Celebrating Ten Years as a Solopreneur

This Wednesday, June 1, 2022, is a fairly momentous day for me. It marks ten years since I first became a solopreneur. Data shows that 70% of US businesses fail before they reach the ten-year mark, so I do have something to celebrate.

As I pondered how I would celebrate, I thought I would give thanks. Although I am a solopreneur, I do not work in a vacuum. If I didn’t have clients, there would be no work to do. So, I give thanks for all the people and organizations that I’ve worked with over the past ten years. If I didn’t have a support network of professionals upholding me in everything ranging from website assistance to my own spiritual director, I wouldn’t be able to sustain this work. If I didn’t have family and friends who believed in me, I could not have imagined taking the plunge.

As I have spent time giving thanks, one particular person came to mind. She is just one example of many I could have shared. She was a colleague of mine as I was preparing to leave my job and become a freelance contractor. She supported me by helping design my first logos for Embodied Prayer (pictured above, which I still use today, though the color palette has changed to match my other logos) and Communication Clarified. She knew how to use design programs and was willing to give of her time, energy, and creativity to support my fledgling business in this small, but important, way. I am grateful to her, and so many others who have helped me along the path.

As I mark ten years doing this work, some things have changed while others have stayed the same. Embodied Prayer is a very small subset of the spiritual work that I do today, while Communication Clarified continues to be a primary source of income and inspiration. I could not have imagined, ten years ago, that I would be on the leadership team of a spiritual directors training program. I also had no idea about all the marvelous people I would meet and learn from as I worked to support their endeavors and invigorate their ministries.

It’s an honor to be doing this work of editing, writing, spiritual guidance, and retreat leadership. I am grateful, in a time when so many are struggling to find jobs with a living wage, that I am able, as Henry likes to say, to keep him in retirement. I’m also glad to talk with others who are just embarking on the solopreneur journey, to share my experience and support them as a way to give back to the broader contractor community.

I invite you today to pray for all those who are starting businesses in these turbulent times. Pray also for how you might support, in large ways and small, those you know personally who are embarking on something new. Thank you!