Corporate jobs are not evil. Solopreneurship is not pure.

The internet loves extremes. But most careers—like most lives—live in the messy middle.

Maybe it’s time we stop romanticizing solopreneurship.

This thought has been lingering in my mind for a while, but I haven’t found the right opportunity to write about it. I feel “now” is the time. I realize that some of you will resonate with this idea, while most others may not. But that is fine. I want this idea to exist on the internet. So here we are…

For the past 5+ years, there has been a lot of buzz around solopreneurship, a word no one even recognized a few years ago. In the same context, corporate jobs are being viewed as evil, unfulfilling & a pointless pursuit. I cringe whenever I come across people with such hard-set opinions, and I disagree quite strongly. Keep in mind that this is coming from someone who has been living both corporate and entrepreneurial lives for about 3 years now.

All jobs are not created equal

When people take a dig at corporate jobs or 9-5 jobs in general, there is an underlying assumption that all jobs are created equal, which is absurd to begin with. In fact, it only shows people’s lack of in-depth knowledge on the subject. For instance, I live & work in Silicon Valley, California - home of all the technological advancements you have witnessed so far in your lives. Heck, there’s a 99% chance that the device you are using to read this very article was designed here. In here, even an entry-level software engineer is likely to make 2X more than what 90% of the solopreneurs would ever end up making in a year. But I also know there are jobs in other parts of America where the work is ‘meh’ & the salary is ‘piss poor’ to say the least. So, I always struggle to know where to draw that line when people generically ditch all “corporate jobs”.

I know people in corporate America who are extremely happy where they are, as they seem to have figured out a way to fit the work into their lives, rather than the other way around. In the same token, I also have a few friends in Tech who are multi-millionaires with their mortgage paid off, finances sorted out for themselves as well as for their kids. Truth be told, they all seem to have great lives, but there is one major difference between them and the rest - most of them are not on the internet touting their achievements. They are the quiet achievers - ambitious, calm, collected & ‘get the job done’ types.

Alignment over popularity

I have worked in corporate America for about 15 years now, the last 6 of which have been in high-tech. My perspective on the kind of life I want to build for myself has changed over the years, especially after having kids. What I’m trying to build now truly aligns with what I want to do, and not because some social media sensation influenced me to do so. That right there is the key distinction for me.

There is so much bad advice floating around on the internet that I feel sorry for people who are genuinely trying to seek meaningful career advice but end up with garbage. I believe that, if you don’t give yourself permission to try whatever the f*ck you want to try, specifically early on in your career, you’ll never truly understand what you like & don’t like. I’m not asking you to go crazy and try 10 jobs in a year- that’s meaningless. Instead, be thoughtful about it, listen to yourself, and find a job or a skill that interests you. After that, spend atleast 6 months before you decide to pivot.

But I understand, becoming an FT creator sounds lucrative - time freedom, location freedom, directional freedom & uncapped revenue potential, but if you haven’t done anything interesting in your life leading up to that, 9 out of 10 times, you are going to fail at it. Just for additional context, most of the solopreneurs/creators that you revere today have had prior experience working for a company or learning skills through freelancing at the very least. The last thing anyone wants to hear is “how to start a business from someone who has never started a business, even once. You don't want to be that person!

Choose your hard:

What’s funny to me is that people talk about the cons of working corporate jobs, such as committing to 40-60 hrs/week, working for another person, becoming a slave to the paycheck, etc, but they conveniently forget that 90% of the new businesses fail - 70% of which fail within the 1st year and they are likely to have made 0 money. Now, you should decide for yourself as to what the right path is.

Starting a company is hard. Raising money is hard. Building an audience is hard. Crafting your corporate career is hard. Writing a book is hard. Becoming a well-known artist is hard. Choose your hard. But, no matter what you choose, do it for the love of it.

Lastly, before I let you go, I want to make one thing clear. In a world that is filled with a glut of garbage information, learn to trust your inner compass more than anything else. More often than not, it’ll lead you on the right path.

I’m curious to know your thoughts on this?

Until next time, keep building on your terms!

-Raghav.B