My journey from full-time to solopreneurship (update)
Because everyone wants to know what's the grass REALLY like on the other side.
I’ve been in full-time employment most of my adult life, I started working the next day it was legal, worked away non-stop, combining it with studying, sometimes to keep the working visa in a foreign country, sometimes for a mortgage, but mostly because I didn’t know any other way and I really liked to earn my own living. 18 years later, after getting a Dutch passport I could (gasp) allow myself to not work, without the fear of getting deported, so I got this wild dream of not working full-time all my life (a girl can dream, right?). Spoilers: I’m working even more now.
Eleven months ago, I was wrapping up my full-time contract with a startup and decided it’s time. I’ve been reading on fractional and interim roles from Elena Verna1 and the others2. Working less and helping more companies to be more helpful to more companies was appealing.
I shared a post on LinkedIn about discovering fractional roles—high-level, part-time positions (like fractional CPO or CRO) that give startups flexibility without the full-time price tag. It was exciting to apply my product growth skills to help early-stage teams scale, optimise, and monetise their B2C models. Soon after, I landed a fractional Head of Product role at a startup, driving weekly release cadences, boosting conversions, and enhancing retention.
But I made a critical mistake: I treated this as a “half-time” gig, as if it were a full-time role cut in half. I attended every daily standup and every all-hands meeting, which left me only a couple of hours a day for actual work.
Learning 1: Treat fractional roles like a consultant. Focus on the most impactful tasks first; don’t mimic a full-time setup with half the time and salary.
That experience made it clear to me that fractional work only makes sense if you have multiple clients or a single client who pays well enough. I had a pleasure to work with a fractional CFO who managed several clients at once to stay sustainable. And then it hit me:
Learning 2: Only do fractional work when you have a steady pipeline of at least two clients, or one very well-paying client.
The same goes to any solo-role really: the moment your impact is questioned, you’re out, so take care of your pipeline.
I then ran an experiment and went on a job hunt (armed with the good spirit, the spreadsheet, custom CVs and all), but either because it was Summer, or the market was overcrowded or the ATS wasn’t accepting my CV enough for a real person to see it (or all of the above) - I wasn’t getting offers.
Looked like once I stepped away from full-time, it became harder to land traditional roles. I left “employment mode,” so it was tough to frame myself as a standard hire again. After multiple interviews and no offers, I felt “unemployable” in a crowded market. My LinkedIn was screaming “Consultant”.
Learning 3: Once you’re out of employment mode, it’s challenging to jump back in. Be ready to carve your own path.
So I built my own opportunities by doing web onboarding audits, pushing my presence on LinkedIn, and slowly getting into content creation and public speaking.
All this meant I was actually working more than in full-time roles and working more roles too: I was no longer a product leader, I was also a marketer, a sales person, a content creator, an office admin, a social media intern (still am) and many more unexpected roles you have to learn to be a solopreneur.
Learning 4: If you want to go solo, accept that you’ll have to learn new skills on top of your core competency. What worked in employment suddenly won’t be enough.
The final push came from genuine networking. I spoke to people I used to work with earlier to let them know what I offer and that brought in a few clients as well. Reconnecting with an audit client led to a 5-month project.
Learning 5: Always network, but not for the sake of ‘networking’ or selling your services. Actually talk to people. Be kind, ask about their needs, genuinely care and try to help.
The Big Leap In 2024
So here’s the 2024 summary of my ongoing solopreneurship journey:
I started the year by leaving my job to dive headfirst into solopreneurship. I registered a company in the Netherlands, discovered my niche (web onboarding for B2C products3), invested in high-level courses to up-skill, mentored startups, and experimented with freelancing, fractional roles, and advisory gigs.
I collaborated with incredible professionals, delivered workshops on monetization and recurring revenue, traveled to Warsaw and Lisbon for work, and hired an amazing coach4 to work on my relationship with money and get rid of the ‘employee mindset’ I’ve been holding on to. Bringing on a virtual assistant was another game-changer. As the year wrapped up, I looked back and realized I’d matched my corporate salary and gained more clarity in my craft and audience.
How It’s Going Now
I’ve been a solopreneur for a year now, helped 16+ products through direct collaboration, audits, mentorship, and advisory. I work more hours and wear more hats than when I’ve been working full-time.
But I ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT. I love that there’s no ceiling here, no rules and ladders to climb. I love the freedom to choose. I don’t love the hustle and grind, but getting a full pipeline doesn’t seem impossible now.
I love a blend of consulting and advisory. Currently it’s more of hands-on work, as a colleague and a marketing advisor described it: “I hop on a call, give my executive opinion, then tell them: work with Olha.” Love it, and striving to be more on the advisory level than freelance eventually. That’s where I’m heading.
Here’s what I’m doing differently in 2025:
Creating valuable content for lead generation. Giving so much knowledge away for free that people cannot not pay me eventually.
Exploring podcasts and collaboration opportunities for publicity (new podcast coming out next week).
Finishing an ebook on web onboardings—a “small ticket” product that highlights my expertise (sign up5 for early access).
Building an offer—a system for teams to achieve 10x performance and faster revenue growth, starting with an actionable, affordable audit.
Seeking advisory board roles and possibly co-founding with a no-ego founder on a fun project (dreams).
Ultimately, my goal is to just keep going as long as I can and without burning out.
I’m here to keep learning, helping, and growing—thanks for being part of this journey!
great story, thanks for sharing!
Thank you for sharing your learnings and insights. Learning number 3 is the most eye-opening for me — there's [barely] a way back after one makes a leap of faith and switches to solo/consultant role. Best of luck with the business and please keep sharing Olha!