WHO IS THIS BOOK FOR?

You’ve had enough.

You’ve had enough of…

working all the hours to put money in someone else’s pockets,

the micromanaging boss or toxic colleagues (or both), 

the not being listened to (or heard), 

the lack of opportunities to grow, 

the being taken for granted, 

the lack of recognition,

the lack of fulfilment,

the commute, 

the bullshit, 

or the pay.

Or something else I’ve not listed. It’ll be personal to you. But these things have got on top of you, messed with your mind, and made you feel unhappy for too long.

Well, rest easy my friend. As Tom Jones would say, it’s not unusual. Trust me, you are not the only one who feels like this. You hear people say “We’re in the same boat”, but I’d argue all the boats and all the treacherous waters differ in their capacity to drown us. It’s our resolve, our mindset, and at times our bloody pluckiness that’ll not only keep us afloat, but get us safely to the promised land.

You’ve spent years building your career, working for a manager (or if you’re lucky, a leader) and going through the annual cycle, year after year. You may have switched jobs, moved companies, and even changed disciplines or sectors, each time learning new skills—job-specific and ‘people’ skills. What we used to call ‘interpersonal skills’. 

In fact, every day you have become microscopically better, more capable, and closer to operating in your ‘Zone of Genius’.

How many times have you met up with family or friends with kids you haven’t seen in ages, and used those well-worn phrases that we always promised ourselves we wouldn’t say? Phrases like “haven’t you grown” and “I remember when you were this high”. We say them for a reason. 

At the time of writing, my son is 14 years old. Sometimes he can go to bed and get up in the morning looking an inch taller.

It’s time that does this. The passage of time is an incredible thing and when we’re left to our own devices, while no one is watching (not even ourselves), things are growing, evolving, and imperceptibly changing both in and all around us. 

It’s for this reason I believe that you more than likely won’t know how good you really are. Others will see it. They might even tell you. But more often than not, you’ll brush it off (particularly in the UK where we’re terrible at receiving compliments) or just not believe what you’re hearing. Or perhaps it just doesn’t happen regularly enough to make much of an impact. 

A bit like a light snowfall, there’s never quite enough of it coming to settle properly, so it just sits and quietly melts away.

Your metaphorical tool bag is brimming with years (decades?) of capability that’s not getting used day to day, and sometimes, in a moment of calm reflection (or more likely in the car, on the train, or just as your head hits the pillow), you might have thought about what else you could do with it. 

You may well be fed up. Fed up with corporate life, managers, brown nosing (‘alignment’), and trying to get people to buy into your ideas who give less of a shit about you and your ideas than you can imagine. I’d describe that as corporate wankery.

Perhaps you’ve been made redundant. It happens, and it can be unpleasant. But it can also provide you with new options, maybe with a bit of extra money in your bank account.

Maybe you see self-employment as an opportunity to earn more, do more of what you enjoy, or balance home and work life your way. Or all three. 

You may be bumbling along in a safe role and have just got fed up with it, but find yourself with no clear or obvious progression path even if you wanted one. And you wouldn’t be alone: 80 per cent of people I asked about reasons for seeking a job change said their primary motive for leaving a business or role was not being stretched enough. Not because of pay, a boss who’s a dick, or anything else.

Not being stretched enough. 

I can confirm that going it alone at any stage of your career, no matter how you do it, is stretching.

What if you could channel that capacity for growth (personal, experience, income), and divert some of those skills, aptitudes, and knowledge from paid employment into building something of your own. Or at least taking a bit more control over your life.

Imagine having people or organisations (or both) pay you directly to help them better understand their problems and then solve them. Whether through a simple product like a two-page PDF tutorial or guide, through consulting sessions, or by working with them on an interim basis through your own limited company. Think about it. 

If you’ve got this far through this introduction, the chances are you probably have thought about it. Perhaps quite a lot. But you need a shove in the right direction. 

Why? 

Because you’re plagued with self-doubt. 

You’re scared of something. 

You worry about failure. The financial risk. 

And what people might think or say about you. 

I mean, who would buy from you anyway? 

And even if they did, what would you sell? 

In short, you don’t think you’re enough. 

But trust me (and all the other solopreneurs in all industries that have strapped in and gone for it): you are enough. And if you haven’t received a lot of validating praise in your life, let me say it again. 

YOU are enough. 

You ARE enough. 

You are ENOUGH. 

YOU. ARE. ENOUGH. 

This book is for you if you have desires on selling what you know, but don’t feel you’ve got what it takes. But you want to go it alone. Enough is enough. 

It’s time for action.