Farewell, and My 3 Biggest Lessons

The boxes are filling quickly here in my Hudson Valley office as I prepare to move to Chicago to teach business management and strategy at Columbia College Chicago. That means this is the last edition (at least under my watch) of your weekly Working Solo Minute. (And for those just joining us, yes, Working Solo is looking for a new home, and I'm also letting go of eight small business domain names.)

There are so many things to say and people to thank, but in the spirit of providing you value for these 60 seconds you spend with me, I've decided to share my three biggest lessons of the solo life from the last 15 years. The list from which to choose was lengthy, but here's my top trio of candidates:

1. Make it up.
To me, the biggest joy of working solo is that every day presents a blank canvas upon which you get to paint your own vision. Solo newcomers are often eagerly looking for the one "right" path to make their business a success. In truth, there are many ways to reach your goal, and no hard-and-fast rulebook. We just make it up every day. It forces you to tap into your creativity, spontaneity, and spunk in ways that traditional W-2 roles seldom do.

2. Fail (and bounce) fast.
Failure is an inevitable part of any business, but soloists are often hit particularly hard because of the permeable line between one's business and self. What's crucial is to patch up the scraped elbows and knees and get back at it -- and the sooner the better. Trust me, we've all been there. No one travels the solo business path unscathed. It's in the post-failure stage that you can discover what -- and who -- are really important to you, and what metrics define success on your terms.

3. Enjoy the journey.
Like the experience of being a CEO at a major enterprise, the solo worklife can be exhilarating as well as incredibly lonely. If you look at your work as primarily a revenue generator and choose to become a hermit, you've lost out on 50% of the opportunity and 100% of the fun. As longtime readers of this newsletter know, community can be built both virtually as well as face-to-face. To generate that payback however, requires the investment of your time, and a willingness to reach out and connect. Fortunately, the options are abundant, and soloists are forging ties on a global basis these days.

I have been fortunate to make so many of these connections over the past 17 years. My Gratitude List is long and diverse. Thanks to all of you for joining me on this journey (and for your recent heart-felt emails). This is, of course, farewell and not goodbye, for I will be exploring other facets of entrepreneurial thinking. (I'd be delighted if you wish to join my mailing list and stay in touch.) I also look forward to embarking on ventures that can be more readily accessible to many of you, since Chicago is a bit easier to visit than the rural Hudson Valley.

The French have a delightful phrase of goodbye that looks toward the future: à la prochaine -- until the next time. That is my wish to you -- until our paths cross again. And, of course, when that day arrives, I'll want to hear all about your own solo journey.

-- Terri Lonier
Founder, WorkingSolo.com

P.S. You may actually hear from me again on this list -- when the new owner comes on board. For that, we'll all have to stay tuned...