Hey, friend!

How are you?

I’m in a Factual mood. 🤓 Ready for some intel?

According to the U.S. Census, there are some 30 million independent entrepreneurs – ✨ solopreneurs ✨, as it were – working in the States today.

They’re running their businesses, setting up more, and collectively contributing about $1.7 trillion to the national economy.

No big deal. 💅🏾

Even when I’d only casually clocked the growth of this community, the idea of a stealth workforce – as in, not the leading sector shaping the conversation, but a sizable player driving big bodies of work behind-the-scenes – definitely resonated with me as a social impact pro navigating similar terrain. 

And for me, where things get extra interesting – and extra complicated – is where the work-worlds of social impact and solopreneurship collide.

I recently shared how much my context in the purpose workforce has changed in recent years. Most of that change has been in the pivot from being a leader in an established organization to becoming a lone(ish) wolf walking her own path. 

Had I known I wanted to start Issue Space, or a version of it? Yes. But did I think I’d be doing so while also solo consulting without full-time role security? I did not! But what’s a girl gonna do? I had a shifting organization, a baby on the way, a bucket of valuable experience, and a vision of a new Space for us all. So I went for it – all of it.

When things change and we have to work, we adapt. And for me, that adaptation included going solo.

But I have to say — post-pivot, there are far more moments in this work that give me pause.

Like needing to closely audit my personal values against each and every opportunity that comes my way. I am the gatekeeper of my work, which is great. But it also bears a different weight now that my brand, from portfolio to perception, is down to my choices and my choices alone.

Or having to pit my issue and initiative priorities against one another because, interest and impact potential aside, there are only so many things I can chase at once on my own.

Or thinking more critically about who and what I seek in partnerships and professional experiences, knowing that my expenses and energy are on limited reserve and that misalignments could waste precious time and even compromise my credibility.

And it just makes me realize – there are at least 30 million other stories of solopreneurship out there. And any number of those journeys might feature folks who are purpose-driven and impact-seeking, just like me.

So how can the impact pro’s slice of the solo work pie start to feel more supportive?

As always, the first part of that answer may lie in creating some space.

Enter Solopreneur Supper, the latest, most intimate event hosted through Issue Space. 

Co-hosted with OPENHOUSE and Nagela Dales – an accessible business designer, nonprofit leader, founder, and Issue Space Podcast guest – Solopreneur Supper brought together a small group of professionals in the intersection of positive impact, independent work, and personal growth to unpack their experiences and call out their needs. Along the way, Nagela and I shared a mix of honest vulnerability and encouraging tips pulled from our own histories building independent purpose portfolios and supporting other leaders.

I won’t share the personal anecdotes we bonded over that night — our mantra was “stories stay, lessons leave.” 🤫😉 But I thought I’d offer some insights from our conversation that might resonate with other solo workers in the Space:

✨ Solo, Not Siloed: “How do I structure my days and still find community?”

It’s so funny that solopreneurship is seen as ‘independent.’ In legal terms that may be true, but when you think about it, who realistically puts themselves out there more widely and intentionally – an organization lifer whose routines, partner pool, and conference circuits are well established; or the solo builder whose livelihood depends on being out in front of new potentials for pipeline and partnership? More often than not, I think the latter group will take the networking cake. (I can speak for myself and say – never have I ever been more ‘outside’ than in this era.) 

And at this dinner, it was clear – social impact independents already get the power of community. Between our social views and our professional positions, we know the value of working together and, if anything, want more time in our practice to make it happen. Some of our dinner guests were exploring how to bake community connection into their workflows; others already had. But even for those still working to strike the ideal balance of heads-down vs. heads-together time, the prioritization speaks volumes.

✨ Permission to be Right: “I need more presence with the right things.”

Feeling like your valuable creation time is going toward structure (admin, operations) or survival (seeking funding, business development, marketing and staying competitive) is not new to entrepreneurship or to impact work. But as you might have guessed, the combination is a doozy. Our dinner guests longed for grounding relief like:

✨ But Can We, Though? Or: “Am I too burned out to solopreneur?”

A question we spied scrawled on one of our guest’s exercise sheets was, “Am I too burned out to be a solopreneur?” And honestly? Amen!

Social impact work runs on a mix of proven impact and justttttt enough delusion to keep us chasing almost-impossible change. But as we all learn, playing delulu only gets us so far, and eventually, burnout comes for us all — especially the entrepreneurial and always-on.

Sure enough, our supper guests called it. While they love the potential freedom of independent work, they also live life on the “hamster wheel” of life’s responsibilities and expenses, purpose areas that don’t translate to pipeline, and hard work that generally isn’t valued enough monetarily to offset their grind with abundance.

For some folks at our table, solo work was meant to be a season — a reprieve from the bias of corporate America or a soft transition between life chapters. But when burnout makes solopreneurship look a lot like the institutional impact life, one has to wonder — will our people survive this trend?

—

So, what? Do purpose-driven workers just sit out of solopreneurship?

I don’t think so. For one thing, purpose-driven work doesn’t exist in some ‘other’ reality untouched by economics and broader trends; we are a part of the workforce that everyone’s watching. And for another thing, many of us may not want, or have the option, to give up on our solo ventures just yet.

If this is you, may I offer a three-pronged approach to navigating your path:

1️⃣ Personalize. A personal practice of deep reflection about what kind of business uniquely works for you, certainly as you first get started and periodically as you continue on, is essential to protect your time, sanity, and confidence. Despite what LinkedIn may celebrate, there is no singular blueprint for solopreneurial success, and you deserve the space to determine which offerings, partnerships, and purpose areas bring out your best qualities and most meaningful impact. Explore, edit, and own your lane with confidence!

2️⃣ Partner. Find other clear, confident impact workers and join forces. Worst case scenario, you’re not a business match, but get to bond over your experiences. Best case scenario, you pick one or two smart, purposeful things to collaborate on and realize your business and impact outcomes to the power of two.

3️⃣ Protect. The most beautiful thing about solopreneurship is the agency. You’re in charge. Why not use your influence to set standards that make both business and society better — and that protect your own peace and integrity? Block your calendar when it’s time to prioritize real connections, and stick to it. Collaborate only on the condition of true community inclusion. Make this work what you ideally want it to be — because when it’s just you, you can.

It’s trite but it’s true – sometimes we have to be the change we want to see. And lucky for those of us with ventures, side-hustles, and solo businesses, we can start that change right where we are today.

After all, we’re the boss. 😉

In community,

By the way, you’re welcome to share —

✨ If you like this letter and the content and community it brings, consider becoming an Issue Space Supporter with a one-time or ongoing gift to power our creations, collaborations, and community events. ✨

✨ And if you know someone else who would vibe with the Space — pass this letter along! ✨

Hi again! Job seeking and feeling chatty? 💼 Read on:

We’re looking to interview purpose-driven job seekers and hiring managers who are willing to share their stories about finding impact jobs and talent in this tricky market and moment.

Why gather these stories?

One: Issue Space is all about our lived experiences as impact-oriented professionals. And when so many of us are facing job flex, that’s a shared experience to be captured.

And two: I am forever dreaming up what experiences might support the Space — and it’s important that those offerings reflect what purpose career-building feels like today.

Sound like something you want to get into?

Sign up to share your perspective here. ✨

So often, “holding space” in social impact means working through the hard stuff. But we owe it to ourselves to capture the good times, too. The Something Sweet series highlights uplifting moments and memories in impact work shared by members of the Issue Space community.

In this edition, we hear from an advertising strategist with a background in advocacy.

“I worked on a project for a mental health and suicide-prevention non profit. Because our work involved creative branding, it was easy to feel disconnected from the ‘actual’ impact work. Part of our process, however, was speaking with a handful of people who had lost loved ones to suicide, and that’s something I’ll never forget. 

The people we spoke to described the grief journey as not one continual improvement, but a repeating series of ups and downs. The healing Overnight Walk community events we wound up creating with them were mini microcosms of that.

You would attend, see people from previous walks, and feel uplifted by that community in that moment. The next moment, you’d be in tears recounting your own experience with suicide or the loss of a loved one, or hearing others’ stories.

But rather than hide that messiness, we all just wanted to embrace it.

To this community, those meandering walks weren’t just a fundraising opportunity for this organization that meant so much to them — they were a reflection of the messiness of grief itself.

I was honored to hear those stories, to experience the memories of these loved ones, and to have these hurting people share their grief. It was powerful and added more meaning to our work — something like mocking up a logo became a mission to create something that symbolized the journey these people walked with loss and healing.

Those conversations, and that work, will always stick with me.”

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🎧 Hear the Issue Space podcast on Apple, Spotify, YouTube, and these streaming platforms. We feature diverse social impact pros on the lived experience of social change work.

🤝 Wanna team up? Brands, organizations, or other entrepreneurs who might connect with our community can send partnership inquiries to [email protected].

🗣️  Have an insight about life in the business of impact or an idea for the Space? We’d love to hear from you! Send a message on Signal at @issuespace.24, or email us at [email protected].