Turns out this week it's my 28th year as a solo practitioner.

Turns out this week it's my 28th year as a solo practitioner.

Who’d have thought it. Not me. I’m not good at keeping track of these things.

But I saw a post of someone celebrating 121 days since leaving their corporate job for a freelance career. For some reason that prompted me to look and see how many days I have done.

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The last time I had a boss was 28 years ago this week.

When I set out as a solo practitioner (not a solopreneur) I knew I’d never employ other people. Why?




Instead I wanted to focus on my practice. I wanted to make it as a remarkable facilitator and coach.

And I think I achieved that:

↳ High-stakes meetings for some of the biggest companies in the IT sector.
↳ Sparring Partner for top executives working on their agenda.
↳ Helping leaders build high-performance organisations.
↳ Influencing high-touch B2B sales team outcomes.
↳ Coaching consultants to find and sell projects.

Now, it’s tempting to write the 28 things I learnt in 28 years of business.

But I’ll spare us both that agony.

Instead 4 pieces of advice I’d offer my younger self, knowing what I now know:

1/ Build a bigger network before you leave your job.
2/ Stop telling clients about what you do, they don’t care. They want outcomes.
3/ Trust your gut - don’t take on the wrong clients. They’re a pain in the arse.
4/ Treasure people your work impacts most. They’ll inspire you to keep going.

Is that all?

No, there's always one more lesson.

5/ Start writing earlier. Ship something each and every day, if only a few words.

Now, I wonder what I’ll be saying when I do this again in 2052?