#7: Solopreneurship - A great way to Try Life On

I’ve been a real estate entrepreneur since 2003. It hit a crescendo in 2019 when I founded Quattro Capital (thequattroway.com) with partners. We are a private equity firm partnering with investors to buy apartment buildings and other assets. We’ve purchased $200M+ of real estate since and I’m proud of that. Glad it happened because I retired from W-2 careers of IT Consulting and Law Enforcement in 2021. Then I simply walked into this pre-built business.

But let’s be honest, it’s another 9-5 job and isn’t always flexible. I’m very busy at times (although I love it). And not everyone wants to be a real estate investor. So how to generate active income with more flexibility for lifestyle?

That’s where solopreneurship comes in.

I’m an ‘accidental’ solopreneur since 2022. It’s a powerful tool for designing your lifestyle. Let me distill how it happened and the benefits around it to build the lifestyle you don’t need a vacation from.

How my solopreneur business formed:

Two years before retiring, I unintentionally started my 'personal brand', posting on being corporate while also a policeman, a military federal agent, an investor, and a traveler of 100 countries 300 times. Also shared concepts leading to my financial freedom journey, views lifestyle design, etc. It resonated.

People started asking me to coach and consult. I started doing so via email, and phone calls and used PayPal ad hoc for payments. I later realized it made sense to build a platform to serve customers.

So, I built a platform:

1. Created a mission statement – Help people build a lifestyle they don’t need a vacation from.
2. Sought advice – Several paid calls with folks already coaching online and who understood the needed virtual tools and processes behind it.

3. Built a curriculum – Given 25 years of consulting and law enforcement, my entire professional history is one of helping people on the fly. I can naturally leverage personality and professional knowledge to drive solutions, but I needed a curriculum - a general outline to be consistent in delivery (it’s naturally evolving over time).
4.  Packaged Information – For each curriculum point, packaged information so I could find it easily when needed. For example, tools and tips on travel hacking to support geographic freedom are readily available. In addition, I created a list of ‘Try Life On’ principles (based on my experiences and those of students) to facilitate appropriate conversation. I created a lifestyle and financial blueprint template to leverage to use in reverse engineering student lifestyles. 
5.  Technology – Paid for the creation of a Kajabi website,  integrated with Stripe for payments. It organizes clients/student files and allows me to store videos and other media supporting the curriculum. I use Zoom for calls and video recording and Calendly to schedule. That’s it. 
6.  Optimized the Process – Adapt and make updates as you go. Simply course correct along the way. My delivery, curriculum, and conversations continue to improve because of lessons learned and tracking results of over 100+ students. I see my students transforming, and it’s incredible. 
7.  Finding students – I post on LinkedIn and Instagram about Lifestyle Design, Real estate, financial & time freedom, etc. It showcases knowledge and a genuine desire to help. Over time, students find me through the website or Direct Message. I have a discovery call to see if we are a match to work together. If we are and agree, we get rolling! 

 Nothing fancy. That’s how I formed a solopreneur business. Took me less than 6 months to get to full capacity. Got help and just did it. You can too.

This is an example of the Try Life On principle – Just do it, and course correct along the way. Stop with the analysis paralysis. If you want to be a solopreneur and change your work lifestyle, do it.

How do I do it and what benefits are there to lifestyle design:

You’re an IT professional, Certified Public Accountant, Nurse Practitioner, Teacher, Small Business Owner, etc. Whatever the case you have knowledge someone needs and will pay for. LinkedIn alone has 930 million protentional customers. You just have to attract 10+ and you have a business!

1. Generate revenue on your own terms.
2. Set your own schedule. You don’t work 60 hours a week.
3. It’s not rocket science. You’re leveraging years 9-5 knowledge you already have.
4. The flexibility of a work model allows you to have the lifestyle you desire.

 Life changes when you operate on your own terms.

You don’t have to build a massive company to have a lifestyle.

Take a shot at solopreneurship.

Try Life On.