Meditations on Going Solo

It's been over a month since I left Current TV to pursue Ypulse full time. It's been quite an adventure. I've been throwing ideas out there to see which ones might stick and figuring out where I really want to focus. I've done a couple consulting gigs, lots of speaking and more blogging with the book site. Here's what I'm learning:

When the brand is "you," you work 10 times harder and longer. Working from home makes separating "You, Inc." from you the person (with a husband and a life) very challenging. Even so, this boundary is essential to staying sane. I need to work on this more.

Time management and prioritization are key to staying focused and productive. I have not mastered this yet. My husband gave me a checklist to use called "When is something worth doing?" My problem is I feel obligated to respond to everyone and can spend tons of time just doing that. I constantly feel overwhelmed and overcommitted.

I need a shtick - Just as my former boss Al Gore took his amazing Power Point on global warming from speaking engagement to speaking engagement, I need a core presentation I can work from…ideally one with less bullet points and text and more big images/audio/video. I need to cystalize my message and perfect expressing it. Public speaking is a theatrical performance — I'm still working on getting over my stage fright.

I need a mentor and other solo entrepreneurs to commune with. I miss my colleagues. I miss joking with them, socializing with them, and most of all bouncing ideas off them. Working from home can be very isolating. I'm pushing myself to meet people for coffees/lunch and other reasons to leave the house. If there are other solo-preneurs in SF who want to meet up for drinks, let me know.

I also feel like you can only use your spouse as a sounding board so much before they start to glaze over. I would love to find a mentor. Someone who has done this (gone the "expert" route and been successful). I've heard Faith Popcorn's name mentioned to me twice now in the past few weeks….

I'm sweating the little stuff. Invoicing people, saving receipts, keeping my travel itineraries organized, coding my own newsletter, getting new biz cards, letterhead, etc. All not so fun when you're not a detail person. I have an awsome bookkeeper who is helping me, but it's still hard to keep everything straight. It may be time for an intern.

Get as much information as possible before taking a gig as a consultant or outside expert. About the brand, about their expectations of you, about any politics or dynamics that may be at play. Working on a presentation is just part of the job.

Finally, I have to stop beating myself up and realize everything is a learning experience. Constructive feedback will only help me get better — it doesn't mean I'm a failure. I've always been my own worst critic, so when I get criticism from somewhere else, it's like a double whammy. I am trying to learn to roll with the punches, chalk everything up as learning, dust myself off and keep going. Stay positive.

I've decided to continue to explore doing a Totally Wired conference in the fall of 2007 (good news: The MacArthur Foundation is interested in exploring how we can work together to shape an education and society track) and to wait on launching any type of premium subscription product for now. I will continue to organize Ypulse Teen Media Mashups and launch the teen podcast in order to strengthen the Ypulse brand. But this year is really all about promoting the book and seeing what doors it will open for the future…

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