Why Ex-Corporate Executives Struggle To Make Money Online.
Hint: You’ve got everything you need BUT this one thing.
You’re an ex-corporate executive stuck making less than $10k p/m.
You feel embarrassed.
In your corporate role, you made multi-six-figures (maybe even millions), but you struggle to close a $1k consulting deal as a solopreneur.
The fear of failure keeps you trapped.
But then you see someone who is half your age, with decades less experience, selling an inferior service, making 10x what you’re making.
You can’t help but feel a tang of jealousy.
I get it. I’ve been there myself.
The good news?
I’ve solved this problem for myself, and many other ex-corporate executives wanting to transition to solopreneurship.
The problem isn’t your IQ.
You don’t need permission. Qualifications. Or more random initials after your name on LinkedIn (that always makes me giggle).
Here’s what is REALLY keeping you stuck.
The biggest enemy is….
Not your boss.
Not your 9–5 job.
Not your family, kids, or partner.
It’s yourself.
Specifically, your mind.
After decades of corporate experience, you’ve become numb to any alternative reality. You don’t understand how you could even make money online, let alone without a 9–5 job.
You’re like a lion kept in captivity.
Without being in the uncertain jungle of entrepreneurship where you’re forced to hunt, you’ve lost your instincts and outsourced your ability to make money to your job.
How do I know this?
Well, I receive emails like this daily:
A real email from a real audience member
After 20 years, J can’t see a world beyond her corporate job.
The 9–5 job has beaten out any creativity or idea of starting a business. That’s the danger of a 9–5 job. Your skills to be a self-reliant human start to atrophy.
You’ve become accustomed to someone telling you:
When to start work.
When to finish tasks.
When to stop work.
In my e-book, the first thing we work on is mindset.
Throughout the 86 pages, we focus on reprogramming your brain. If you can’t see an alternative vision, there’s no point in learning any skills.
You can’t pour more water into a cup with a lid.
The first (and most important) battle in solopreneurship is your mind.
What happens between your ears will dictate whether you persevere or give up when failure occurs. In business, you will fail. It’s guaranteed.
But how you react is entirely up to you.
The greatest prisons are the ones we create for ourselves.
Become a painkiller, not a vitamin.
“This service is for anyone wanting to build their business”
That’s what an ex-corporate developer said to me.
We just finished a handstand class at the gym. If I ever hear the word ‘anyone’ or ‘everyone’ in response to the question:
Who are your target customers?
It’s animmediate red flag.
In your corporate days, you sold to anyone and everyone.
This was made possible because you had 100+ or more staff members working for you. The corporation's brand name opened doors. And you sold an established product that had been refined for decades.
But as a solopreneur, he didn’t have this luxury.
If his positioning were off, his product would flop. He doesn’t have the brand, network, or distribution to attempt to service ‘everyone’ at first go. He would be lucky to get someone.
As an ex-corporate executive, you need to get super-duper clear on:
Person: Who are you looking to serve? This should be so clear that you could point at a person and be like, “This is for you”
Problem: What problem are you solving? You can only solve challenges related to wealth, health, or relationships. Everything else is just a nice-to-solve problem.
Product: What system do you use to solve that problem? This system needs to be unique and authentic to your own experience, expertise and knowledge.
Stop trying to be Everything to Everyone.
By pleasing everyone, you water yourself down to the customers you can impact the most. That’s sad. You’re robbing yourself and future clients of the person who can add value.
To be loved, you also need to be ignored.
To commit to a wife, you’re ignoring everyone else.
To commit to your business, you’re ignoring every other idea.
In a world of AI, the best thing you can do is double down on yourself.
Become unapologetically you. It might feel strange at first. In your corporate days, you needed permission to go to the bathroom. And being genuine was wearing jeans to the office for casual Fridays.
When everyone starts to sound the same, you can stand out just by being you.
Don’t be a digital ghost.
Online content = the new resume.
The first thing you do when you hear someone’s name is Google them. Look them up on LinkedIn. And try to stalk them as much as possible. You look at their digital presence and form a judgment immediately.
Clients buy because of your content.
Investors invest because of your content.
In the 21st century, content is king.
Content provides an abundance of permissionless leverage that most people still don’t grasp. Their social media profiles haven’t been touched in years. They make no effort to create value-based content.
But this is where you can win.
Most people are consumers, not creators.
By writing online, I’ve been able to:
Build a one-person business that makes $20-$30k p/m.
Attract a 100k+ online audience across Medium, Substack, LinkedIn, Kit, etc.
Access high-value people, international speaking engagements, and attract book deals.
If you’re not promoting yourself, who will be?
If you’re stuck, start with writing.
Writing is the foundation of all media.
Even if you create video and audio content. The best podcasts I’ve listened to, or the most informative YouTube videos, are all scripted or have a detailed written outline.
Even in a world of AI, writing will never die.
Writing long-form is critical thinking. My ability to communicate, listen, and speak publicly relies on my daily long-form writing habit. Writing is accessible to anyone and doesn’t require the production or technical skills of video or audio.
A person who doesn’t create content is a digital ghost.
I know a solopreneur who sells nutrition and diet planning.
The only problem?
He’s never worked as a dietician or nutritionist.
He’s never worked with a dietitian or a nutritionist.
He’s never had an interest in his own diet or nutrition.
Hell, he’s never even used a dietician or nutritionist’s services before. He’s trying to sell a solution to a problem he’s never experienced.
And that’s why his product sucks.
Solopreneurs fail because they try to solve a problem they have never experienced before.
I cringe when I hear him talk about his business.
His founder story is only about starting the business to make money. Not exactly inspiring stuff. But any business model and niche can make money. He’s been stuck growing his business for over 12 months.
Same revenue per month. No idea how to grow.
But customers aren’t dumb.
People can sense his inauthenticity. The lack of interest in the product. There’s no story to connect to. He’s never struggled with the problem he’s trying to solve.
There’s a missing connection between him and his customers.
A lack of interest creates a lack of belief. And a lack of belief kills motivation.
Look at all the best companies:
Facebook was created to solve Mark Zuckerberg’s problem of finding friends and dating in college.
Bumble was a response to Tinder’s most toxic traits and poor user experience.
This is where you can win.
While people chase shiny objects and trends, you have substance.
As a corporate executive, you’ve got decades of documented:
Experience.
Expertise.
Knowledge.
Results.
This is what the Bitcoin nerds call ‘proof of work.’
We are living through a trust recession on the internet. More and more customers are looking towards people who have real-world experience. Not made-up testimonials, paid engagement, or fake case studies.
This is where you can win big.
Unlike the 20s on social media who are selling the latest trend, you’ve got decades of real world experience and expertise that you can leverage. Stop hiding it. Display it proudly on your social media profiles.
Proof of work > proof of promise.
You’re not making money because….
You (currently) suck.
And that’s okay.
We’ve all sucked at something. But the great thing about being human is that we have the power to make progress. It’s one of the best things about our species. Every day is an opportunity to iterate on your best work.
Stop:
Letting your mind be a liability.
Positioning yourself to be for everyone.
Hiding yourself away online and start promoting.
Chasing shiny objects and trends over real depth.
As an ex-corporate executive with decades of experience, you’ve got everything that you need to get started and make money online.
Nothing is easy.
But you’ve already spent a decade climbing the slippery ladder doing a job you tolerated.
Now it’s time to build your own ladder.
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Learn how to turn ONE high-value corporate skill into a $20-$30k per month one-person business by clicking HERE
