I’m not sure why it took me so many years to finally leverage one of the best perks of a flexible solopreneur business. I think it’s because I had spent my entire adult life working the way my employers wanted me to work. I thought it was the way I had to work.
I spent decades sitting in a corporate office staring at walls, my coworkers’ faces, and computer screens. If I was lucky, I might have a window view so I could observe the day going by outside.
I remember seeing nice weather and feeling miserable under the fluorescent lights and surrounded by drab cubicle walls. Occasionally, my wife would call to let me know that she was taking the kids to the beach in Santa Cruz for the day. Or, they’d be spending a Friday hiking and exploring the nearby redwood forest. Sigh…
Sadly, when I left the corporate world behind and started my own business about 13 years ago, I absentmindedly “leashed myself” to the desk in my home office. Sometimes, I’d sit in an armchair in the living room with my laptop.
One day, I woke up and said, “What in the heck am I doing? Why am I sitting here at home in a tiny room staring at a screen and a wall all day? I can work anywhere!”
So, slowly but surely, I forced myself out of my decades-old habits and began working in different places. I went out into the big beautiful world around me. When all you need is a laptop, phone, and wireless, the world is your oyster!
Over the past 13 years, I’ve worked from:
Cozy cafes and riverside benches in Melbourne, Australia.
A beachside AirBnB and the beach itself in Maui.
A cabin and jacuzzi in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
An historic cafe in Paris, France.
A swanky hotel and poolside bar in Beverly Hills.
A coffee shop right across from Central Park in Manhattan.
A rooftop ski resort bar in between enjoying runs on the mountain.
A restaurant with a lovely view of Lake Tahoe.
An isolated cove and beach near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
My favorite local coffee shop nearby.
Don’t be like me and waste years of your entrepreneurial life working in the traditional manner you’ve become accustomed to, simply because your employers forced you to work that way.
Instead, have fun! Explore the world! Blend your work with the exciting life that your location-independent business enables for you.
As a solopreneur, I love that I can blend work and play throughout my day. I never sit down in an office and work 8 hours straight. I no longer draw a hard line between my life and my business.
For example, I go skiing for a couple of hours in the morning, take a break for lunch and write on my IPad for an hour in the lodge, ski some more, take another afternoon break and respond to emails and messages, and so on. I flow back and forth between fun and work.
It sure beats the heck out of being locked up in a corporate office and working for 8-12 hours straight (like I used to do)! In my old life as an employee, I wanted a hard boundary between my day job and my personal life. That’s doesn’t have to exist when you run your own business, love what you do, and decide how, when, and where you will work!
I don't mind blending work and life when I'm in control of how and when I do it. You might find that you enjoy this type of flexibility, too. This is one of the best perks of being a solopreneur, so make sure you take full advantage of it!
Hi, I’m Larry Cornett, a coach who can work with you 1-on-1 to design, launch, and optimize your business. You might also be interested in my “Employee to Solopreneur” workshop (coming soon). I currently live in Northern California near Lake Tahoe with my wife and a gigantic Great Dane while running my businesses 100% remotely. BTW, I’m going skiing again today — because I can! I’ll bring my phone so I can get some work done between runs.