They want more money, more freedom, more independence so they can do more of what they want.

And in those cases, what I often see proposed as the solution to all their problems is: “I might start my own business” - like it’s the easiest and simplest way to gain control over their life.

I understand the intention and the reasoning. I really do.

But after having done this for over four years now, I’m not sure this is the right solution for 99% of people. I’d even say that for most of them, it would just make things worse.

Don’t get me wrong - for the RIGHT person with the RIGHT reasons, it can be life-changing. But most people aren’t that person.

Here’s what nobody tells you: entrepreneurship is not the easy way out.

And I’m writing this as someone who’s been in the trenches, made the leap, and is still figuring it out.

So let me be clear about something: I’m not anti-entrepreneurship. I did it myself, and I’m still doing it. But I want you to understand what you’re really signing up for.

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Why I Did It

Let me start with my story, because understanding why someone jumps into entrepreneurship matters.

In 2021, I had what most people would consider a dream setup. I was living across the street from the beach in Miami, making a decent salary that covered our expenses and more (Rosie didn’t have to work). I had the full trust of my employers. I was working remotely from home in a different country while they were all in France, doing my own hours as long as I was delivering.

I had it good. I had a lot of freedom already.

But here’s what nobody saw: I was bored out of my mind. Every day was the same, blending into the next. I had been with the company for six and a half years, but for the past three or four years, the work was identical - no novelty, not much learning, just rinse and repeat. I didn’t feel challenged. I didn’t feel like I was growing.

I believe that when you don’t grow, you actually regress.

Plus, I had this itch - this burning desire to start something while traveling the world. I was tired of living on the traditional path and conforming to societal expectations.

So I quit. I wanted to chase this crazy dream of traveling the world and experience what only a small percentage of people get to experience in their life. Pure freedom.

I also admit that I wanted (and still want) to prove to myself that I could do it myself.

The Upsides Are Real

I don’t want to paint entrepreneurship as all doom and gloom. Some upsides are undeniable, and they’re the reason I made the leap.

Here’s what entrepreneurship can offer:

• Freedom from answering to a boss or manager

• Escape from poor treatment or a job you hate

• Making your own decisions and following your gut

• Managing your own time and schedule (daily, weekly, annually)

• Designing a lifestyle suited to your situation and desires

• Focusing on work you actually enjoy

• Following a passion

• Building something with real impact

• Growing your own business instead of somebody else’s

• Income uncapped by years of experience, title, or company salary grids

• Potential for location independence (depending on your activity)

I’ll also add that it’s never been easier. With the internet and our globally connected world, new opportunities pop up weekly.

But easier than before doesn’t mean easy.

Becoming an entrepreneur gave me the chance to embrace a new lifestyle as a digital nomad without being tied to a location (which allowed me to settle in Thailand now that I’ve decided to).

The reason I’m still pursuing this now - even though I could probably make more money as an employee with less stress - is for the freedom. I love being able to start work at 2pm and focus on me-time in the morning, wake without an alarm, change timezones on a whim, disconnect without asking permission. Those points are THE MOST important for me personally.

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The Numbers Might Surprise You

Before we go further, let me share something that genuinely surprised me when I did the research.

It doesn’t match what it feels like when you look around (at least in my bubble), but here’s the reality: entrepreneurs represent less than 10% of the population.

There’s actually been a significant decline in people launching businesses over the past 20 years. Yes, there was a spike in 2020 due to COVID (job losses, lifestyle change desires, stimulus checks), but overall, people are taking fewer risks than before.

Interestingly, Gen Z shows significantly higher entrepreneurship rates - the internet generation is fully embracing the possibilities of the connected world.

But here’s the kicker about money: In the US, entrepreneurs make an average of $80K per year. The average employee salary is around $66K.

Is the stress of running your own business worth an extra $14K? That’s the question you need to ask yourself.

Because I’m not making that $80K average. Full transparency: I have not yet - after 4+ years - reached the annual salary I had when I quit. But I also have much fewer expenses, even though I traveled full-time. My monthly expenses traveling or here in Thailand are about equal to what I was paying just for rent in Miami. So all in all, it’s been okay.

The Reality Nobody Shows on Instagram

Now let’s talk about the less glamorous parts.

I’ll start by saying that no situation is ever perfect. No job is perfect. There are pros and cons to everything. It’s life.

People are also different. Some are more suited for certain situations than others.

There isn’t a right answer and a wrong answer - a better or worse situation. Just different options.

My initial take was “entrepreneurship is not the easy solution.” What I meant by that is this: if flexibility, autonomy, independence, and being your own boss don’t matter to you... if you want to be an entrepreneur just for the title and money... I would say, DON’T.

Statistically, you have way better chances of making money being an employee than having your own business. I won’t say it’s like playing the lottery - the odds are better - but still. Most entrepreneurs make less than they did as employees for years.

Here’s what the data shows:

• Year 1: 10-20% of businesses fail

• Years 2-5: 70% of businesses fail during this period

• First-time founders have an 18% success rate

• Serial entrepreneurs with prior successes have a 30% success rate

When I saw these numbers, I thought about my own journey. I’m in year 4 now, and yeah... it tracks.

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Here’s the reality:

You’ll Obsess Over Money

You will spend most of your time asking yourself: how can I make (more) money? It takes a lot of work, effort, and perseverance to get to a point where you don’t ask yourself this question every month.

My entrepreneurial journey started hard. Rosie and I saved money for a year while in Miami, anticipating it would take time to build our own income. A month after I quit and left Miami, a loved one was in a complicated situation and we decided to help them out financially. We “lost” around $14K of the $20K we had saved.

We were off to a great start before even booking our first flight to start traveling.

So yes, I know what it is to be financially stressed.

Luckily for me (I say that, but it’s not just luck, it’s hard work), I bounced back quickly and was able to make consistent money from there up until fall 2024. It wasn’t crazy amounts - probably an average of $1.5K a month - but it was enough to travel (in addition to Rosie’s income plus low cost of living while traveling). We managed to travel the world for 3+ years without touching our savings while experiencing very unique things. I’m grateful for that.

However, during fall 2024, things changed. When I decided to close my previous business, the online yoga school, I didn’t receive any salary for 5 months. That was frightening, to be honest.

We do have savings we can rely on, so I’ve never been worried to death about ending up homeless and starving. But like most of us, I’ve been conditioned by society to associate my worth with how much I make. Not making a single dollar for 5 months was hard - especially after all the hard work I had put into it.

Why do most businesses fail? Here’s what the data shows:

• No market need: 42%

• Running out of cash: 29%

• Not having the right team: 23%

• Competition: 19%

• Pricing/cost issues: 18%

Most fail because of poor judgment and decisions. Not because they didn’t work hard enough.

You Won’t Do What You Love (Most of the Time)

When you’re a software developer, you develop software. When you’re a baker, you bake. When you’re a teacher, you teach.

When you’re an entrepreneur, you do everything: start the business and run it with all the admin that comes with it; develop a product or service and price it right; do the marketing to get clients; deliver the product/service; handle design; deal with customer service; manage bookkeeping.

You actually spend very little time on the thing you love doing.

At the moment, I spend 80% of my time doing things other than coaching people or building websites. I probably spend 65% of my time on client acquisition and marketing, and the rest on admin and other tasks. Working with clients represents only 20% of how I spend my time - a few calls a week, emails/texts, and prep work.

(Part of that is because I also set a limit on how many clients I work with at the same time, but still.)

Most of your time, for a long time, will be spent on client acquisition. And if you’re grinding without having “cracked the code” to constantly get clients through your door... it’s a struggle.

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Financial Stability Is a Luxury

When you have a job, you know your paycheck is coming. When you work for yourself, you have much less guarantee of that. Some months might be huge, then you might get nothing for a quarter.

During those 5 months without pay, I still had work expenses. I had contractors to pay for the yoga school. But there was nothing left for me (or my business partner) at the end of the month. We kept the business running, hoping it would turn around, but month after month... nothing.

You need to become good at managing your cash flow and planning for the rough months until you reach a point where money flows consistently.

Let’s be real: around two-thirds of entrepreneurs are uncertain about meeting their financial needs.

The Mental Health Toll Is Real

Apparently, 87% of entrepreneurs deal with some mental health issue - constant stress, anxiety, burnout, depression, loneliness.

Remember, the goal was to be your own boss, make your own decisions, have a flexible schedule.

The reality for a long time is different:

• Making all the decisions without knowing if they’ll be right is extremely stressful

• Your flexible dreamy schedule means you work all the time because you have to grind to get there, otherwise you won’t get paid

• Being your own boss? You’re trading a manager for clients who won’t always be easy to satisfy and might “poke” you more than your manager did

Your coworkers and managers might have been a pain, but the structure allowed you to focus on what you knew. Now there’s only you. You have to do it all, whether you know how to or not. Good luck.

And as much as working by yourself can be fun, it can also get very lonely. No one to bounce ideas with, no one to meet at the coffee break, no one to back you up when you have a decision to make, no one to hide behind, no one to fix this damn problem you’re stuck with.

You work long hours, you’re stressed, you might see your friends less because you have other priorities and less budget. They won’t understand what you’re dealing with. You’ll be irritable, which will impact your household and the people you share it with.

Those are the things you don’t see on Instagram stories when influencers try to enroll you in a course to “change your life and take charge of your destiny with this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Following the closure of my yoga school, I was really lost. I didn’t know what to do to bounce back. I felt lost, lonely in my own head, numb in some ways. It was something I had never experienced before. I had spent 3 years building the school, and it ended with no pay for 5 months and a closed business.

Starting over from scratch was really hard. I had no audience. I was frustrated, down. It took a lot to get back up and put together my new coaching service.

I shared openly that I was considering giving it all up and just getting a job because I was getting tired of the instability and energy it took. I actually applied to a few jobs. The first quarter of 2025 was definitely my hardest moment.

There have been moments I felt like an idiot for leaving that Miami setup.

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Clients Become Your New Boss

I’ve been lucky with my coaching business so far and have been working with wonderful clients (I mean it - I’m not just saying that because they might read this).

But I felt it with the online yoga school. Ultimately, whatever you do, you have to deal with people’s emotions and desires. As an employee, you deal with managers and bosses. As an entrepreneur, you deal with prospects and clients.

I’ve always done my best to satisfy my clients, but sometimes I had to deal with clients unhappy with the services we offered, or clients who had something happen to them and asked for a refund. It’s stressful.

Sometimes there was nothing I could do to “fix” the problem. I couldn’t always refund clients because the cash flow was tight and I didn’t have the funds (that’s where proper contracts are essential to protect you as a business). It’s hard.

As annoying as it is, you have to stay professional, suck it up, stay polite even if you disagree. I knew I hadn’t done anything wrong - I just didn’t meet a client’s expectation, which can happen. But I couldn’t control their expectations. We had terms and conditions supporting us, but it’s unpleasant. At the end of the day, it comes with the job.

It’s never fun to disappoint people, especially when you’re really doing your best.

I admit though that the majority of people are nice and lovely. And when I say the client is the boss, what I mean is that instead of answering to your boss, you answer to them. If you don’t deliver on your promises, they will complain (rightly). So you have to meet standards, even if no one is watching over your shoulder.

So Who Should Actually Do This?

I don’t think everyone should pursue entrepreneurship.

If you’re chasing money, you can get a very good salary by educating yourself and picking the right career and company. You might not become a millionaire, but you can live a comfortable life - a life with boundaries between work and personal time.

If you’re chasing more independence, maybe look for remote work, or simply ask your current employer what’s possible. You might have a nice surprise.

I think you should chase the entrepreneurial journey if:

You have a very, very, very (very) strong WHY.

Because when it gets hard (not if, but when), when motivation hits an all-time low and stress is high, you will need a super strong why to remind you why you’re pursuing this crazy thing.

Reflect on this: If you made $0 for 6 months straight but still had to show up every day to build your business, would you still want to do this? If the answer isn’t a clear yes, reconsider. What would make it worth it for you beyond money?

You’re patient.

Don’t expect overnight success. You’ve got to be in it for the long run. We’re talking years here, not months, not a single year.

Reflect on this: Can you commit to 3-5 years of building before seeing significant results? What does success look like for you in year 1, year 3, year 5? Be honest about whether you can sustain the journey that long.

You have this itch you need to scratch.

You want to know if you’re capable of it. You want to challenge yourself and are willing to get uncomfortable, deal with unenjoyable emotions, “get punched in the face.”

Reflect on this: What are you trying to prove to yourself? Is this about external validation or internal growth? What would happen if you never tried - how would you feel in 5 years?

You’re willing to deal with your fears.

You will be judged and criticized by people around you. Be ready for it.

Reflect on this: Who are you most afraid of disappointing? What’s the worst thing someone could say about your decision to go solo? Can you live with that criticism? How will you handle doubt from people you care about?

You’re willing to deal with instability - especially financially.

Don’t be reckless, especially if people depend on you. Please, don’t put your family at risk. Plan accordingly.

Reflect on this: How many months of expenses do you have saved? What’s your minimum viable income to cover necessities? What’s your backup plan if things don’t work out? Have you discussed this honestly with anyone who depends on you financially?

You’re resilient and don’t let a loss bury you - because you will lose some battles, most of them even.

Reflect on this: Think about the last time you failed at something important. How did you handle it? How long did it take you to bounce back? What helped you get back up? Entrepreneurship will test this repeatedly.

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Why I’m Still Doing This

But I ultimately decided to keep trying.

I am passionate about coaching people. It really fills my cup and brings me a lot of joy. Even though I’m not making the money I was making as an employee, we’re okay, and we have savings in case we have bad months. So I’m not panicking.

I’ve grown a lot in the past eight years and developed good self-awareness. I have tools like daily meditation to help me stay regulated. I trust the process, I educate myself, I know these things require time, effort, and patience.

The freedom is still worth it to me. Waking up without an alarm, starting work at 2pm, having full control over my schedule - these things matter more to me than a bigger paycheck.

But that’s MY why. What’s yours?

Here’s something important: entrepreneurs with mentors are 3x more likely to succeed.

That’s not motivational fluff - that’s data. Having someone who’s been through it, who can help you avoid the mistakes they made, who can give you honest feedback when you’re stuck... it’s the difference between being part of the 18% of first-time founders who succeed versus the 82% who don’t.

You don’t have to figure this out alone.

If you’re considering the entrepreneurial path - or you’re already on it and struggling - reply to this email. I work with people who want to build intentional, freedom-focused businesses without creating new constraints. I’ve been through the trenches, made the mistakes, and learned what actually works (and what doesn’t).

Let’s have an honest conversation about whether this path is right for you - or how to navigate it if you’re already in it.

Think about it. You pick a major in high school or university, and suddenly you’re locked into a path. Switch from literature to physics? Good luck, you’re basically starting from scratch. That’s one wall up.

Then in your 20s, you get a mortgage. Now you need to earn enough to pay it back every month, plus all the other stuff you’ve accumulated: car payments, furniture, subscriptions. The freedom to quit your job and chase something else? Gone. Another wall up.

You land a good job with promotion potential. Stick around and you’ll climb the ladder, make more money, get that nice title. But it comes with constraints: 9-to-5 hours (or worse), limited vacation days that need approval, maybe even asking permission for a bathroom break. You lose the independence to design your own schedule. Another wall up.

Then there’s family, friends, and what everyone expects from you. Marriage, kids, the white picket fence. All meaningful commitments, but they lock you in place. Fourth wall up.

Now you’re standing in a room between those four walls. And here’s the thing, it’s incredibly hard to escape because you have real commitments you need to honor. You’ve trapped yourself with your own lifestyle.

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So what do people do? They think about breaking free. “If I start my own business, I’ll work when I want, design my own schedule.” That’s one wall down, right? “And if I do well, I’ll make real money without waiting for promotions. Maybe my partner could even stop working.” Another wall down.

Sounds good. But here’s what nobody tells you.

Most people just build themselves a new prison.

They escape the corporate cage and manually construct another one, placing each brick without even realizing it.

What a Prison Business Looks Like

So people decide to escape by starting their own business. Finally, freedom! Except... here’s what actually happens.

I actually lived this as a freelance web designer early on. Build a site, get paid, then immediately start hunting for the next client. No client? No paycheck. Want to take a week off? No paycheck. I gave up quickly because I didn’t know how to find clients, but honestly, even if I’d figured that out, I’d still be on the hamster wheel.

That’s a prison business. Here are more examples:

• The brick-and-mortar trap: You open your dream store or studio. Sounds great until you realize you need to be there when customers show up. You can’t take a vacation unless you hire employees and delegate everything, which many people never get to. You’re tied to a location and a schedule, sometimes with a loan hanging over your head from day one.

• The time-for-money trap: Many yoga teachers only get paid when they teach. In an industry that doesn’t pay super well, you end up working a ton just to sustain your lifestyle. Taking time off? That’s lost income you probably can’t afford.

• The endless acquisition trap: Whether in-person or online, some businesses require you to constantly find new clients to make sales. It’s exhausting. You’re always hustling, always convincing, always chasing the next person through the door.

Here’s the brutal truth: you traded one boss for twenty bosses, your clients now dictate your schedule.

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But Wait, Is a Prison Business Bad?

Not necessarily. If you’ve always dreamed of owning a flower shop or teaching yoga, go for it. Do something you enjoy, something that brings you fulfillment. You’ll gain stress, sure, but you’ll also gain purpose. You won’t have regrets down the line.

Just don’t expect it to make you more free than a regular employee job. Be honest with yourself about what you’re chasing: passion, freedom, or both.

What a Freedom Business Looks Like

A freedom business might feel like a prison at the beginning. Most of the time when you start, you need to hustle and grind and put in the hours anyway. The difference is in the design.

A freedom business is one where:

• You can make more money without working more hours

• Your pricing model lets you make a good living without working 60-hour weeks

• You have flexibility to design your schedule because the nature of the work allows it

• Your expenses stay flat as you grow (serving 8 clients doesn’t cost more than serving 2 because you’re already paying for the tools anyway, your profit margins increase as you scale)

Here are some examples:

• Digital products: Create an online course once, sell it repeatedly. The work is upfront, but once it’s built, each new customer doesn’t require more of your time.

• Membership communities: Monthly subscriptions for access to content, resources, or live events. Recurring revenue with mostly asynchronous delivery.

• AI-powered SaaS: With the rise of AI, more solopreneurs are creating tools people pay monthly subscriptions to use. Build it once, serve thousands.

• Premium positioning: A friend of mine, the first business coach Rosie and I hired, now charges tens of thousands of dollars to work with him (lucky us, we worked with him when he was getting started and paid much less!). His track record allows him to charge premium rates, which means he doesn’t have to chase new clients every month.

• Content platforms: Building a YouTube channel is a long game, but it can generate nice revenue for “just” filming videos. Plus, once you’ve grown an audience, you can create new products for them.

My on-demand yoga platform and online yoga school gave me real independence. I traveled through 15 countries while running them. The work was mostly asynchronous, maybe 30% live calls, 70% on my own time. That wasn’t luck. I designed it that way from the start.

I’ve tried plenty of other things: blogging (great model, couldn’t stick with it), a t-shirt brand (too saturated, lacked the marketing chops), a podcast with 120+ episodes (tons of freedom but couldn’t scale it). The pattern? I kept trying models that offered freedom, even when I failed at execution. Better to fail at something designed for freedom than succeed at building your own cage.

When those projects didn’t work out, I could pivot quickly because I wasn’t trapped. That’s the advantage of designing for freedom even when you’re still learning execution.

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Questions to Ask Yourself

These questions will tell you everything you need to know about whether you’re building freedom or a cage:

If you’re thinking about starting a business:

• Can I eventually detach my income from the hours I work?

• Will clients need this once, or repeatedly? (Repeat customers = higher lifetime value)

• Can I deliver this with schedule and location freedom?

• What can I delegate to buy back my time?

If you’re already running a business:

• Can I work when I want, or do my clients dictate my schedule?

• If I don’t work, am I still making money?

• If I stop marketing, how fast does my income hit zero?

• How many clients do I need weekly to hit my income goal? Is that number realistic?

These answers show you exactly where you are. From there, you can work on solutions: change your delivery model, adjust your pricing so you need fewer clients to make the same money, create boundaries around your availability, delegate strategically.

For Those Still in Corporate

Don’t jump at the first shiny opportunity. Ask the right questions from the start. Get educated: read books, listen to podcasts, read this newsletter 😉. Many entrepreneurs made these mistakes and talked about it. Use their experiences.

Now my websites run on a model that keeps clients long-term instead of constant acquisition. My coaching and consulting mix live calls with asynchronous work. I specialized and niched down so my pricing means I don’t need 30 clients to make it work. Each decision was intentional, not because I’m smarter, but because I learned what prison feels like.

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The Bottom Line

If you’re chasing passion and don’t care about more freedom? Go for it. Being miserable at work is... miserable. You need to do something you enjoy, something that brings you fulfillment. You’ll gain stress, but in the long run it’ll be worth it.

But if you’re chasing freedom? Be intentional about how you design your business from day one.

Don’t just escape one prison to build another. Design your freedom from day one, even if it takes a few tries to get the execution right.

If you’re reading this and realizing you might be building (or already stuck in) a prison business, or you’re not sure how to design for freedom from the start, let’s talk. I help people get clarity on exactly these kinds of decisions.

What are your thoughts? Are you designing for freedom or accidentally building a cage? Hit reply, I read every response.

Social media has made entrepreneurship look like the dream life. You see people posting from beaches, coffee shops in Bali, talking about “passive income” and “financial freedom” like it’s something you can order on Amazon Prime.

The truth? Most of that is bullshit. 💩

Being an entrepreneur is work. It’s not glamorous most of the time. It requires time, energy, focus, skills, resilience, and a whole lot of sacrifices that no one talks about in their highlight reels.

Sure, it’s never been easier to technically start a business. You can set up a website in an hour, create a logo with AI, and call yourself an entrepreneur by lunch. But here’s what they don’t tell you: not everyone should become an entrepreneur. And that’s okay.

It’s hard. Really hard. And if you’re not willing to do the work, face the challenges, and commit for the long haul… you’re going to struggle. Or worse, you’re going to burn out before you even get started.

Over the past few years, through my own journey and working with clients, I’ve noticed some common patterns. There are mistakes I see people make over and over again - mistakes that keep them stuck, frustrated, or worse, quitting before they give themselves a real chance.

So today, I want to share seven of the biggest mistakes I see solopreneurs (or wannabe solopreneurs) making. Not to discourage you, but to help you avoid these traps so you can actually build something sustainable.

Let’s dive in.

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The Hobby Trap

More often than not, the journey to starting your own business and becoming an entrepreneur starts with a hobby or side hustle.

However, if you want to get serious about it, at some point the mindset around your activity has to change, whether you still have a full-time job or not.

In the brain, a hobby or side hustle is not treated as a priority. You find time here and there for them, but more important and urgent things always happen first. You also won’t dedicate as much energy and focus as you probably need to.

That means you will eventually reach a plateau and could get frustrated not seeing the progress you want.

If you are happy for your activity to remain a hobby or side hustle, fine. But if you expect it to keep growing and generate more income… at some point you need to shift things up.

You cannot rely on finding time for it anymore. You need to make time. It has to become a priority.

You cannot rely on winging it forever. At some point, you will have to learn or get coached if you want to take your business to another level.

For the activity to grow from hobby/side hustle to proper business, you need to shift your mindset and identity to being an entrepreneur, and act like it.

Passion Isn’t a Business Strategy

Passion can only take you and a business so far.

Your blog, YouTube channel, shop, or practice might have started out of passion and developed through your enthusiasm and the community… but passion has limits.

I see passion as fuel to get the driver, you, started and keep going. But the fuel can only do so much… and at some point, the driver will be the limiting factor.

How do you get more views or traffic? How do you generate more leads? How do you convert them to clients? How do you price your products or services? How do you “run the show” and stay on top of everything?

Passion won’t be enough to answer all those questions. What passion will do is give you the motivation to seek the answers and establish a strategy to become a better driver so your business can thrive.

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The Freedom Illusion 🎭

“I want to be my own boss so I can be free, do what I want when I want.” That’s often the freedom people chase when they switch from being an employee to an entrepreneur.

Let me be straightforward here. If you think starting your own business is the easiest solution to have more freedom, more time, and flexibility… you are in for a big disappointment!

Entrepreneurship can lead to all that. However, it’s an outcome very few actually ever reach… and if they do, it’s because they usually spend years and years making huge sacrifices to get there.

Starting and running a business is hard. You have to deal with so much more than just your craft. Getting started and the growth phase for the business to get somewhere are extremely demanding of your energy, time, focus, and attention. It will test you like very few things did before. You will experience periods of stress you probably haven’t experienced before.

If you don’t work (well and hard), you don’t get paid. End of story. For a while, forget about your evenings and weekends. It will consume you.

Hopefully, at some point, you will finally reach a tipping point where things get easier and you’ll be able to enjoy the benefits of “doing your own thing.” But it won’t happen on day one.

You’ve been warned. ⚠️

Being Busy Doesn’t Mean Progress

A common mistake I see a lot of entrepreneurs making is believing that working hard and long hours will automatically generate progress.

Those people are always busy. They are always reading books, taking courses, answering emails, creating content, optimizing their offers and funnels, tweaking their websites or social media profiles.

At the end of the month, they look at what they did… and they hear crickets. No new clients. Barely any growth. “How’s that possible? I spent hours and hours working hard this month. All that for nothing?”

Codie Sanchez calls this “mental masturbation.” And honestly, it’s the perfect term for it.

Being busy doesn’t mean you’re making any progress. You can do all the learning you want, but you need to apply it at some point to move the needle. You do a lot, but do you actually do what matters? Do you actually do revenue-generating tasks?

Stop being just busy… start being smart. 🧠

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The Money Problem 💰

Money, money, money! So many of us struggle when it comes to money in business.

How much should I charge? Isn’t that too much? Who am I to charge this? I want to help everyone and make it accessible to everyone, I can’t charge too much. And I love it, I would do it for free anyway.

Sound familiar?

Very often, entrepreneurs struggle to charge the right price. It’s hard to see your own value and evaluate what you’re worth. Also, some markets just have a weird relationship with money and how to price their offerings.

As a result, some entrepreneurs who appear to be successful (in terms of having enough clients) are barely making it financially because they undercharge, or don’t charge at all! Soon enough, burnout creeps in and you get frustrated because even if you love what you do… rent, bills, and other expenses still need to be paid at the end of the month!

It’s very important from the beginning to have a pricing strategy. It should be designed when you create your offer, based on how much you want to make, how many clients you can handle, etc.

Don’t undervalue yourself, you will regret it at some point. And when you try to be cheap to help everyone, you end up not helping anyone, especially yourself!

Also, and this might upset people: cheap clients are usually a pain in the ass to deal with. They always want more for less. The more people pay, the less annoying they usually are.

The “Not Ready Yet” Trap

You know how we often say in life that you’re never fully ready to get married or be a parent? I think you’re also never going to feel ready to start a business.

There is always this nagging feeling that you need to read another book, get another certification, tweak your website a little bit more, refine your offer… it can be endless.

It’s very easy to get stuck at this stage and be paralyzed by many things.

My best advice is to get started as soon as you have something that works.

No need for fancy funnels or websites. What does “something that works” actually mean? A social media account to reach out and DM people, a document summarizing what your offer is, a Stripe or PayPal account to process payments... that’s it. That’s all you need to get going at first.

Then as you go, you can improve based on people’s feedback, intuition, etc. Learning can only take you so far. At some point, all you need to do is start, jump, let go of perfectionism and overthinking everything and GET STARTED.

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Boundaries = Survival 🛡️

Being able to work when you want is great. However, a lot of people fall into the trap of “if I can work when I want, I will work all the time.”

When you’re chasing your first wins, you can pour everything you’ve got into your activity and it can quickly become too much. If you’re not getting the results you expect, you might even double down to “get there faster”… which creates more damage.

These bad habits can then become normal even after you get traction. Clients get used to instant replies, so you don’t want to disappoint them. You jump on every opportunity presenting itself, you never say no… which becomes draining.

Boundaries are key for any entrepreneur. You need to plan time for the emotional and mental load. You need to learn how to say NO. You need to plan downtime, away from your devices. Don’t neglect your family and friends either.

For example, for two or three years, I was always available for calls... which meant it was sometimes hard to plan personal stuff like a free evening because calls were often added last minute to my calendar. Now? I only take calls from Sunday to Wednesday. I also never work mornings because that’s my time to relax, read, work out, etc.

These boundaries didn’t happen overnight, and they weren’t easy to implement at first. But they’ve been critical to my sustainability.

Burnout and loneliness are real plagues in the entrepreneurial world. When you don’t have someone else setting up the rules, you need to be disciplined enough to set them up for yourself if you want to create a sustainable work environment.

You’re Not Alone in This

Look, these are just seven of the traps I see people fall into. There are more. So many more.

The entrepreneurial journey is full of challenges that no one prepares you for. You’re going to make mistakes. I’ve made plenty myself. The key is recognizing them early and course-correcting before they derail you completely.

If you’re feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or like you’re spinning your wheels… you don’t have to figure it all out alone.

I work with solopreneurs and entrepreneurs who want to build sustainable businesses without burning out. Whether you need help with strategy, clarity, or just someone to call you out on your shit (in the most loving way possible 😉), I’m here for it.

👉 Check out my consulting services here and let’s talk about how we can get you unstuck and moving forward.

The entrepreneurial path isn’t easy. But with the right mindset, strategy, and support? It’s absolutely possible to build something that works for you.

One of the reasons so many "wannapreneurs" never get anywhere with their business ventures is exactly this, they treat them as a hobby instead of a proper business.

You can have all the skills and expertise you want, but if you don't commit, you and your business will always be stuck in first gear.

Today, I want to show you exactly what happens when someone finally makes that shift, and give you the specific framework you can use to do the same. This story will show you the exact process that transformed a scattered yoga teacher into a systematic business owner, and by the end, you'll have actionable steps you can implement right away.

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My client had been a yoga teacher for years before we started working together. I've always appreciated how talented they were, but I was also surprised to see how stuck they seemed despite years of experience.

After only 3 months of working together though, things have shifted fast for them. Despite many life events happening during this time, they're now on track to finally turn a hobby into a sustainable business! 💪

The Reality of Solo Entrepreneurship

The majority of the population underestimates how hard it is to be a solo entrepreneur. Having expertise in something is far from enough these days. Converting knowledge into a successful business takes a lot of skills, work, and organization.

My client has been a yoga teacher for 6-7 years, has extensive credentials and expertise... but when it came to business development, they froze. They were overwhelmed by having too many ideas with no clear execution path, working only in leftover time, and had zero systems for client acquisition despite having a unique, needed service.

I've noticed this is very common for creative, right-brained people with a passion. They often think passion and working hard will take them there. I've seen it with my wife Rosie and with many friends and clients.

I believe in working hard, but simply putting in the hours is not a guarantee for success. You also have to work smart and strategically.

The Before Picture

In my client's case, they avoided business development because they were "afraid of technical things" and created unnecessary rules that complicated simple tasks. They also had deep discomfort with sales, feeling that outreach was "too salesy/pushy/inauthentic," which prevented them from connecting with prospects who actually needed their help.

As a result, they were scattered, tired, jumping from one opportunity to another without clear direction, undervaluing themselves and undercharging for their services... therefore having to work side jobs to pay the bills. It impacted both their physical and mental health, their confidence, and their energy.

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The System That Changed Everything

We first started by redesigning their online presence with a brand new website.

"My website was stuck in 2019, the year it was created. Jeremie was so easy to work with to get my new website going faster than I had expected!"

After that, they enrolled in my consulting program where I help solopreneurs establish a direction to develop their business and hold them accountable. I'm the team in their corner whenever they need support, from someone to vent to, to someone willing to call them on their BS.

This is something I struggled with when I started dabbling with entrepreneurship. Doing it all alone is hard. Some days can feel very lonely.

Having this ongoing relationship with my clients is good for them, but also for me if I'm being honest.

Putting systems in place has lifted so much weight from their shoulders that they can now focus on what matters most, but it also leaves them with much more energy to deal with life in general.

"I am not exaggerating when I say I cried happy tears when I saw the completed site! I really feel like my business leveled up with this new website where the message that I want to share is expressed in my authentic voice."

It also made their business more profitable because their clients follow a specific path to register for classes and pay them... no more "I'll Venmo you later." 😅

The Breakthrough Moment

However, the biggest shift came during our 2nd session when we were talking about sales. They realized their discomfort came from trying to "sell" instead of simply having authentic conversations.

That's when I introduced the connection-first sales framework. Instead of focusing on getting new clients and pitching their services, I told them to shift their mindset to having more intentional conversations with people they could help, focusing the discussion around their struggles and how they could help people feel better in their bodies.

The shift was transformational. Suddenly, having calls with prospects wasn't generating anxiety anymore... they were actually excited about it! ✨

"Working with Jeremie has been a fun experience and I just couldn't be happier!"

The Results Speak for Themselves

You don't create a sustainable business overnight. Everything takes time, and patience is key.

But in only a couple of months, we're seeing great results and drastic changes in behaviors:

• Built email list from 0 to 100 subscribers in 30 days 📈

• Maintained consistent 5/5 energy ratings for 2+ months (vs. previous scattered energy)

• Discovered major market opportunity

• Shifted from avoiding outreach to actively recognizing business opportunities in daily conversations

• Developed systematic monthly action plans with dedicated weekly working hours (vs. working in "leftover time")

What You Can Do Right Now

You don't need to hire anyone to start making these shifts. Here's what you can implement immediately:

Get clear on who you want to serve. Don't try to help everyone, pick a specific group of people with a specific problem you love solving. The more focused you are, the easier everything else becomes.

Design a simple and clear offer. Stop overthinking it. What's the main thing people need from you? Package it simply, price it fairly, and put it out there. You can refine later.

Block out working time like you have a regular job. Your business deserves dedicated hours, not leftover time. Schedule specific blocks for client work, business development, and admin, and protect them fiercely.

Don't get stuck perfecting internal processes. Yes, systems matter, but don't let perfectionism keep you from getting started. The world needs to know about you and what you offer. You can optimize once you have momentum.

Start with these four foundations, and you'll already be ahead of 90% of people treating their expertise like a hobby.

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The Key Takeaway

I'm sharing this story because I want to illustrate that when you align passion and enthusiasm with strategy and focus, things click together and change happens.

If you're a solopreneur, stop treating your expertise like a side hobby.

If you have skills people need, the problem isn't your qualifications, it's treating your business like it doesn't deserve dedicated time and energy.

Block specific hours for business development, build simple systems for staying connected with your audience, and remember that authentic sales conversations are just helping people solve problems you're already equipped to solve.

The difference between those who make it and those who don't often comes down to having the right support system in place. 🤝

Ready to Turn Your Expertise Into a Real Business?

If you're reading this thinking "That could be me," you're probably right.

Maybe you're tired of treating your skills like a side hobby. Maybe you're overwhelmed by all the moving pieces of running a business. Or maybe you just want someone in your corner who gets it.

Here's what I can help you with:

• Get clear on your business direction and stop spinning your wheels

• Build simple systems that actually work (no more "I'll Venmo you later")

• Transform your relationship with sales from anxiety to excitement

• Create consistent momentum even when life gets messy

I work with solopreneurs and creatives who have the skills but need the strategy and support to make it sustainable.

If you're thinking "I don't know if this will really help me," let's talk about it in a free initial chat, there's nothing to lose, and clarity to gain.

🗓️ Ready to stop treating your expertise like a hobby? Schedule a free discovery call and let's see if we're a good fit. No sales pitch, just an honest conversation about where you're stuck and how to get unstuck.

The stats are staggering:

• 60% of millennials and Gen Z aspire to start their own business (source)

• About 40% of traditionally employed Americans are considering becoming entrepreneurs, saying it's "somewhat likely" they'll work for themselves within the next two years (source)

• The number of new business applications has jumped nearly 50% in the past decade, with 2021 and 2022 breaking records (source)

Social media has glamorized entrepreneurship, making it seem accessible to everyone and that success comes easy. Yes, it's never been easier to start and make money online, but easier doesn't mean easy.

Here's the reality no one talks about: People are being sold a dream that might not be for them. There's more competition than ever. It still requires skills, hard work, patience, and so much more. The cost of this trend? People are burning their wings because they don't realize what it actually takes.

And if you want to succeed, you need to throw away one of the most popular pieces of advice out there...

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We often hear about work-life balance. We hear stories about people giving up their personal lives to their work and regretting it later. We hear about people burning out after a while.

I get it. Balance is important in life, and we need to create sustainable systems around us to live healthy, long lives.

I believe that.

You can feel the but 🍑 coming, right?

BUT, I also believe if you want to start and grow a business and make it financially sustainable... you need to completely throw away this balance and become obsessed with it.

Some of you might not agree with me, and that's okay.

If you've tried or are trying to grow a business, you know that at some point during the process, it consumes you. It sucks up all your brain space and energy. You think about it from the moment you wake up to the time you finally fall asleep. You'll be lucky if you don't dream about it.

When you embark on this journey and you're passionate about what you're doing, I think it's pretty much inevitable.

It's something probably hard to comprehend if you haven't actually experienced it... which is why it often feels lonely to be in this position when no one else around you is also going through it.

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I get it because I've been there. When I started, I thought passion was enough. I believed I could just wing it and things would work out.

That's probably why I'm on attempt number 14 in my entrepreneurship journey. 😅

My biggest frustration is hearing people, close to me or far away, saying they want to start a business or complaining about their stagnating business... but they have never studied business, never opened a business book, never invested in a business course or coach, or never watched a business YouTube video.

I'm like... what did you expect? 🤷‍♂️

How can you be surprised that you don't know where to start or that you're failing? You thought you would just be naturally good at it? You'd be graced by business knowledge being downloaded into your brain?

Come on. Wake up, please. 😴

When you want to learn a musical instrument, you take lessons. When you want to play a sport competitively, you hire a coach. But when you start a business, no... just wing it. Sure, why not!

But even if you have done all that study and preparation, I think the degree of obsession you put into your business has a direct correlation to the output and outcome.

I don't have any proof or stats... but when you look around and analyze successful businesses... more often than not, their founders have poured their soul into it for years before reaching success.

Take Elon Musk (I know, I know, but hear me out). He runs Tesla, SpaceX, Neurolink, and X. Any one of those companies would burn out a normal founder, yet he deals with all of them at once. That's obsession in action.

It's not just famous founders either. I was part of a young startup in France, and I witnessed firsthand the time the three co-founders had to invest to grow the company. We were messaging on Slack at 11pm most nights. It was intense, but it was necessary.

That obsession rubbed off on me as an employee. I was nearly as obsessed as the founders, and I think that's why I had all the growth and opportunities within the company that eventually led me to move to Miami.

Later, as a founder myself, my experience with Warrior Flow School proved this point. It was the first time I really decided to focus all my energy into one thing. My co-founder and I were obsessed. We talked for hours every day for months on end. That's one of the reasons we were able to make 100K+ revenue in year two. Nothing beats hard work.

What does obsession actually look like? It doesn't have to mean working more and more hours, because at some point you become unproductive. But it's all the mental energy that continues even when you're away from your laptop. All the thinking, planning, strategizing. All the learning you're willing to do to make it work. Saying no to friends or fun activities because you need to deliver something. Attending a meeting on a Sunday at 7pm. All those small sacrifices add up to make a real difference.

For a few seasons of their lives, successful founders become completely obsessed with their business.

What I find ironic is hearing these same successful entrepreneurs now preach about the importance of work-life balance.

True.

But before you get to that stage, when you're just getting started and grinding through the growth phase... I don't think there are many ways around it. You gotta obsess over it. You gotta put in countless hours. Forget about the evenings, the weekends, and do whatever it takes to grow.

These days, people see hustle and hard work as toxic... I call that nonsense. I just don't believe you can grow a business without working incredibly hard. 💪

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Here's the thing though, obsession isn't negative when you're passionate about what you do.

Working hard doesn't feel like hard work when you love it. And it's temporary, seasonal.

Eventually, if the business develops sustainably, the intensity decreases. The beginnings are hard. You need to earn people's trust. You need to grind for every lead and client. Eventually, you become known. People recommend you. It gets easier.

Once you've done the hard work and made it past that intensive first build phase, you can slow down a little. Don't get complacent, but the balance gets better. If you're good at what you do, success looks like more time and more freedom, at least, those are my personal goals.

These days, I relax when I go sightseeing, when I watch sports a couple hours a week, or when I read fiction. Apart from that, my mind is pretty much always on.

I work on my business. Or I think about my business.

Even when it looks like I'm relaxing by the beach or the pool, I'm often reading business books or watching business and self-development YouTube videos. I very rarely switch off these days.

Part of me just can't help it, my brain keeps going. Part of me doesn't care because it excites me. I'm choosing to spend my time watching educational podcasts instead of The White Lotus (despite Rosie's insistence 😅). It's a priority to me right now. That's how I want to be spending my time.

I'm determined to be successful. I'm determined to offer the best possible service to my clients. Therefore, I cannot get complacent. I need to get better at everything I do to keep growing and stay on top of things.

A stagnant business is essentially a declining business because in a dynamic market, staying still means falling behind.

As Einstein said:

"Once you stop learning, you start dying."

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So how do you know if you're obsessed enough?

It's when the fire within you is always present. You can't switch it off. It consumes you, but not in a negative way. If you think it's overwhelming and just hard work... maybe it's not for you. Because yes, that's exactly what it is. You constantly need to make decisions. You will fail more often than you succeed. There will be stress. You need to be able to deal with all of this.

But what about burnout?

I've never personally experienced it, and I think one of the reasons is because I've always chosen things that I enjoy. When you're willing to invest time and energy into something you love, you don't burn out from what brings you joy.

The key is developing self-awareness around what you're capable of and adapting accordingly. Be obsessed without neglecting your health. If you are your business, then your business needs you at your best. Sleep well. Work out. What matters is what you do when you work and how you use your free time. Make sacrifices, but not with your health, otherwise everything collapses.

I realize all this now because I've lived through it.

Most of my previous business attempts failed. One of the main reasons was that I wasn't willing to do the real work. I wasn't good enough. I was too comfortable and didn't want to get uncomfortable.

Now, I thrive in the discomfort. I understand that to realize my dream of doing work I love, something that offers me time, freedom, and flexibility that only a few people have, I need to be willing to do more than the average person.

You can't get extraordinary results if you're not willing to put in extraordinary effort.

I'm in a period of my life where I'm obsessed with growth, and business growth is a huge part of that. I feel like I've spent years getting ready for this moment. I've tried many things. I failed many times. But now I feel ready.

Do I have it all figured out? No. Could I do more? Yes. But I'm doing my best and giving everything I can right now while keeping it sustainable mentally and physically so I can reach my goals. 🌍

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So here's my question for you: Are you treating your business like a real business, or more like a hobby?

I've seen this pattern with many clients, they treat their business like a side-hustle even when it's their main source of income. That mindset switch is crucial for growth.

Starting, growing and running a business is not for the lighthearted. You will stumble, fall, hopefully get up, try again, fall again. If you're not willing to go through this cycle... it's not for you.

Wherever you are, you'll be thinking about how you can make your product better, how to price your services, what you could have done better during your latest sales call, how to generate more leads... and more.

And despite all that, you will be happy about it. Because if you're not, if all that sounds dreadful and exhausting to you... then it's simply not for you.

Right now my life is very imbalanced. I work, I travel... and that's pretty much it. One day, I might rebalance it all... or maybe not, who knows!

But for now, I'm obsessed with what I do. I want to do more of it. Whether it's Sunday or Monday, I don't care, it's another day I get to spend building something I believe in. 📈

Ever felt stuck, wanting to start your own thing but clueless about exactly what to start? That was me, for years.

I was reading or watching YouTube videos, and I was often hearing things like “do what you love” or “do what you’re passionate about.”

Ok, I get the idea, but I never found this advice super practical or easy to implement.

There are things that I like; I have passions… but “making something out of it” isn’t always straightforward.

So today, I’m going to share with you what worked for me, and what I think can be a good way to implement this, so you can get started too.

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In an ideal world, you want to be at the intersection of four things:

• what you love ❤️

• what you’re good at 💪🏼

• what people need 🌍

• what people are willing to pay for 💰

The magical intersection of these four elements is what the Japanese call your Ikigai, which translates roughly to your ‘reason for being’.

If you manage to “be in this space,” it’s ideal:

• You get to work on something you’re passionate about.

• You get to work on something you’re good at, which makes the experience more enjoyable and should satisfy your clients.

• You get to actually serve a need, hence help people.

• And, cherry on top, people will give you money in exchange for what you do for them!

Awesome, right? 🎯

However, let’s be real—this is far from the reality for the majority of the population. I don’t know many people who get to be in this magical space.

I don’t see myself fully there just yet, though I’m probably closer than I’ve ever been. I’d have to reflect on that to identify what’s missing and how I can get there (but that’s a story for another post 😉).

Let’s explore these four circles now, and figure out how we can get you as close as possible to the center. For a twist, I’ll actually go in reverse order.

What people need

People probably won’t give you money if they don’t need what you offer (apart maybe from your mom or your BFF 😉).

You need to provide a service or product people need. You could always offer something they want (but don’t necessarily need), but that will be a harder sell, and your offer would have to be extremely good to convince them to pay.

There are ways to do this—we all buy plenty of things we want but don’t really need if we’re honest.

But when you sell something people truly need, the “convincing” is much easier, and your clients—assuming they have a good experience with you and your offer—are more likely to purchase again or recommend you.

Personal example: I think my current web design service is a great illustration of this. I work with non-techy people who want a website. But they don’t want to deal hosting, updates, maintenance, plugins, etc. Just the thought of all this gives them headaches. That’s why, instead of just charging a flat rate to build their website, I offer a subscription service where I take care of everything for my clients! When I “pitch” it to the right people, the answer is usually “Yes, this is exactly what I need”.

Journaling Prompts ✍️

Here are prompts to help you identify problems worth solving:

• What problems in the world frustrate or move you most?

• Where do you feel you could genuinely make a difference?

• What positive change would you love to contribute to?

What people are willing to pay for

I want to start with this one for a simple reason. If your plan is to make a living out of your project—and run a business—then you need to generate profits. For that, there aren’t many ways around it: you need people paying for what you offer.

Personal example: When my wife and I lived in Miami, we did dog boarding in our apartment. At the same time, my wife had a studio photography business at home. One day, her studio was up and we were looking after the dog, she took some super cute pictures of the dog, just for fun. We showed them to the owner, and he wanted to pay us. We were sort of confused. We did it again and got the same reaction. We started a business and created ‘Portraits of Poochies’!

Journaling Prompts ✍️

Here are some prompts to help validate there’s a market:

• What services or products have you paid for that you could provide?

• What do you see people constantly asking for help or advice with online?

• Where do your skills or interests overlap with what others value financially?

These two points (willingness to pay and need) are fairly intertwined, so I want to add a couple of things to focus your thought process:

• There’s a saying in business: “Create a painkiller, not a vitamin.” It means it’s much easier to sell something that actually solves a pain point or problem, rather than just providing a little extra bonus. Both are possible and exist, but the painkiller is an easier and more sustainable approach (easier to “pitch,” with higher chances to survive economic turmoil).

• Usually, people are willing to pay for something they genuinely need. 🤷‍♂️

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What you’re good at

Let’s be honest—it would be very hard and make little sense to start a business in something you suck at! 😅

Not that you can’t learn and get better… but the start would be pretty tough if you have no clue how to deliver your offer properly. It takes a lot of time to get a business up and running and make it sustainable—longer than people think. If you’re not good at what you’re planning to do, I hope you have a super high dose of patience!

Running a business is hard because it requires tons of various skills on top of “your craft.”

If you’re good at other stuff but not the craft you’re focusing on, one idea can be to partner with someone who complements your skills. That way, you have more areas covered.

But please, do yourself a favor and don’t take onboard the first person you find on Reddit. Having a business partner is as close as it gets to having a spouse, especially in the early days—so pick carefully. 😉

All this to say, if you’re good at what you want to do, you’re doing yourself a huge favor!

For that, look at two things:

• What you’ve been learning and doing, and feel comfortable with.

• What people come to you for—because you might not see yourself as good at something, but others might.

Personal example: for this one, I’ll take the example of my business consulting. It wasn’t something that was obvious to me. However, every time my wife Rosie needed help with something that falls into her “boring stuff” bucket, she comes to me for help… and I usually figure it out in 5 minutes. And since I started paying attention, I noticed a lot of people come to me for help like this. Finding the right tool to do something, organizing or optimizing processes, knowing the current relevant strategies, or simply solving any sort of problems. She told me many times, “You should charge for this, as you’re obviously good at it.” For me, it’s just part of who I am - part of being curious and nerdy - but as she pointed out, it’s also a valuable skillset which I can help others with.

Journaling Prompts ✍️

Here are prompts to help uncover your skills and strengths:

• What skills or talents come easily to you or others often compliment?

• What problems do people regularly ask you for help with?

• What have you improved at over the years without being forced?

What you love

This is the real cherry on top. 🍒 I say that because many people meet the first three criteria, but ultimately they hate what they do (or at least the organization or environment they’re in).

The magic behind Ikigai, that I think more people should focus on, is finding something they genuinely love.

I know everything isn’t unicorns and rainbows. We can’t love something all the time, but if you can at least find pleasure and joy in the mission you pursue… you’re in a good place.

I think this is the hardest piece of the puzzle, though.

Why?

Because people often struggle to identify what they truly love or are passionate about. It’s easy to pick “superficial” or mundane things we enjoy, but that doesn’t mean those things are suitable for business.

For this, you’re going to have to dig deep because no one else can tell you. You know yourself better than anyone else, believe it or not.😉

I think the best way to find your passion is to try as many things as possible. We often limit ourselves to what we already know and do. But what if your real passion is yet unknown?

We aren’t born with passions; we discover them throughout our lives by being exposed to new experiences. This usually happens in our younger years as we try many things as kids and teens to understand who we are. But often, somewhere in our adult life, we lose this sense of exploration and settle for what we already know.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

I believe in being a lifelong learner. Every time you feel an itch to explore something, go for it! Experiment. If you don’t feel the itch, challenge yourself to try something new at least two or three times per year.

You could be one trial away from finding your lifelong passion! 🚀

Personal example: I’m lucky to do something that I love at the moment. I get to use my skills to help people get unstuck in their business or their personal life. I find that fun. I would do it for free all day long. This is a no-brainer. Unfortunately I cannot do it for free because life isn’t free, so I need to charge. But if money wasn’t necessary, I would. It fills my cup, it challenges me, it excites me… it lights up a fire in me. What I do now fits perfectly with my personality and natural interests.

Journaling Prompts ✍️

Here are some prompts that can help you find what lights you up and brings you joy:

• What activities make you feel most alive and fulfilled?

• If money and time weren’t an issue, how would you spend your days?

• What topics or hobbies do you naturally gravitate toward?

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To wrap it up, I want to emphasize that this process is far from trivial. 🚧

It takes time. You probably won’t get it right the first time.

Even if you find something that checks all the boxes, it might not work out the way you expect, because many other factors come into play (how you execute the idea, how you build your offer, how you communicate about it, etc.).

But all those things can be learned and improved as you go.

This “guide” gives you a framework to build solid foundations and gain clarity on what you could work on. It should also give you confidence that what you’ve picked is based on thoughtful reflection, supporting your endeavor—ultimately helping with motivation, establishing your mission, your WHY, and more.

After all that, whether you decide to take the leap or not is up to you. A lot of mindset work comes into play to make that happen! 🌟

October 2025 update: I recently created a tool to help you discover your Ikigai! Check it out (for free) on my website:

Discover Your Ikigai

And if you feel like it, please share in the comments what came up!

👉 Now grab your notebook, dive into these prompts, and let yourself dream and plan. Your Ikigai might be closer than you think!

Initial Motivation

When you get started on your entrepreneurial journey, it’s easy to put in the hours and get shit done. You’re finally doing it, excitement and motivation run high… this first weekend, you do so much, you feel unstoppable. 💪🏼🔥

However, sooner or later, you start to slow down.

You realize you can’t be working all the time. You have to rest, plus life goes on and you still have other responsibilities and things to take care of… so you need to manage your time and prioritize.

As a result, things are not moving as fast as you thought they would. You’re not seeing much progress, and you’re starting to feel a bit discouraged. 😕

Plateau Scenario

Or maybe your story is different. You’ve actually been doing this for a decade now. It started well, but for a while you’ve hit a plateau. You’re getting by, but you’re far from thriving.

You’re getting everything done, because you have to. You’ve found the right balance between work and everything else… but let’s be honest, since the excitement faded you haven’t been pushing too hard.

What started as a dream sometimes feels daunting, like just another job.

I know exactly how that feels because I’ve been there myself, multiple times.

The initial excitement faded, motivation dipped, and suddenly what started as a fun/passion project felt like a burden.

What changed everything was acknowledging the need for external accountability and clear vision.

For me, that was some good friends who already went through this, and my wife Rosie who always has my back.

Why Accountability Matters

When you have a job as an employee, either in-person or remote, you usually have a manager or some teammates keeping you on track. This can be done passively or actively, but most of the time, deadlines are established and everyone has to do their job in a timely manner.

If you don’t “deliver”, there are usually consequences.

This means that whether you feel like doing your job or not, you sort of have to do it no matter what. That’s what you’re getting paid for after all!

By the way, this is the same during our education. We attend lectures, we are given homework and exams, and if we don’t deliver, there are consequences. Most educational systems have processes in place to make sure we stay on track.

Those systems - in the professional or educational world - are far from perfect; they have many cracks… but to a certain degree, they are in place and they work.

They do offer some sort of accountability.

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Going Solo

And then, one day, you decide to go solo, to stand on your own two feet. 🚀

You have the idea, you have a plan to execute, you feel more or less ready.

Time to give a shot at becoming an entrepreneur. 🎯

To be more specific, I’ll use the term solopreneur here to reflect the fact that you’re venturing into this by yourself.

You might decide to start your “side hustle” while you have a job to guarantee some financial stability… or you go full steam ahead and quit to focus all your time and energy on this new venture!

As I said before, the reason I know this is not because I can read minds, but simply because I’m just sharing my own experiences and feelings. 😅

I’m definitely not alone here, many solopreneurs experience exactly these scenarios.

Why It’s Hard

I believe this is the consequence of a few things:

• We are not really taught to operate this way. The traditional educational and professional systems usually provide some sort of direction… we work under the supervision and/or in collaboration with a person or a team (directly or indirectly)… so there’s a support system in place to hold us accountable to do what’s expected of us. I’m not saying these systems are always good; they can be toxic… but they exist.

• The way our brains are wired can make this tricky. Motivation comes and goes. Some days we feel like working, some days we don’t. Also, depending on our personal and financial situations, we might not feel the pressure of delivering. “Why should I spend my weekend working when I’m already making good money with my regular job?” or “Why should I push more as an entrepreneur, the bills are paid, food is on the table… sure, things could be better, I wouldn’t say no to more income, but you know… I like watching Netflix.”

I’m sharing this first and foremost because I want you to know that if you feel this way, it doesn’t mean you’re lazy or that there is something wrong with you.

You might just not be passionate enough about your side hustle. And there’s nothing wrong with that. Maybe you’re not meant to grow it into something big.

While I do believe there’s always a part of personal responsibility in everything we do, and that we should hold ourselves accountable for what we say and do…

I also know things are not always easy.

Facing the Truth

Truth is, no one told us that starting and growing something on our own would be so hard.

Entrepreneurship is hard.

You thought you could just be doing “the thing you love,” but that’s far from the truth.

You thought it would be easy to start making money; there are others apparently doing it… but your inbox remains empty. 📭

You have to deal with and manage a million things pulling you in 25 different directions… plus life still goes on with everything it involves!

I get it.

Getting Unstuck

But what if I tell you there’s a way to get over this hump?

Practical Steps

I believe there are two key elements you need in order to move past this roadblock and get going again:

• Get clarity on why and what you’re doing. I’m a strong believer in having a strong WHY. Motivation fades. A clear vision doesn’t. Spending time to zoom out and get clear on everything you’re trying to achieve will get you through the tough days/weeks/months. How do you do this? Journaling or some reflection exercises can be powerful solutions, or simply talking it out with someone. ✨

• Build a support and accountability system. Just like in the traditional educational or professional world, designing systems around you and your business to keep you on track and hold you accountable will help you through the challenges and encourage you to deliver what needs to get done. Bonus points if this system is both honest and compassionate: you want someone telling you what you need to hear instead of just what you want to hear… but also someone who will understand what you’re dealing with. This can mean finding an accountability partner (friend, fellow solopreneur), joining online communities or accountability groups, or even hiring a mentor or coach. Whichever works best for you, having someone or a system in place can make a huge difference. 🤝

I know it’s not easy to ask for support.

But this whole entrepreneur thing is already hard enough; don’t let ego and pride make it even more difficult.

Ask for support. Accept help.

It doesn’t mean you have to give away any freedom, decision-making, or power. The point isn’t to get a boss. 😆

The point is to have someone in your corner to bounce ideas off, someone not fogged by day-to-day tasks, someone cheering you up when appropriate, but also calling you on your BS when necessary… someone who cares enough to see you achieve what you want, and even more.

An accountability buddy. A friend.

Final Encouragement

Doing it alone is hard.

Don’t underestimate the power of having someone in your corner, there for you, to call or text, holding you accountable on good days and bad.

If you’re feeling stuck and realize you need someone to hold you accountable in an honest, supportive, and compassionate way, I’m here to help! Let’s hop on a quick chat to see how I can support you in your journey as a solopreneur. 📲😊

The Warrior Flow School

Before I dive into the lessons learned, I just want to say how incredibly proud and grateful I am for this experience.

The Warrior Flow School wasn’t your classic yoga school. Our programs were accessible, adaptive, trauma-informed, and size-inclusive. Social justice was a key pillar of our teachings. That means we didn’t attract your “classic yogis.” Our students and faculty members were people who either felt they didn’t belong in the mainstream yoga world or genuinely wanted to help others.

This uniqueness meant that I had the chance to collaborate with and be around people with big hearts.

Together we talked, we learned, we laughed, we cried.

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Three Impactful Years

There is so much I could share about this adventure. I probably won’t cover it all, but I want to start with some numbers:

• In 3 years, we hosted 7 x 200-hour yoga teacher training cohorts and 1 x 300-hour yoga teacher training cohort.

• We had close to 200 students trusting us and taking our trainings from about 15 countries around the world.

• We collaborated with more than 30 yoga teachers and experts, who we compensated fairly for their work.

• We generated more than $60K during the first year of activity (2022) and over $100K in the second year (2023)—all that with no paid marketing!

• We offered scholarships to approximately 50 people, representing more than $100,000 over 3 years.

I received countless messages from graduates telling us that we made a huge difference in their lives and communities.

I’m really proud of all that. 🙏🏼

Lessons Learned

Looking back at it now, this is what I would qualify as my first proper experience in entrepreneurship. Going from ideation to execution, from 0 to 1.

We discussed different starting points and business models, created the LLC, strategized about our first product, contacted people because we simply couldn’t do it all alone, and eventually announced our product to the world! We did all that with no starting capital, apart from a few hundred dollars to get the LLC going and set up a few software tools.. The capital we started with was “human-capital”—Adrian’s network of 20 years in the yoga world and an email list of 10,000 people. That was more valuable than any money to start with!

Reflecting back, here are the 10 key lessons I’ve learned from this experience.

1. Creating a business with someone will be hard at some point. I loved what Adrian and I did together. I don’t believe either of us could have accomplished what we did without the other. We complemented each other in so many ways, and between the two of us, we covered a lot of ground, which was awesome. If you’ve read the book ‘Rocket Fuel’, they talk about the idea of visionaries and integrators. Adrian was the visionary; I was the integrator. Great match. Great couple. You might find it funny that I use the word couple, but I chose it intentionally. Because when you create a business with someone, in a way it’s another kind of marriage and relationship. We spent countless hours talking and texting, sharing so much. Like any relationship, there are ups and downs. Two human beings cannot always agree. Most of the time it’s fine—it’s even beneficial as we have different perspectives. But sometimes it can also be challenging to navigate, especially when you become close and attached to each other, and particularly when you both have strong personalities like we do.

   

2. You cannot do it all alone. Starting a business is not straightforward. Running and growing a business is hard. There are so many things to do, so many things you need to know outside your area of expertise. It’s humanly not possible to know it all, or at least to be good at all of it. Surrounding yourself with people who believe in you, who are willing to tell you what you need to hear, and who can support you is crucial. But pick the right people. Because just like in every situation in life, your environment and who you surround yourself with significantly impact who you are, what you think, and therefore what you do. Also, depending on the nature and scale of your business, there will probably come a time when you need to delegate and hire people.

3. Hiring and firing is mega hard. Which brings me to this point! Hiring is challenging because I personally find it very hard to assess someone’s skillset in just a few hours and decide if they’re the right fit. Everyone has a good CV; everyone can behave or act a certain way during a conversation to make you believe they’re perfect. Then, when you hire someone, you need to manage them (to a certain extent), which isn’t always easy because we deal with people who have emotions and egos. As the business owner, I also felt responsible for people on the team—not just financially, but personally too. I wanted to make sure they were okay. It can be draining sometimes. And when things don’t go as planned, you need to have difficult conversations, which can be especially tough when you genuinely care about the person. I’m pretty direct and usually fine telling someone what I think, even if I know they won’t like it. But in the context of a business, as a manager/employer, I found it very, very hard.

4. Be strategic about what tasks you delegate. For someone like me who loves to control everything, delegating isn’t my cup of tea! I like to do things myself, so I know they’ll be done the way I want, and I’ll only have myself to blame if things don’t go well. I’m like that in my personal life too, ask my wife! 😆 So yeah, deciding to delegate doesn’t come naturally. We delegated a bunch of tasks in the school to focus on what we thought was more important. Looking back now, I think we could’ve handled it differently. At the early stage of a business, any financial resources you have should be reinvested to grow. We delegated some “mundane” tasks to focus on the bigger picture, but we weren’t experts in growth and scaling. If I had to do it again, I would suck it up, do the “boring” stuff myself, and spend the money on experts to grow the business.

5. No one will care as much as you do. When you work with people and feel super excited about what you’re building, you want everyone else to care about it just as much. But that’s impossible. Don’t get me wrong, people will care. We had amazing team members who genuinely believed in our mission. But at the end of the day, you cannot expect everyone to care as deeply as you, the owner. I thought about the school day in, day out. It was consistently on my mind. I cannot expect everyone to be as obsessed as I was. It just doesn’t work like that.

6. Don’t become stagnant. This is something I really took from Adrian. I think I have a natural tendency to become somewhat complacent when things are going well. If we already had two yoga trainings doing well, why bother starting something else? Don’t change what’s not broken, right? Adrian was always thinking ahead, about the next phase. What can we do beyond yoga trainings to remain relevant and different? Let’s stay one or two steps ahead. While I think there’s a middle ground between focusing on the present and the future, I really admire his ability to continually challenge what you’re doing and always seek ways to improve or do things differently and push boundaries.

7. Be ready to do the work. Let’s be real. Entrepreneurship is not for the faint-hearted. When you want to build something from the ground up, it takes A LOT OF WORK. And I’m not just talking about the number of hours you work each day. It’s about how much mental space it consumes. It’s in your head 24/7; it never stops. “What if I do this?” “What if we try that?” It’s NON-STOP. It’s a grind. If you want to make a living from it, it will require tons of effort, energy, time, knowledge, and a bit of luck. And the best part? Even with all this, you might not succeed. It could still fail! I warned you 😉

8. Be realistic about expectations when collaborating with others. This is not a critique of all the wonderful people I’ve worked with, but when we started working designing the model of the school, we had a strategy, and expectations. A big part of our growth strategy was collaboration. We built an economic model to reward our faculty members based on the success of the school (we shared revenue + offered generous commissions). The idea was simple: if we win, we all win. We worked with 30+ people. Our assumption was, “If each faculty member enrolls one student for each cohort we run, the school will be incredibly profitable while also compensating faculty members really well.” It just didn’t work. I don’t know why, but out of 200 students, only a tiny fraction came from faculty recommendations. Too much of our strategy relied on them to get new students. In hindsight, we should have taken matters more into our own hands, earlier on.

9. Learn when you should or shouldn’t intervene. Something I noticed is that sometimes it’s better to keep your mouth shut, even if you really want to speak up. It’s not easy for someone like me, who loves to speak up and be right 😂, but I saw the value of this in two main ways: First, when managing people, you need to find the right balance between telling them what to do and giving them enough space to experiment and grow independently, without suffocating them. On the flip side, you also need to develop the intuition to know when it’s time to intervene because things aren’t going well and something must change. It’s a very fine line and a delicate balance to find. Second, there’s sharing opinions on things outside your expertise. While I strongly believe there’s value in bringing diverse perspectives to the table, sometimes you just need to “stay in your lane,” trust people to do their jobs, and focus your energy on what you’re truly great at.

10. Be kind. Be human. I genuinely believe this is one of the most important lessons. In a very ego-driven world, where we often hear that to succeed in business you need to be ruthless or act like a shark, I believe kindness will always win over ruthlessness. It might mean less financial success or it might take more time, but I’m okay with that. Because ultimately, what I’m most grateful for in this experience are all the connections I made. It wasn’t always easy. Yes, I had disagreements with people. But overall, it’s a huge net positive on a human level. I grew as a person. I built lasting relationships. I saw the reward of being kind, honest, and genuine through how people supported and helped us.

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One Chapter Ends Another Begins

The Warrior Flow School is the longest project I’ve ever worked on. It’s been the most rewarding, challenging, and impactful venture of my life so far.

The School financially supported me for two and a half years and allowed me to travel and work from over 15 countries! 🌎

I wish we could’ve carried on, as we were genuinely bringing value to many people and the world. However, certain factors and circumstances meant it had to end this way. I’ve learned to focus on what I can control, accept the rest, and always do my best with the information I have.

The lessons, experiences, skills, and connections I acquired over these three years are invaluable. I’ll carry them with me into this next chapter.

After four years collaborating on various ventures, I’ve decided to use everything I’ve learned to go solo. I’m now focusing on helping people- especially solopreneurs & creatives- get unstuck, either in the personal or professional through coaching and consulting.

I feel very aligned, ready excited with my new mission.

Acknowledgments

I want to say thank you to Adrian, Andrea, Sunny, Anita, Molisa, Claudia, and Rosie—it took a team to do it all. And of course, thank you to all the faculty members and students who trusted us!

If you’re reading this and have been involved in the life of the School in any way, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. ❤️

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.

You’re not alone. In both my professional and personal life, this is something I’ve noticed.

The Problem

There are tons of people out there—creatives, solopreneurs—who are extremely talented at their craft but struggle immensely with all the other tasks involved in running a business. They get paralyzed and either don’t get started at all or quickly become discouraged because they waste so much time on tasks other than the craft they love so much.

The truth is that running a business takes a LOT of work. You don’t get to spend all your time on your craft—you also have to handle everything else: admin, operations, marketing, finances, etc.

IT’S HARD!

A Real-life Example

I’ve seen it first-hand at home with my wife Rosie.

She’s the very definition of a creative. She can spend hours and hours learning and practicing her craft (photography, for example), but on her own, she’d have no idea how to set up her business, put a website online, choose and set up the right tools and software, get a professional email address—and let’s not even talk about sorting out finances and accounting! 😅

I’m usually the one doing all this for her. When she tries to do it herself, it takes HOURS and HOURS and the result is usually half-baked… and she gets insanely frustrated along the way (which isn’t fun for me 🫣).

When I jump in, I usually sort it out in no time—and it just works flawlessly.

The Solution

If you recognize yourself in Rosie and everything else I’ve described, I see you, and I want to help.

I’m naturally curious, with a passion for tech, innovation, and all nerdy stuff. I try software and watch tech reviews for fun! 🤣 I’m also super organized in everything I do.

I have years of experience working in startup environments and on my own businesses. Both settings taught me to be adaptable and flexible—but also highly efficient. Trial and error are my best friends.

I don’t let “not knowing” stop me. I’m a problem solver at heart—the harder the challenge, the more fun I have!

Here’s what I can do for you:

• Website Service: Building a website is one thing—keeping it updated, looking good on mobile, and not breaking anything? That’s a whole different beast. Most small business owners waste hours trying to DIY their site (or worse, they give up entirely). This service takes it off your plate. For a simple monthly fee, I’ll build and manage your website for you—no tech headaches, no big upfront cost, just peace of mind and a site you’re proud to share. 💻

• Clarity Sessions: Feeling lost or confused sucks—it’s probably the biggest reason creatives feel stuck. In these sessions, we’ll get crystal-clear on your business values, your ideal audience, and how you communicate your message, so you can finally take action without second-guessing yourself. 🎯

• Strategy & Action Planning Sessions: When you’re buried deep in your work, it’s super hard to zoom out and see the bigger picture. That’s where I step in. With an outside perspective and fresh eyes, I’ll help you create a clear roadmap and plan your next steps, making sure you’re proactive instead of reactive—no more constant firefighting! 🚀

• Process Optimization Sessions: Let’s face it: organizing and optimizing workflows is boring for most people—but I genuinely love this stuff 🤓. I’ll streamline your tools and processes, simplifying everything behind the scenes. You’ll gain back precious time to focus on what you truly love doing. (Bonus: I’ll probably even save you money by cutting down unnecessary subscriptions 💸).

• Accountability Coaching Sessions: Running your own business can feel incredibly lonely, especially during tough times. Motivation comes and goes—we’re human after all! I’ll be your accountability partner, checking in regularly to make sure you stay on track with your goals. And when life inevitably gets messy, we’ll reflect together, learn from it, and get you back on track quickly. 🤝

All these things might sound boring to many people, but I genuinely love them 🤓 And I happen to be pretty good at them too, which is a perfect match!

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Next Steps

If you’re thinking, ‘I don’t know if this will really help me,’ let’s talk about it in a free initial chat—there’s nothing to lose, and clarity to gain.

You don’t have to do this alone anymore. Let me help you, so you can focus on what you’re best at—and what you love most.

🗓️ If you’re tired of feeling stuck or overwhelmed, reply to this email or DM me. I’ll send you a link to schedule a free initial chat where we can start getting you unstuck right away!

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.

I absolutely love the freedom and flexibility remote work has given me. However, I don’t believe it’s the ideal solution for everyone. I’d go even further—I believe remote work can actually be detrimental to some people!

Why? Because working in-person can offer opportunities you’d never get remotely.

Personally, I don’t think I’d be where I am today if I hadn’t spent time working face-to-face with certain people earlier in my career.

Benefits of remote work

On one side of the spectrum, there are people like me who thrive when working remotely, either from home or random locations around the world.

I love the flexibility it offers. I definitely feel more productive without constant office interruptions, and by not wasting time commuting, I gain extra personal hours each day.

Drawbacks

On the flip side, I know employees and freelancers who prefer going into an office or co-working space and dislike working from home or remotely. They enjoy the social interactions, spontaneous discussions, coffee breaks, and the structured environment the office provides. It’s also a clear way to separate work and personal life, and allows for easier mentoring, brainstorming, and collaboration.

As much as I advocate for remote work, I must admit there are certain in-person experiences you just can’t replicate online:

• Impromptu & spontaneous conversations: While casual chats in hallways or over coffee ☕️ might seem unproductive, they often lead to genuine relationships, creative breakthroughs, and stronger team bonds. Scheduled online meetings simply can’t recreate that spontaneous spark.

• Business trips: Zoom is great for efficiency and saving the planet, but nothing replaces the deep, personal connections and mentorship moments you get from traveling with colleagues or mentors—especially early in your career. Some conversations, relationships, and deals simply can’t happen fully online. 🤝

• Sharing knowledge: Early in my career, I learned so much just by being around experienced colleagues every day. Direct mentorship or simply observing skilled coworkers in action provides an immersive experience that online interactions rarely match. This daily immersion can genuinely shape your career trajectory.

I also want to highlight that remote work simply isn’t suitable for many jobs and roles out there. Period. If your job can be done remotely, you’re already privileged in the grand scheme of things.

Even though I personally have little interest in returning to an office, I’d make one exception: I’d pack my bags and settle somewhere if it meant working alongside someone extremely talented whom I deeply admire and could learn a lot from. (Last year, I applied for an in-person role in Hong Kong with because I knew it would be an incredible learning experience—sadly, I didn’t get it 😅.)

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Employer perspectives

Employers also seem divided.

Some just don’t want to hear about remote work. If you want the job, you come into the office, period—just like the good ol’ days. They believe offices provide the best environment for employees to thrive and for the company to maximize results. Unfortunately, some simply have trust issues and want to keep an eye on employees at all times. 😅

Then we have employers who embrace remote life themselves and gladly offer the same flexibility to their teams. They see remote work as a competitive advantage for hiring since they’re not limited to local talent.

My take? Employers should trust their teams—after all, why hire someone you can’t trust? Flexibility and clear expectations yield better results than strict mandates.

A note for younger professionals

Remote work might disadvantage younger professionals. In your career’s first decade, being around experienced people can significantly transform your trajectory. I’m unsure how remote work will impact the workforce in the long term, but there will definitely be consequences. Younger workers probably prioritize short-term freedom and flexibility without fully realizing what they might miss out on… only time will tell!

Once you’re more experienced, confident in your craft, and capable of working autonomously, remote work can be ideal—if it suits you. But it does limit opportunities to easily share your experience with younger colleagues. You might selfishly think, “I don’t care, I’d rather work from the beach 🍹,” but just remember your younger self. 😉

Flexibility is key

Rather than companies imposing strict rules, I’d love to see more employers offer flexibility. Office spaces should be available for those who want them (with booking systems to ensure enough space), and proper home-office setups should be provided so remote workers can be comfortable rather than slouched on the couch.

Trust your employees to do their jobs wherever they are—after all, trust can be earned during trial periods. Offering flexibility around both location and working hours massively increases employee satisfaction and reduces turnover. A happy employee is usually a good employee. 😊

On the flip side, clear expectations should be set from the start, helping employees understand when an office setting might better support their growth and development.

Flexible, trust-based environments bring out the best in everyone. Companies offering choices—not mandates—will see happier, more productive teams.

💬 Now I’d love to hear from you: What’s your ideal work environment, and what changes would you like to see?

I’m going to be honest, I really don’t think being an entrepreneur is as cool as everyone says at all… if anything, it kind of sucks.

Don’t get me wrong, like everything else, it has its pros and cons. I totally understand why people love it and are addicted to it… but I also see why it completely discourages some or even burns people out!

In this new post of my Entrepreneur Chronicles, I am reflecting out loud about my situation as an entrepreneur, and whether it’s something I would keep doing or not…

I have never in my life dreamed of being an entrepreneur. I hadn’t thought it was an option until fairly recently, and even now that I’m in it, I don’t even know if I’m good at it!

You know how some kids/teenagers just have that in their DNA? From 8 years old they are selling lemonades or candies, doing jobs in their neighborhood, and negotiating their compensation… I was not like that, and I’m still not like that.

Reflecting on my journey, I became an entrepreneur because I made the choice to live a specific lifestyle. I had savings, and jumping into entrepreneurship then felt like the “best” way to live this life in order to have as much freedom as possible.

I believe I also made this choice to prove something to myself. During my time in Miami, I met a lot of regular people running their own business, doing things they loved, and being financially successful (not talking millions, just a nice salary to live comfortably). At the same time, I was reading a lot of books and watching many videos about personal growth and fulfillment, and I think it sparked something in me… “Is that something I could do myself?”

The truth is, if I had to do it again, I don’t know if I would. The main struggle I have with my current situation is that I’m not making enough money. I also hate the fact that it’s pretty much impossible to promote any online business without creating content.

Knowing what I know now, I would do it differently. I told my former employer in 2020 that I would leave in 2021. Looking back, I should have prepared this transition better. I was already working on something, but it wasn’t stable/sustainable yet. I should have probably looked for a part-time remote job while taking actionable steps to become an entrepreneur.

I’m considering doing so at the moment. But with everything going on in the world, it might not be easy—it would have been much easier back in 2021 for sure. I’m not giving up on being an entrepreneur just yet because there is a lot that I like and I have a strong WHY to keep me going… but I’m curious to see how long I will be doing it. I guess it depends on the “success” I will have… and by that I mean if I can acquire the skills which will allow me to sustainably generate enough revenue.

The thing is, I’m not an entrepreneur because I love it. I don’t care about creating my own business and the status that comes with it, I don’t care about hiring people, building something incredible and leaving a legacy. I don’t care about becoming a multi-millionaire and all that. Hey, I don’t even care about being my own boss!

The reasons I am an entrepreneur at the moment are:

• It gives me COMPLETE freedom. I do what I want, when I want, where I want. This is THE most important thing for me right now. A job would most likely put constraints on my life, which I don’t want.

• I love the process of having to figure things out as I go, always needing to learn something and then applying it. Never knowing what curveball I would have to deal with. I find the challenge of building something very exciting. I never get bored.

• I also get to work on things I enjoy doing, things that bring me joy and fulfillment and that I’m curious about.

But here is the thing, if tomorrow someone knocks at my door (not that I have one but… 😅) and tells me:

“Jeremie, we know what you can do. We are a young startup, we want you to work with us in order to build [the product]. We want you to focus on X, Y, and Z, and as long as you deliver what we need on time and keep us posted on your progress and we can have a weekly catch-up, we don’t care how much you work, when or where you do the job. No need to have calls with clients unless you need to. We will pay you [insert a salary I’m happy with] for that. It’s going to be great!”

Assuming it is a domain and product I’m interested in and I feel excited to work on… I would go for it right away!

No more having to promote/sell myself and my services via social media.

No more worrying about when the next paycheck will be coming.

I would most likely be dabbling with a few side hustles, trying things here and there, but it would be just for the fun of it, with no pressure of making money and anything else out of it… it would purely be to satisfy the nerdiness and curiosity.

I would have - in my eyes - the best of both worlds. The financial security of having a job and the ability to focus solely on the things I want (and ignore stuff like sales, marketing, etc.) while having the freedom that comes with working for yourself. The only thing would be to make sure I don’t get bored too quickly (which happens with me, I need to be challenged), but that’s why I specify ‘young startup’ in the pitch, usually at this stage you have to juggle so many things you can’t get bored for a few years.

What’s ironic is that the job I’m describing here is 90% what I had with my former employer 😅 But after 6+ years there, I was feeling stagnant. The work wasn’t fun anymore, I could do it without thinking and I wasn’t challenged at all. I also see now that I’m a bit of a lone wolf. I do better by myself or with just a few people… but when too many people are involved, teams, managers etc… I find it less enjoyable because of all the consequent calls and reporting involved.

I’m just not sure this dream job I’m describing exists, as in all honesty, I’m aware that it would require a crazy level of trust from the company to give me so much freedom, and I believe trust has to be earned… but if you are reading this and you have something for me, please email me, I will prove my worth!

I’m not gonna quit just yet on being an entrepreneur… I see it as a puzzle to solve and I love the challenge of figuring this problem out. I also genuinely know that I can help others live a more meaningful life! However, reality is that life costs money, and I need to figure out a way to sustain my current lifestyle. How? We will see…

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.

We only have one life. Our time on this planet is limited.

I’m tired of seeing people unhappy, pessimistic about their lives, hating their jobs, living for the weekends, feeling stuck—like they have no choices—just going through the motions as if life is happening to them.

It should not be the norm.

We should do everything in our power to make that time meaningful and, at the very least, feel good for the majority of it.

Many people see others living their dream lives and think:

“I wish I could have that.”

“They’re so lucky—I wish it could be me.”

Do you ever have those thoughts?

What if I told you that you could have your dream life too?

Living a dream life doesn’t (always) require vast amounts of money. It’s actually about getting clear on what that life looks like, making intentional choices, and taking action.

This idea has been in the back of my mind for a long time. So I’m taking my own advice and finally taking action. Let’s go! 🚀

I recently shared my story here. If you want the full context, I encourage you to read it first—then this post will make a lot more sense.

The first 30 years of my life were great, but I was living on autopilot. I was fairly happy, but I wasn’t truly fulfilled. The thing is, you don’t always realize what you’re missing when you don’t even know it exists.

You don’t know what you don’t know.

Back then, I wasn’t questioning much about my life. I was following the path society laid out for me—trying to be a good citizen.

Then, in 2017, I had a huge wake-up call. I lost my baby boy. My life was turned upside down.

Suddenly, I became deeply aware of how precious life is. That realization led me down a path of self-discovery.

I started questioning how I was living.

I read. I watched. I studied. I explored the why behind my choices and how society shapes our beliefs.

It was a real awakening for me.

I felt like I had unplugged from The Matrix and was finally seeing life through a new lens.

Since then, I’ve been living a life I never even dreamed of. A life I didn’t think was possible for me.

And here’s the thing—I’m just a regular guy.

I don’t have special abilities. I don’t come from wealth. If anything, the odds were against me in some ways. But I still made it happen.

Today, I want to help others. Maybe you.

I can’t force people to change. I can’t make anyone wake up.

You have to decide for yourself—do you want to take the red pill or the blue pill?

I want to help people who are already aware that there’s another way to live.

Maybe you don’t know exactly what you want yet, but you have this feeling—this itch—that your life could be different.

Using my personal experience and everything I’ve learned over the past eight years, I’ve created a map to guide you to “the other side.”

It’s a 4-step process—the four milestones I went through to get where I am today:

Step 1: Awareness— Recognizing that life is short and should be lived intentionally.

Most people operate on autopilot, following societal expectations without ever questioning them. This step is about uncovering what truly matters and challenging the belief that happiness should be put off until “later.”

Step 2: Awakening— Breaking free from conditioning and rediscovering your true self.

This step involves unlearning limiting beliefs, questioning outdated ideas of success, and expanding your perspective. It’s about peeling back the layers to reveal who you really are.

Step 3: Dreaming— Designing a life that excites you.

Now that you know life can be lived differently, it’s time to define what you truly want—beyond external expectations. This step is about envisioning your ideal life, planning the transition, and challenging the fears holding you back.

Step 4: Living— Turning your vision into reality.

Execution is where most people struggle. This step is about following through—making the necessary changes to your environment, staying resilient, and remembering your why. It’s about actively living the life you designed, not just dreaming about it.

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This idea has been in my head for years. But I never took action because I didn’t believe I had what it takes to help others.

After a lot of personal introspection and conversations, I finally realized that I do have the most important ingredient:

Lived experience.

I know what it feels like to live life based on what others expect of you. I know what it feels like to put off happiness, to believe “I can’t do that—it’s not for people like me.”

But if I was able to do it, so can you.

Unlike me, you won’t have to go through a tragedy to wake up. You won’t have to spend years lost, searching for answers, moving across the world just to find yourself.

You won’t have to read an entire library and spend hours on YouTube to realize you can live on your terms.

I’ve already done the work.

That’s why I created this framework—to help guide you through the process more smoothly and intentionally.

You don’t have to wait for a crisis to wake up. You don’t have to keep waiting for ‘one day.’ The moment to start designing your life is now.

We all deserve to be happy.

We all deserve to have what we want.

We all deserve to be excited about Mondays.

We all deserve to feel valued, seen, and loved.

You do.

If you feel something stirring inside while reading this… if this resonates with you and you’re ready to stop drifting and start living with purpose, let’s chat. Reply to this email or send me a DM—let’s chat and explore what’s possible for you.

Opportunities have always seemed to align for me. Not because I’ve made millions (still waiting on that one 😅), but because whenever I’ve been at a crossroads, something unexpected has happened to push me forward.

• When I graduated, I did three interviews and landed a job straight away—while others sent out hundreds of applications with no luck.

• When I decided to change jobs a year later, it took me just a month to secure another one.

• When the company I worked for started struggling, I was introduced to someone launching a startup. That startup became my workplace for six years.

• When personal struggles hit, my employer had my back, and I was able to relocate quickly.

• In 2020, after I told my company I’d be leaving in a year, two friends reached out to collaborate on a project.

• When that project became stagnant, another opportunity popped up—again, from one of those same friends.

• At the end of 2023, when my income was dipping, my former employer contacted me for a project.

Some might call this luck. Some might say the universe, God, or a guardian angel is looking after me.

I honestly don’t fully know what it is. But I do know one thing—it’s not just luck.

I don’t say that to be arrogant, but people reach out to me because I show up, and I’m reliable when it matters. And people notice that. Over time, that builds up. When you plant enough seeds and nurture them, eventually, some will blossom. 🌱

And once again, that pattern continues. Just as I was reflecting on what’s next, I had a conversation with my friend Alvey Thompson—a top-tier health & fitness coach—and it quickly turned into something bigger.

That was a long intro to say: I’ve got something new cooking. 👀

Alvey’s holistic approach to health is something I really resonate with.

See, I have a problem with a lot of fitness, nutrition, and health “experts.” They all have an agenda—usually tied to a book, a product, or a program they’re selling—and they push their narrative as if it’s the only solution for every health issue on the planet.

Most of them never take the individual into account. They claim that their solution is the best while dismissing everyone else’s. And, of course, they all contradict each other, leaving people who genuinely want to eat better or improve their health feeling confused as hell.

That drives me NUTS. 😤

It’s why I’ve stopped reading, watching, or listening to these so-called “experts”—because, at the end of the day, they’re more interested in selling than in actually helping people.

Alvey, though, is different.

He’s been coaching for years—helping everyone from single moms to high-level executives to NFL players (for non-sports people, that’s American football 🏈).

Alvey isn’t just someone I admire from a distance—I’ve worked with him personally in the past, and his approach to health has had a huge impact on me.

In 2022, when I was about to turn 35, I realized I had a decision to make:

➡️ Carry on as I had been (eat whatever I wanted whenever I wanted, move my body here and there when I felt like it)…

➡️ Or make a conscious decision to look after myself so I could thrive as I got older and things became harder than they were in my 20s.

Alvey challenged me to rethink my approach to movement and health in general. He told me that to be actually healthy, I had to look after both my body and my mind.

I had to nurture my physical health, but also my emotional, spiritual, and mental well-being. Being mindful of everything I consumed would have a major impact on my health. That shifted a lot for me.

More recently, despite being consistent with my physical health and movement practice for a while, I hadn’t seen much change in terms of muscle growth or strength.

After a conversation with Alvey, we identified that my diet was the issue. Even though I was eating healthy and abundantly, I had to pay more attention to what I was eating.

That’s when I dove into the world of macros, tracking my protein, carb, and fat intake daily to understand my nutritional patterns. That was eye-opening, and I now have a much better understanding of what and how I need to eat to really fuel my body.

Alvey was able to help me by taking into account who I was—my lifestyle, my preferences, my habits.

By now, we’ve been friends long enough to know what each other is good at. So when Alvey mentioned he could use some help taking his coaching business further online, I knew we’d be a great match.

Putting together online programs, building systems, and automating as much as possible so the expert can focus on their craft?

That’s my jam! 🎯

For the past few weeks, we’ve been working behind the scenes to create solid online courses and coaching programs that meet people where they are—helping them understand health so they can make informed decisions that actually work for them.

As I pointed out in other posts, I’ve always had ideas and launched projects, but turning them into something sustainable is a skill I still need to refine.

This time, I’m fully committed to mastering it.

Since December, I’ve been deep in learning mode—spending hours and hours taking online courses on marketing, positioning, building offers, sales funnels, and more.

And on this project, we also have a growth partner helping us scale with paid marketing. I’m super excited to observe and learn by collaborating with experts in the field.

If you’ve been here for a while, you know I see every new project as a stepping stone.

Whatever happens, I focus on the journey and always learn as much as I can.

I choose who I work with and what I work on wisely—because it’s important to me that we share common values and goals.

If there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s that opportunities come when you show up and build relationships.

I’ll share more as we build this out—excited to take you along for the ride! 🚀

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.

✨ This is probably the most vulnerable post I’ve written so far—but it’s part of the journey and the reality of the life I live, so I feel it’s the right thing to share.

For the last quarter of 2024 and since then, I haven’t been able to pay myself through my main business. My last paycheck was on September 1st, and since then—nothing.

This is the first time since I started working in September 2012 that I haven’t received money for the work I’ve been doing. I saw it coming, so it didn’t shake me too much, but I won’t lie—it’s a tough pill to swallow. When you invest so much time and energy into something wholeheartedly and don’t see financial compensation, it stings.

🧠 The Reality of Running a Business

I’m not doing this work for the money, but let’s be honest—we all need money to live.

This is the reality of running your own business. Even when you put in your best efforts and have the best intentions, things don’t always go as planned. I’m sharing this not to garner sympathy but because I’m tired of seeing entrepreneurship and the digital nomad lifestyle idolized so often.

Too many people only share the fun parts: the freedom, the flexible schedules, the scenic “offices,” or the lack of a boss breathing down their neck. But there’s another side to this coin—one that isn’t glamorous.

🌟 The Truth About Entrepreneurship

Building and growing a business is hard AF. It takes time, energy, and resources—and despite all of that, it doesn’t always lead to financial sustainability.

Here’s a hard truth I’ve learned: when you’re an entrepreneur, you end up doing so many tasks outside of your expertise. And I’m not good at everything (unfortunately). I try to figure things out, but sometimes it’s not enough. Sales and marketing, for example, have always been weaknesses for me. And let me tell you, that’s a pretty crappy weakness to have when you’re trying to grow a business!

Normally, you’d hire someone to help—but when you don’t have the capital, you’re stuck in a catch-22.

💡 Lessons Learned

1. Be strategic about what you delegate first. When we started hiring, we focused on delegating tasks that kept the business running, but in hindsight, we should’ve prioritized hiring someone for sales and marketing. Growing the business first would’ve allowed us to delegate more effectively later.

2. Prioritize your team—but balance it with sustainability. I’ve always made it a point to pay my team before myself because I felt responsible for their livelihoods. It was the right decision for me, but it’s not an easy one. As an entrepreneur, you carry the weight of these decisions.

3. Don’t rely on a single source of income. This one is tricky. To grow a business, it often requires full focus, but relying on one unstable revenue stream is a big risk. Ideally, you’d start building your business while having a steady income—but even then, things can shift. For example, external factors I couldn’t predict made Year 3 of our business especially challenging, despite Years 1 and 2 being relatively strong. Diversification is key, but timing is just as important.

🙈 The Shame Factor

I’ll admit—I’ve felt a sense of shame about this. During the holidays, I visited family and friends but didn’t share this situation with everyone. I confided in people I trust, but I didn’t want to deal with judgment from family members who’ve been unsupportive from the start. Thankfully, I have a solid inner circle—starting with my wife—who I can talk to. Without their support, this would have been so much harder.

🔥 Turning Setbacks Into Motivation

While this situation shook me up, it also lit a fire under me. It made me realize the dangers of relying on one unstable source of income. It pushed me to return to the drawing board and figure out how to create additional revenue streams.

I’m still in the planning phase, but the vision is becoming clearer. I’ll share more soon.

Support This Journey

This Substack newsletter is part of what I’m working on. If you’ve found value in my writing, one way to support me is by subscribing to this newsletter—or even becoming a paid subscriber. I don’t offer extra content for paid subscribers at the moment because I want all my insights to be accessible to everyone. Still, your support means the world and helps me keep going on this journey.

Subscribe now

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.

📌 What would you do if your entire audience disappeared overnight?

This isn’t just a hypothetical question. The recent TikTok ban in the US, even though brief, was a wake-up call for many creators and businesses. It highlighted the risks of relying too heavily on social media to make a living.

Here are a few key takeaways I hope people learned:

• The number of followers or subscribers you have is not actually yours.

• No matter how big your audience is, you’re at the mercy of the platform.

• Algorithms, bans, or shutdowns can change everything overnight.

🎯 Social media has undeniable value:

• It’s great for staying in touch with friends and connecting with people globally.

• It lets you document your life, find inspiration, and reach new audiences.

• It even offers incredible opportunities to monetize your content.

But there’s a hidden danger: overdependence.

💡 For entrepreneurs, social media creates a false sense of security. You see your follower count and assume every post reaches your audience. The reality is very different. Algorithms decide visibility, and platforms can restrict or remove your access in an instant.

From my own experience running Warrior Flow School, I’ve found that email marketing has far better conversion rates than social media. While social media is great for discovery, it’s through email that people build trust and take action. It’s been the best way for us to get people to sign up for our trainings.

✉️ That’s why I always tell fellow entrepreneurs: start a newsletter and collect email addresses.

• With email, you own the audience.

• You’re not dependent on algorithms or external platforms to reach your people.

• You can build deeper relationships and earn their trust—because they’ve invited you into their inbox.

🛠 Tools like Substack (which I use) are a great way to start. It’s free, works as both a newsletter and blog, and is super user-friendly. More conventional email marketing tools like Mailchimp and ConvertKit also work well, especially if you need advanced features.

🤔 Want proof of how fragile social media dependency can be? My wife Rosie follows an influencer we interviewed on our podcast Just Interesting People. This creator used to earn most of her income on YouTube but transitioned to TikTok for better reach. Imagine how devastating it would have been for her if the ban had lasted. That’s the danger of putting all your eggs in one basket.

📈 For entrepreneurs, newsletters aren’t just a safety net—they’re a powerful tool. Social media might get someone’s attention, but email builds trust. Once you have their email, you have a direct, personal line to connect, share, and grow. And that’s something no algorithm can take away.

✨ Starting a newsletter isn’t hard. If you need help or advice on how to get started, feel free to reach out—I’m happy to guide you!

What if I told you entrepreneurship isn’t as glamorous as Instagram makes it seem?

Starting and building a new business isn’t as easy as it looks. Over the past 3 years developing the Warrior Flow School—the longest project I’ve ever committed to—I’ve learned so many lessons. These lessons, regardless of how this project evolves, are invaluable for the future. Let me share them with you.

#1 Adapting to Change Is Non-Negotiable 🔄

Having a clear direction and vision is vital for any business—you need to know where you’re going. But just as important is the ability to pivot and adapt when necessary.

When we first started Warrior Flow School, our focus was on offering small trainings for stressed professionals—especially in the medical field—using yoga as a tool to help them manage their challenges. But after a few brainstorming sessions, we realized that focusing on yoga teacher trainings instead would have a greater impact and allow us to scale faster.

That pivot, early on, was critical to our success.

Lesson: Be flexible and adaptable. Sticking rigidly to an idea without assessing its viability can hold your business back.

#2 Growth Takes Time—And That’s Okay ⏳

In business, things almost always take longer than you expect. Maybe it’s my natural optimism, but I’ve learned that what I anticipate achieving in a certain timeframe usually takes twice as long.

Patience is key. Without it, the entrepreneurial journey can feel unbearably tough.

Also, be consistent. Entering a market, building trust with your audience, and converting customers takes time. For a while, the effort you put in won’t reflect in measurable results—especially revenue.

Lesson: Be persistent. Keep showing up, even when it feels like nothing is happening.

#3 The People You Work With Define Your Business 🤝

Truth bomb: You can’t do everything alone. Even if you try, you’ll need a support system to help you succeed.

From day one, Adrian and I knew we couldn’t build Warrior Flow School alone. We leaned on Adrian’s vast yoga network to create a unique faculty for our trainings, which became a key differentiator for us. Similarly, we carefully selected a behind-the-scenes team whose values aligned with ours.

But working with a team also comes with its challenges. Firing people, for example, is one of the toughest parts of building a business.When you’ve worked closely with someone, built loyalty, and developed personal relationships, having to make the decision to let them go is incredibly uncomfortable. Separating personal emotions from business logic is no easy feat, but it’s sometimes necessary for the long-term health of the business. These conversations were some of the most difficult I’ve ever had to have.

How you operate internally and behind the scenes might not always be visible on the outside, but it is often felt. So don’t neglect who you surround yourself with.

Lesson: The team you build will either hold your business together or pull it apart. Choose wisely, and be prepared for tough decisions.

#4 Fairness and Integrity Build Loyalty 💡

As I mentioned in a previous article, we decided early on that we didn’t want transactional relationships with the people involved in the school. That’s why we implemented a revenue-sharing model for our faculty and team members.

It wasn’t the most financially savvy decision in the short term, as royalties cost more over time than one-off payments. But it allowed us to grow without borrowing money and built lasting trust and loyalty with our collaborators.

The result? Stronger connections, mutual respect, and a sense of community that keeps us going even during tough times.

Lesson: Fairness, honesty, and integrity go a long way in building relationships that will support your business for years to come.

#5 Your Business Will Test You—And That’s a Good Thing 🛠️

Let’s be blunt: Being an entrepreneur is hard as shit.

When you’re bootstrapping, you wear all the hats—customer service, HR (hiring and firing is brutal), finance, video editor, social media manager… the list goes on. You are the Director of Everything.

But here’s the silver lining: You’ll get creative. You’ll solve problems you never thought you could handle. You’ll develop resilience and skills that will serve you in all areas of life.

Lesson: Whatever the outcome of your business, the personal growth and knowledge you gain will stay with you forever.

Lesson Summary 📋

1. Be flexible and adapt when necessary.

2. Understand that growth takes time—and be patient.

3. Surround yourself with the right people—they’ll define your business.

4. Build trust through fairness and integrity.

5. Let your challenges shape you into a stronger, more capable person.

The Bigger Picture 🌍

Starting your own business isn’t for everyone—it’s tough. But if you feel drawn to the challenge, I say go for it.

Whether you succeed or fail, the process will transform you. You’ll learn lessons that ripple through every part of your life. And that’s worth more than any single outcome.

What About You?

Have you started a business? What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned along the way?

Or maybe you’re considering starting something but feel stuck or unsure? What’s holding you back? Let’s talk—reach out directly or drop a comment below.

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.

In January 2022, things weren’t going particularly well on a personal level. We had to pause our travels and return to England to care for a family member. At that stage, I was 9 months into leaving my job to start something on my own.

Warrior Flow TV was up and running, but it had hit a plateau. I also had my self-employed French business, taking on some small projects here and there, but none of it was long-term sustainable. Looking back, I didn’t have a clear vision or goal. I was more waiting for something to come around than actively pursuing it.

Luckily, that’s kind of what happened. Around late January or early February, Adrian—whom I was working with on Warrior Flow TV—called me. The conversation went something like this:

“Hey J, look, what we’re doing with WFTV is fine, but it’s not sustainable, and I can’t say I’m excited about it. You know what I can do, and I know what you can do. I think we could put together something bigger that could really make an impact. I know yoga, trauma, mental health, and trainings; you know tech and online tools. Let’s brainstorm and see what we can create if you’re open to it.”

We had more conversations, brainstorming different ideas and eventually landed on creating a specialized 200-hour yoga teacher training. From the start, we knew it would be a fully online, remote-focused education platform (starting with yoga but avoiding the word “yoga” in the name so we wouldn’t get boxed in). We envisioned something scalable, with a mix of live and pre-recorded sessions.

It didn’t take long for us to launch Warrior Flow School, setting the ambitious goal of offering our first training on June 21st, 2022—just four months after our initial talks.

Here are some behind-the-scenes details we haven’t shared publicly that I think are interesting from a business standpoint:

We tapped into Adrian’s extensive network of experienced people to put together an incredible faculty and support team (his 20+ years in yoga were key). But we didn’t have any starting capital. We kicked off with just a few hundred dollars, which meant we had to get creative with payment.

We wanted more than just a transactional approach where teachers get paid for their hours and that’s it. We wanted them to feel invested in the long-term vision. So, we came up with a revenue-sharing model. Faculty members would get paid based on the number of hours they contributed, but they’d also earn royalties each time we ran the training. Their few hours of filming would become a passive income stream. The royalties would scale with the program’s success, so if we won, everyone won.

From the start, we knew we couldn’t go it alone. It had to be a collective effort, and we wanted to be fair with everyone who trusted us.

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.”

We also did something unconventional: we sold the training before we’d filmed anything. We had a solid curriculum, but we only started recording once we had a few sign-ups, ensuring the training would be profitable. We started filming three weeks before the launch and kept pace by staying just a few weeks ahead of the content release.

These choices allowed us to start quickly, with minimal risk and capital investment.

I’ve got to admit, when our first group of students graduated in December 2022 and shared how transformative the experience was for them, I couldn’t help but feel emotional 🥲 and proud of what we’d built. It was the beginning of something truly special.

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.

2020 was pivotal for my entrepreneurship journey, leading to Warrior Flow School.

After all my tribulations with starting my own thing, I got involved in two projects in 2020 that sort of incubated my current endeavor.

When the world shut down during the pandemic, and I saw many people around me losing their income, I thought about doing something… and I created PracticeWithMe.Online. My idea was to create a marketplace where people with specific skills could teach/practice with students.

For example, as a yoga teacher, you could share your profile online, letting people check your schedule and book classes. This setup also works for chefs offering cooking classes and various other professions.​

My point was to help people who didn’t have the technical knowledge to put that together themselves. Also, I wanted to do it in a way where the teachers/coaches didn’t get ripped off. Very often, studios or middle-men take a big chunk of the money. I didn’t think that was fair, and I wanted the teachers to get paid what they deserved.

I put this together super quickly, assembling a website and integrating other platforms to see availabilities, book a class, and process payments. In total, I got 11 people on the platform (mainly friends I reached out to), and a few of them made a few hundred bucks through it.

It didn’t last long as the lockdown didn’t last long in Miami and in-person events came back quickly.

Reflecting on it, I think this project had legs and is still a pretty good idea. There are many ways to do that online, but most platforms are very generalist and can lack specific features that could be needed. They also take a decent chunk of money from the teachers. I think I could have done something much better with more technical knowledge (to create a real marketplace rather than putting pieces together to emulate one) and some capital.

While working on that, I had a few conversations with Adrian, who was on his side putting together an on-demand yoga platform called Warrior Flow TV. We were already friends by then, but I think those conversations ultimately led me to collaborate with Adrian Molina and Dennis Hunter on Warrior Flow TV and eventually create a new business entity together around the product.

We ran Warrior Flow TV for a couple of years, which really schooled me in running a true business, coordinating with partners, working a team of teachers, establishing processes and strategies etc. This was a big shift from my earlier solo ventures. I also got connected to a lot of people through Adrian’s network with whom I’m still connected and led to various things since then (friendships, other work opportunities, etc).

Those experiences are what ultimately led Adrian and I to start the Warrior Flow School in 2022. We also integrated Warrior Flow TV into the school to streamline our offerings.​

After all this journey, here I am today! It took 10 different projects before starting the school to get where I am now.​

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.

Let’s carry on with the exploration of my past projects. Between 2017 and 2020, I started a personal blog, a web design company, a t-shirt brand, a travel blog, a beach cleanup initiative, a YouTube channel, and a project related to infant loss. Not bad for 3 years, and hey, at least one of them is still alive! 😅

Next, I want to talk about the Just Interesting People podcast. The original idea came in 2018. Rosie and I often remembered insightful conversations we had with interesting people around the world and thought how great it would be to have those recordings to remember and share. I bought the domain name, but that was it for a while.

In January 2020, a chat with my friend Alvey Thompson Jr inspired me to finally start the podcast! We ran the podcast for nearly 3 years and recorded 157 episodes, starting with audio-only and then adding video. I loved working on the podcast. We decided to pause it in December 2022 when we started traveling intensively, as it was too hard to manage with time zones, unreliable internet connections, and prioritizing our time. But I’m saying ‘pause’ rather than ‘stopped’ because I will definitely get back to it at some point!

From a personal perspective, the podcast connected me to awesome people. I learned more about people I knew, connected with others I would not have otherwise, and we talked to a wide variety of guests, including a serious Pokemon card collector, entrepreneurs from various industries, people from different countries and backgrounds, artists, and individuals of different bodies, genders, or sexual orientations. These conversations and the guests’ experiences taught me about topics I probably never would have learned about otherwise, making me a more open and understanding person.

It was also great from a skills standpoint. I had to learn how to set up a podcast, record good-quality episodes, and easily schedule recordings. Editing an episode every week meant spending more time with editing software, and publishing episodes on podcast platforms or YouTube later came in super handy for Warrior Flow School.

Maybe the most challenging aspect for me was actually being on the show. I’m someone who likes to stay in the background. I don’t need to be the face or voice of anything, but for this, I had to step out of my comfort zone and get used to talking in front of a microphone and camera. While it’s not something I thoroughly enjoy, I don’t mind it now; I can do it. It made me a better listener because when you interview someone, you need to pay attention to what they’re saying to drive the conversation.

Overall, it was an amazing experience. To be honest, if I could monetize it and make a living out of it, I would probably focus most of my time and energy on that because making money to have amazing conversations with interesting people… I mean, what beats that? Unfortunately, it’s not easy to grow and monetize a podcast, and I had to focus on other things to sustain myself financially.

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.

The reason I’ve been sharing stories about old projects that didn’t quite take off is to illustrate that there’s no such thing as overnight success (I certainly don’t see myself as successful from an entrepreneurial standpoint… yet). It’s really all about the journey—the trials and errors, the “failures.” I think it’s important to document the process and put it out there, and also to normalize trying new, sometimes seemingly random things, because there’s always something to learn.

So, after My Frenchy Life ☠️, 27Eleven 💻, and WanderEscape ☠️… I’ll group four things together because there isn’t enough to say about each of them individually as they quickly joined the project graveyard 😂:

• 🗺️ Jeremie’s Travels, a travel blog! I started this without any intention of making money, just to document my travels for family and friends. I wrote posts in both French and English, but after about 10 posts, I stopped ✋. Even though I love the idea of documenting travels, I realized I’m not much of a storyteller in this format, and going through pictures and editing them was a pain—ultimately, I didn’t care enough to invest more time and energy.

• 🗑️ No One Likes A Dirty Beach. Living in Miami, I was at the beach daily, and seeing all the trash really bothered me, so I often took a bag to collect trash along the way. We also organized a few cleanups which were fun. At one point, I thought about organizing these cleanups myself and branding them.

• 🎥 YouTube channel. Another attempt to document my life and travels. I knew nothing about video editing then, but technology helped (sort of)! I tweaked the Memories my iPhone created and posted them on YouTube. I stopped after 8 videos (they’re still there, by the way here). I can’t say I learned much, but it did spark a deeper relationship with YouTube!

• 👶 Our Lost Babies. This isn’t a light topic, but an important one that might become something later. Rosie and I have had four unsuccessful pregnancies, including three miscarriages and one late abortion. We’ve thought about creating something to support others in similar situations. We felt very alone, and surely we weren’t the only ones. We even started a website but haven’t developed it further yet. Rosie recently gave it another shot under a new name, but it’s still early days. This is something we plan to tackle when the time is right, and we figure out the best approach.
  

Here we are, another four projects for the graveyard 🪦. I can’t say I learned too many lessons or gained new skills from these, but they are all part of the journey!

👉 This is part of my Entrepreneur Chronicles—real stories, real lessons. Dive into the full series here.