My latest guest post for Flying Solo:
As soloists, we’ve all heard it before. We’re sitting around at a social event and the topic turns to work. “I couldn’t do what you do.” Or, “How do you cope without the steady pay cheque?” Maybe, “I wish I could wear pyjamas to work!” Sigh.
Then our other friend who’s been gritting their teeth pipes up. The “closet solo.” The one who starts describing their own business idea after only a whisper of prodding. They set their drink on a nearby table (coaster be damned) and they’re off. They’re off mapping out the intricacies of what they’d do, how they’d do it, and how it would help people. Their arms fly like a mad conductor as their vision materialises in their mind’s eye. They might even take to their feet, possessed of the spirit of Steve Jobs introducing the iPhone. Then reality sets in. Sinking into their chair and grabbing their drink, they mutter, “I doubt I’d ever get it off the ground.”
According to a report by the Australian Banking Association, nine million Australians have the same desire.
60% of those cited “access to money” as the reason they don’t take their first giant leap into business-kind. That’s five point four million people. Again, with an M.
This breaks down into 55% of men and 65% of women. Two-thirds of those who pine for the soloist life are in the 18-34 age bracket; which is prime “solo time” to shine.
This perception is pervasive, but the fact is, there’s more support out there than you think. Despite a 33% drop in applications for loans, business loan approvals hover around 94%.
So why the reluctance? What’s really stopping us?