This is Angle #3 of the “Is self-employment a good fit?” framework.
Catch-up links below.

It shouldn’t surprise you to hear me say that your unique insights and IP provide the foundation for a differentiated and sustainable consulting business.

More than your resume or your demeanor, it’s your POVs on your domain that will drive your reputation, roster, and revenue.

But even the most polished and pressure-tested POVs are essentially worthless if you don’t get on your soapbox and actually share them.

The question here is: Are you comfortable sharing your ideas?

Sharing can mean in any form (presentation, conversation, writing, online discussion) and any fidelity (from stray thoughts, to rehearsed talks, to defensible theses).

To gauge your comfort on your soapbox, consider the following:

Professional/corporate behaviors:

• Do you seek out opportunities to present your work, internally or at industry events?
• Have you ever hosted a webinar or training session?
• If something doesn’t make sense to you in a team meeting, do you ask live questions?
• During offsites or retrospectives, do you share constructive feedback that’s hard to hear?
• Have you ever been interviewed for radio, print, TV, or podcasts?

Personal behaviors:

• Do you engage in productive conversations or debates on social platforms (e.g. Reddit, Discord, Facebook, Twitter/X)?
• Do you have a regular or semi-regular content creation practice as a hobby (e.g. writing, podcasting, blogging, vlogging)?
• Do your friends come to you for your opinion on current events and issues?
• Do you share your viewpoints on those topics proactively?
• Do you speak up in volunteer groups, HOAs, or church communities when you see an opportunity for positive change?

You’ll notice the nature of these questions is not whether or not you have unique insights or big ideas. I believe everyone does.

The objective here is to gather evidence of your comfort level with sharing your insights and ideas, even when they are new, nascent, or against the grain.

When you’re out on your own, this becomes a core competency.

Next up: Angle #4 (of 5!) is tomorrow. Do you go with the flow?

Catch up on earlier posts:
​Intro | Angle 1 | Angle 2​

💡

-Wes