Over the next month, I am giving away the roadmap to a successful business for neurodivergent entrepreneurs right here on my website.
No paywalls, no subscriptions required, no third party ads or sponsorships.
Just me, writing out the steps to go from “I have an idea” to “I’m scaling my company” at a high level right here on this blog.
Now, you might be wondering why I would do that. I mean, isn’t that how Solo School makes money? And I run a business, so the whole point of me writing here is to grow that business and make money, right? Why would I give away something that people could pay me for?
Well, my friend, there are two primary reasons I’ve decided to do this.
First, I didn’t create Solo School to get rich.
I created it to help solve a problem in society - income inequality - by giving access to entrepreneurial education to the people who need it. My “desired outcomes” are not suitcases of cash, fancy cars, and a faux-toh shoot in a private jet for the ‘gram.
My core desired outcome is that more people can opt out of employment and work for themselves. That those who stay in employment get better working conditions and pay, because people working for themselves have more options and an easier time. Supply and demand, right?
My core desired outcome is that people who don’t fit the patriarchal, colonialist, industrial-age model of wage labour have an option that is accessible and makes sense to them so they can get the heck out of it and earn a decent living.
My father, who spent the majority of his adult life seeking these options and struggled economically as a result, is the inspiration for this. He did not fit jobs, and he knew that business was a way out for him but could never find something that actually worked. I saw what it did to him, to struggle that way. What it did to his belief in himself and his confidence. What it did to his self-worth. I’ve committed myself to preventing that for as many people as possible.
So, in alignment with that core desired outcome, gatekeeping all of this knowledge behind a paywall isn’t it.
Second, I have incredible resources inside of Solo School that can help implement everything I’m sharing over this series. They’re not required to complete the journey, but they can speed it up. They can make parts of it easier. They lighten the load by carrying it together. And for those who have the advantages that allow them to pursue those resources, this content will help them see more of what the system is, how it works, and where exactly support could benefit them.
It will show them that Solo School is a place where we understand neurovariances and validate them. That we don’t have to strive for different outcomes, we can just choose a different path to the same desired outcome as everyone else. It will allow them to invest in that additional support from myself and the other experts and leaders inside of Solo School, which will in turn help me give away even more resources and provide scholarships to those who need them.
I figured something out, and I feel an ethical responsibility to share it.
I figured out the milestones a business must pass through in order to become successful. A pathway, with specific steps, that anyone can take in order and become successful as they go.
The steps aren’t easy, no. And there is no one right way to achieve any of them.
But it’s a lot more of a plan than anyone is giving us currently.
I’d rather have the blueprints to the rocket, of course, but if I can solve the math problems and teach people space flight engineering? We can all still go to the moon together - even if there is no one “correct” blueprint.
Over the next 4-5 weeks, here is a snapshot of what I’ll be sharing right here:
- The four stages of business for neurodivergent entrepreneurs, from ideation and validation through repetition and expansion, broken down into a specific path to follow
- Why these specific milestones matter, and the individual pieces within them that make it work
- How your neurovariances can impact the way you transition through these stages, and what you can do to support yourself through these transitions
- How these frameworks were built for energy, attention, and emotional dysregulation primarily and not as an afterthought
- The specific real-world outcomes that you progress through at each stage. Not “write a business plan” or “design a website” but “get a client” or “reach time capacity based on realistic metrics.”
- Signs of each stage along with common challenges, skills needed, and supports
- A workshop that you can attend at some point in the next 4-6 weeks (exact date TBD) that will walk you through all of these stages and allow you to ask questions
Basically, I can’t give you turn-by-turn directions through building a business. There’s no “post this here” and “copy this template” that’s guaranteed to work for you (and if someone promises you that, they’re definitely lying.)
But here, on this website, I will give you the landmarks you need to find your way to success and train you how to navigate on your own. So you can get where you’re going, whether the full support of a program like Solo School is accessible to you or not.
Because it’s the right thing to do. Because it’s aligned. Because it’s ethical. Because it will help all of us become more successful, not just me. Because how-to content was built for search, and algorithmic social was built for storytelling and theoretical pondering, and I want these concepts to get shared.
Most of all, because if you’re reading this I want you to succeed and I don’t believe you should have to figure it out on your own.
If you do have the resources to consider a co-pilot on this journey, someone to help you navigate and build a business you can feel proud of, that is ethically aligned and sustainable and provides consistent revenue, then I encourage you to apply for a spot in Solo School. We have 9 spots left in our June cohort and applications are continuing to come in for the June 1 start date.
You can apply for a spot in our June cohort here.
Otherwise, please watch this space each week (next week will be Tuesday due to a holiday!) for a full walk-through of the Ideation, Validation, Repetition, and Expansion phases of business, and how to navigate them as a neurodivergent human who deserves an accessible, sustainable path to autonomous income generation.
I can’t wait to show it to you.
- Cheryl
Business Adaptation of the Week
Nothing. I haven’t really adapted anything this week. I’m using my task cards and my walking pad, my cube timer and my gym time, I’m using my phone more than I should and I forgot to water my plants for two whole weeks in spite of it being on my todo list.
But I finished a book and ate Thai peanut noodles for dinner for Mother’s Day, and I think that’s awesome.
Some weeks aren’t about making more changes.
Some weeks are just about continuing to do what’s working, and resisting the urge to change more shit. #truestory
My Favourite Things This Week
Thai Peanut noodles. No kidding, I crave these like water in the desert but usually buy them from a takeout spot. But for Mother’s Day, I requested a very specific menu: avocado toast for breakfast, grilled cheese with tomato bisque for lunch, and Thai Peanut noodles for dinner. I found this recipe on Love and Lemons (one of my all-time favourite recipe blogs ever) and it was exactly what I needed.
Props to Jeanine for creating a healthy recipe cache online that isn’t full of hacks and fads OR things a foodie like me would never eat (looking at you, cottage cheese “ice cream” and the “chicken/broccoli/rice repeat” meal prep BS.) She also has several of my favourite gluten-free and vegan recipes, for those with allergies. Every single thing I’ve made from her site has been a smash hit. She’s the J Kenji Lopez-Alt of healthy food blogs, I swear.
What I’m Reading
I just finished up Trail of the Lost, about missing PCT hikers. I loved the book, I loved the storytelling, I loved so much of what Angela shared, AND… (spoilers!) I was so disappointed in the ending. Realizing here that I absolutely cannot reconcile unresolved storylines in my brain and that I must have closure, and I did not get it in this book.
Moving on to Slow Magic by Anthony Rella in the hopes of emotionally moving on from those stories.
I also just dropped off my entire ACOTAR boxed set with a friend who needed a new series and hadn’t read fantasy in years, so I’ll report back when she gets angry at Tamlin 😂
