So, I thought it would be nice if I introduce myself. My name is Wouter, and I live in the Netherlands. A couple of years ago I decided to quit my job and become a solopreneur. Like most people starting a business, I was kind of overconfident. ‘This will be easy, I can do this!’, is what I thought during my first year of being a solopreneur. About one year later, I discovered that it wasn’t.
A little bit of background
As a kid, I was really into reading. More on the introvert-side of the introvert-extrovert scale, I loved being alone in my room to read, and trying to figure out how the world worked. And building treehouses. I was, and still am, very curious. You could say that my curiosity is my guide in life. It led me to all kinds of interesting adventures.
What I discovered along the way, is that I am curious about lots of things, and extremely curious about some things. That last category is where I most like to focus my daily activity. Once I figure out how it works, I am done. It’s time for a new adventure (this is a recent discovery, throughout my career I wasn’t always aware of this. But that’s a story for another time.).
I had always been working for companies , until I got fed up with that. So, I decided to start my own company. And wow, what an adventure that turned out to be! Entrepreneurship is sometimes called the ultimate self development program. And it absolutely is!
It is fantastic, interesting, fulfilling and amazing. And also, it sucks. From time to time it can feel like trying to cross the ocean in a kayak. In a storm. All by yourself. You paddle, make distance, a wave comes, and puts you where you were days ago. Or at least, that’s how it feels. It can feel pretty lonely at times. You will have moments, sometimes long moments, you just want to quit. But man, that feeling when you get to the other side, there’s just nothing that beats that feeling.
Being a solopreneur is about trying to figure out who you are, what you have to offer to the world. It’s about growing as a person. Tackling your inner demons (because if you don’t, it will haunt you untill you do…). I really fell in love with being a solopreneur. And when I hit my nose a couple of times, it really triggered me. I became a little obsessed with trying to figure out how to build my business of one.
The lessons I learn, I want to share here with you. In the form of sort-of-blog-like-articles about my own adventures, and in-depth articles on specific topics (like how to figure out what sort of business to build, among other things). Just trying to boil it down to the basics, without the BS, not sugarcoating anything.
Being a solopreneur is absolutely fantastic. But it’s not an easy road. Lots of people write about entrepreneurship, mostly about the highs, not much about the lows. That’s not me, I like to look at the complete picture. Highs, lows, and everything in between. If you like this realistic approach, I would much appreciate it if you subscribe to my substack!