One of the very first actions you need to take if you want to work for yourself is sharing what it is you want to do.
If you don’t, how are other people going to know how to help you?!
I’m so excited to introduce you to another one of our past Accelerator members, Brian Schoolcraft.
This past spring he took a big step in his solopreneur journey by leaving his job! I got to hear the whole story when I met up with him for a hike in Austin this fall and I knew I just had to share it with you!
Brian is the principal engineer at Human Readable, his engineering consultancy where he decodes complexity to produce results.
He told me the most important lesson in took away from our 30-Day Accelerator was to commit to your business idea by sharing it.
He told me he always thought about working for himself, but it wasn’t until he started communicating with his colleagues about his idea that it started taking on a life of its own.
Lot of great lessons in our conversation including:
- The benefits of learning skills outside your specific career path.
- How fixing and building stuff as a kid helped him discover his own unique approach for solving problems.
- How conventional employment opportunities prepared him to work for himself.
- The tug between conventional employment and self-employment he experienced after getting laid off.
Life Skills That Matter In This Episode
- Self-direct your learning
- Tell your story
- Embrace discomfort
- Plan your actions
How Brian Works and Thinks
- Wake up time: Lately, before 6:00 am
- Core work activities + habits: 1) Prioritizing, strategizing, and producing the technical work. 2) Zooming out when he gets stuck and checking back in with the long term plan. 3) Communicating results with the clients and doing internal outreach.
- Ideal work environment: For the technical production phase, in his office at home. When he needs to get a clear picture of what to do next, it’s best to get out for a bike ride or a run.
Inspirational Quotes
“The farther I went down that path of describing it and saying what I wanted to do, the more real it became and the more I understood what I was wanting to get out of it.”
“I don’t need to be in a fixed place and I don’t need to be there at a fixed time: that’s gonna be hard to give up.”
“At a high level, it’s that flexibility. The ability to be where I need to be, when I need to be there and be in whichever space makes sense at the time.”
Coaching Advice
If you don’t feel very curious, Brian made these suggestions to start recognizing and cultivating your curiosity:
1) Think about the idea that curiosity is the antidote to rigidity and cynicism.
2) Start engaging with the thought, “I wonder if that could be better,” when it comes up in your life and try it out – see if you can find a way to make that thing better.
Resources + Bonus Materials
Bike trailer Brian built for his motorcycle we discussed during our interview and . . .
video of fan he automated to follow him as he worked in his garage!
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