65% of you feel in control of your career.

Or maybe it’s 42%?

Or maybe it’s lower?

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LinkedIn put out some research over the weekend about who feels like they’re ‘steering their own career’ and on first glance this seems like the most obvious chart ever.

Self-employed people lead the pack in terms of feeling in control.

Unemployed people are way at the other end.

No shockers, right?

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But wait, did you see it?

What made me linger on this otherwise unremarkable chart was the stark discrepancy between “self-employed” and “freelancer/contractor.”

And when I think about it, it’s not that surprising…

I talk to new solo consultants every day, and almost immediately you can tell:

• Who’s approaching consulting as a stop-gap vs. who’s making a decisive career shift
• Who’s scraping for their next engagement vs. who’s laying the foundation for something bigger
• Who’s renting themselves out vs. who’s building a business

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Now, there’s certainly nothing wrong with exploring consulting opportunities between full-time roles.

It’s actually a great opportunity to see if the model works for you.

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But staying in that freelance/contractor mindset can lead to a sizable dip in your sense of control.

The study didn’t go deeper, but I imagine this is due to strong externally-focused beliefs like “my gigs are at the mercy of market conditions” or “no one’s hiring consultants right now.”

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On the other hand, when you step into the self-employed mindset, you’re focused on:

• Orienting around a critical problem in the market
• Designing a unique, compelling offer
• Building a sales pipeline and operating systems
• Building up a cash reserve and paying yourself regularly
• Codifying your expertise into durable IP assets

These activities are hard evidence of investing your energy inwards towards sustainable and predictable success.

This leads to beliefs of “I’m honing a valuable service” and “My business can weather the market uncertainty.”

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So no wonder the self-employed feel more in control.

Because you’re crowding out risk and designing your own long-game.

Which is likely why you left the corporate dance in the first place.

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💡

-Wes

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P.S. Just two October sprints remain to build your 'Intellectual Headshots' one-on-one with me (Oct 6, Oct 27)

If you've been on the fence about getting your expertise turned visual, book a free intro and I'll give you a behind-the-scenes tour of the two-week collab.