Community for Solo Professionals – Who We Are, What We Need
I’ve spent much of the past six months traveling for the sole purpose of meeting and connecting with solo professionals all over the U.S. (and a few overseas, as well). Here’s what I know right now.
We are the strength of economic recovery. We are out there meeting, creating, and serving others in new, creative ways. Our energy and enthusiasm are of tremendous value to the world.
We are collaborative. The new model of wildly successful business is collaborative, not competitive. Sit around a table with other solo professionals and inevitably ideas flow faster than the wine. We get it that there is goodness and profit in pooling our expertise together in new ways.
We are hard workers, but we love our recuperation time, too. We understand that entrepreneurs work and play at a difference pace, and that our down time is actually the incubation time for new ventures.
We can do business anytime, anywhere (so long as we have electricity or a good battery, ha!). We provide service and value way outside of the “8 to 5” and it benefits our customers and ourselves.
We are positive thinkers. We turn whines into introspection and then into action. We don’t wallow in excuses. We love to create and make things happen. We think out of the box and encourage others to do so, too.
We thrive in community. We NEED to be with other entrepreneurs from time to time.
Many of us have been very successful in the 8-to-5 world even though we never fit the structure very well. We are expert at bring the skills we honed in that environment out into our more flexible work space, and pairing those skills with the nimbleness of less bureaucracy.
We think globally. The entrepreneur nation is largely without borders.
For the most part, we are helpful. We will connect with someone we’ve never met by e-mail and end up answering questions for each other. Connections are quick. We look to our networked world for quick questions and answers, especially in technology.
The creation of virtual communities among entrepreneurs not only fosters new business, but gives those of us who work in this way a place to find like people. The Internet is our break room, our water cooler, our common coffee pot. If the traits listed here fit you, and the 8-to-5 world doesn’t, then welcome aboard. Step up and out, and you’ll find your niche.
© Sue Painter
About the Author: Sue Painter encourages people who want to leave their job to assess and plan before making the jump. You can find her tips for entrepreneurs and solo professionals at https://www.confidentmarketer.com . Sue, who left “work” 12 years ago now, has successfully created two businesses and can guide you to creating yours, as well.