Enjoying the flexibility of my new career at Arches

It was two years ago this month that Bulbstorm was acquired, finally freeing me to set up shop as an independent marketing consultant.

I tried to escape the 9-to-5 world twice before. Both of those attempts blew up on the launch pad. Two years in, this one seems to have reached orbit.

Yay!

I’m celebrating the anniversary by meandering through southeastern Utah. Two nights at Natural Bridges National Monument. Two nights at Arches National Park. And two nights wherever the wind takes me.

The colors of Southeast Utah are amazing. In a single view, one can pan down from clear blue skies past snow-tipped purple mountains to red, orange, and earth-toned arches and rock formations dotted with dark green junipers.

Happy anniversary indeed!

Enjoying my flexibility at Arches National Park. Flexibility! Get it?!

The Way of the Solopreneur

I define solopreneur as anyone who runs his own business without intending to hire employees. There’s a lot to like about being a solopreneur. The most obvious benefit is that you’re the boss. You make the rules.

An overlooked benefit is just that. Benefits.

Corporate perks are one size fits all. A Friday afternoon beer cart. A discounted gym membership. Bagels and benefits. There’ll be some variability in health plans, but if you don’t have a pet then that pet insurance subsidy is useless.

As a solopreneur, you choose your own adventure. Maybe you want to work from home instead of an office. Maybe you prefer to work only with companies with a conscious mission. I truly believe that a solopreneur should get more out of it than just not having a boss. It’s too hard and too risky otherwise.

For me, being a solopreneur has been all about summers off and the ability to work from anywhere that has Wi-Fi. Did you know that there’s Wi-Fi in Yosemite National Park? Sure, I pay 100 percent of my health insurance costs. But, yeah, benefits rule.

(I wrote more about my life as a solopreneur – including how I decide what to charge, how many hours per week I work, and more – at Scott’s Marketplace.)

Enjoying my Ed Abbey moment at sunset in Skyline Arch.

End of an Era?

And, yet, I wonder if this way of life is threatened by, well, opportunity. My first Meander’s rallying cry was: No girl. No gig. Just the road. But the times, they are a changin’.

On the gig side of things, I recently doubled down on my commitment to the amazing Aly Saxe. I was already the part-time sales guy for her PR firm. Now I’m the part-time digital marketing guy for her software startup. That’s enough hours to make a big meander a little tricky.

On the girl side of things, I haven’t heard from my last lady friend since October. We had a complicated on-and-off relationship but I think six months is enough time to finally declare the patient dead. So, I’m looking … and, for the first time in a long time, I kinda like what I see.

With two epic summers and a number of amazing mini-meanders like Utah behind me, could the meandering phase of my life be nearing an end? Could it finally be time to take what I’ve learned sans girl and sans gig and apply it to life with girl and with gig?

Maybe.

Then again, while I was in Utah, I heard the high in Tempe hit 90 degrees. In early March. Ummm, yeah. Ask me again in June …