The solo indie journey might start differently. From the dream or idea that does not exist. From the opportunity or a gap you saw on the market. From the first traction coming as pet project. I might become a trial or training grounds. But I have joined it to bring at least some clarity and fight the boredom. It was not exactly what I’ve been expecting.

Starting this journey was a way to keep going. I did not want to get back to the vacuum I was before. It happened right when I took a pause to improve my health and restart my life. I saw it was not going into the right direction. But I did not wanted to spend the rest of my life on pause. And I was not willing to hop on the job searching train. I’ve been in many places, seen many companies from the inside. Most of these are the same. There are few types, different mottos, labels and logos. Inside it’s hypocrisy wrapped up into rules and “unique approach”. Then I learned there are people who work on their own, offering problem solutions that they build and market themselves. I saw this as a freedom and the fire inside me started to burn.

When you observe solo entrepreneurs on tweeter - it might look encouraging. If you love freedom, like I do, you might find it tempting. In reality there is even more freedom. Too much freedom. And while I was making first steps I realized how far I was from the point I have to be to make it work.

First freedom - is freedom of working alone. A blessing and a curse. I understood that when I joined a team. I spent my budget on learning, building, trying to publishing. Building myself. And then I had to go and exchange my time for the money. Just like I’ve been doing before. But I was observing even more precisely what happens around. And yes - having a team with you is easier. It depends on the approach, though. I was not feeling lonely, yet I was still feeling the pressure of leading people, providing clarity and direction for them. And it was tough because I still was missing it myself. This way I learned - having someone on top of you does not guarantee a comfort of having clarity. Not everyone is able to deal with leadership. At some point politics has better ROI.

Here are the outcomes of this story: 1) Solo journey is solo. Nobody to share the reward, nobody to share the problems with. You have to figure out the direction and create clarity for yourself. 2) Even you’re not solo - it guarantees nothing, and you still might feel lost, lacking clarity, understanding of the directions. And the worst - there is nothing much you can do about it.

In the next article I will share what I was missing and what I learned and how it made me a better lead.