Indie solopreneurship is a privilege

This tweet reminded me that oftentimes what I mistake as a firm commitment or a bold move is actually just money or privilege speaking:

A lot of things that we think take a lot of courage actually just take a lot of money.

Quitting your job with no backup? Money! Calling off a wedding? Money! Starting over in a new city? Money! It’s very easy to have the courage of your convictions when you have a safety net, and very difficult to do anything on principle when you don’t.

Cue the typical leaps of faith that indie makers are often told to make:

• Quit your job and go all in on your startup
• Focus on just one idea
• The biggest risk is not taking any risk
• Growth at all costs

Everything listed is way easier if you already got a safety net of a job to go back to, or have enough cash runway or savings to depend on, no family to feed, no mortgage to pay, no cars on installments, no second or third jobs you have to take on to survive.

This is especially poignant for me as the past three years had been tough business-wise. I’m just trying to survive and not have the indie lifestyle get taken away from me. It’s easy to talk about failing and trying from going all in on one startup when you have safety nets to try and try again. It’s presumptious to think everyone’s risk appetite is the same when talking about the biggest risk is not taking any risk. And when you’re struggling to just survive, growth is hard to even imagine, lest say growth at all costs.

Even though business getting better right now, I’m still not in the clear yet. I could still lose the privilege of indie solopreneurship tomorrow.

And that’s only made me all the more grateful for the chance to stay in the game.

It truly is a privilege.