeats itself, the change curve cannot be avoided!

I made a couple of significant decisions for change in my life. And the pattern is always the same:
– The reasons for the change have all been the right ones.
– After the euphoria in the beginning I go through a deep valley of frustration and doubt the decision made.
– The change turns out to be good and I gain much more experience than I ever imagined.
– If I had known what I was getting myself into, I would not have done it – but it would have been a big mistake not to do it.

Thanks to all of you for supporting my change – especially to my partner Nicole Anne Werner and my family for enduring me and giving me security and motivation in the bad times and enjoying the good times with me.

I wish all of you relaxing holidays and a healthy start into 2024. I have a lot of confidence that it will be a good year with yet more learnings.

Share your experience of 2023 in the comments!