Special Edition: From Layoff to Solopreneur – Reflections On Year 1
It’s been 1 year since I was laid off and decided to turn my modest side hustle into a proper full-time business. Below are my reflections from the past year, and what’s next for me.
GENERAL REFLECTIONS
I can’t count the number of times people used to ask me, “Have you ever thought about becoming an entrepreneur full-time?” My response: “I like the stability of corporate, so I don’t think so.”
Turns out, corporate isn’t all that stable.
When I got laid off On Nov. 15, 2022, I felt all the expected emotions. But as detailed in the LinkedIn post I made in the aftermath, I surprisingly also felt a sense of calmness and excitement.
There’s nothing more empowering than knowing you can make money on your own, and the side hustle work I had done (primarily speaking and course creation) showed me that I had a path forward.
Overall, it was a positive year with growing pains.
There were times I felt stressed — work was often very ad hoc and I had to figure out the right balance of taking on work to make money while also making sure I still had time to focus on scalable activities and ones that didn’t require me to reinvent the wheel each time.
I had to get better at saying “no.” At the start of the year I started writing a book, but quickly got swamped with other projects and decided the book should take a backseat. I had countless people reach out trying to pick my brain or get advice, and I had to get comfortable with politely redirecting them to sign up for a coaching session if they wanted to chat. As someone who loves to mentor and help others, this one’s been one of the most difficult shifts.
I grew my confidence by taking on new challenges I wouldn’t have ever imagined for myself (like facilitating a training for the first time and being interviewed on TV). Never have I tried so many new things in one year, and although I had nerves for each, I also knew that I’d figure it out. I truly believe growth lies in pushing past comfort zones.