This month, I celebrate my 4th solopreneur anniversary!
I will share my journey with you, if starting my own business was a good decision for me and my favorite lessons so far.
I had no "real" reason to quit my job and leap into the unknown.
After my master's, I worked for a fantastic global company with good career opportunities and wonderful colleagues. I met my best friend and soulmate at work.
I remember my mum asking me several times back at the beginning of 2019 (who herself has been working independently for over 30 years now, by the way): are you sure you want to give up such a promising career you worked so hard for?
There was only this growing itch inside me when I turned 30 that I wanted more adventure in my life, to go with the flow, be free and create my path. So the first thing I did in April 2019, I bought a ticket to Indonesia to celebrate my independence (see picture below).
After a year of relentless travel without a permanent base, I learned during the pandemic that I perform best when I have a home, healthy routines, and a community. The digital nomad style isn't for me.
I moved to Portugal in the summer of 2020, never thinking I would like it so much that I am still here. I have since worked with many international private and corporate clients virtually and, lately, in person again.
So what is my resume? Was the leap the right decision?
You learn your lessons one way or another. For me, it was an accelerator for my personal growth. It was very confronting and, at the same time, exhilarating to be suddenly responsible for all areas of my business: creativity, product creation, sales, finances, delivery, customer care, and marketing ;)
Suddenly, you cannot complain about your boss or company culture, so you must deal with your own shit. I realized how easily I can go into survival, hustle, and workaholic mode when I am not mindful. Why? I took myself, fears, conditionings, and patterns with me.
I had and still do much inner work and learned to trust and believe in myself more than ever. Your inner world is reflected in the outside reality.
Here are my three favorite lessons I am learning about working with heart at the moment:
1. Don't be a pretzel.
I am allowing myself more and more to show up as my whole self in my business.
Example: Instead of being different and adapting to the various corporate cultures and clients I work for, I realized my work is more impactful when I step into my full power and allow myself to be my feminine, free, wild self everywhere I go.
If I go "off the script" and speak from my intuition, I create aha moments and transformations and touch people's hearts.
Honor your values.
Don't put yourself under pressure, and follow someone else's strategy. Get to know yourself, find out what makes you unique, and what working in flow looks like.
I know these 6 figure business coaches and wonder formulas for how to become an overnight success sound intriguing, but there is no shortcut.
Go at your own pace. It might take 3, 5, 10, or more years, but you don't have to burn yourself out to compete with someone else's success measures.
Your personal development (and healing) and business growth go hand in hand.
2. Choose your success metrics wisely.
Wealth and abundance are not just measured in financial success. How does my money flow serve me if I don't have time for my relationships, for example, and end up pushing everyone away to "focus on my business ."
Unfortunately, I used to believe that romantic relationships were just a distraction.
I asked myself: Why am I running constantly towards the next achievement? To whom do I have to prove myself? What is left if all your success and achievements are stripped away?
Tony Robbins said, "Success without fulfillment is the biggest failure."
My personal life and deep connections are my foundation and are more important than outside achievements.
3. Balance BEING and DOING
As an ambitious person, it is lovely to be driven by a vision and goals to keep evolving and moving forward.
I am learning again this year to balance my masculine and feminine energy.
There is no creativity without rest.
I cannot plan, control, and force my way through life.
The more I learn to surrender, pause, and be present for what is happening, the more I can receive with ease and allow beautiful things to unfold.
The biggest lesson I learned in the last four years is that no matter what work path we choose, things will flow if we do our work aligned with our true self and heart (not just mind).
This requires knowing how to listen to your intuition, the courage to act accordingly, learning and readjusting when things go sideways, asking for help, setting boundaries, managing your precious energy, and so on - its definitely a life-long learning journey 😅
I hope this inspires you to follow your heart and do your career and business your way. Get in touch with me if you would like to learn more.