It’s almost March. For many of us, that means we’ve braved through the red hearts, rom-coms, dinner out, and all the rest that comes with the month of Valentine’s Day. Whether we are in a relationship or not, our most important relationship is with ourselves. Nothing teaches us that more than being your own boss.
As a “ShEO” (that’s female CEO if you haven’t been in the loop *wink wink*), we have to be our own champion and leader if we want to be successful. And, the same is true in life. We also need to surround ourselves with people who can support us to do that. It takes intentional community-building, lots of self-talk, and some pretty badass socio-emotional and leadership skills to get there.
And yet, there’s still societal stigma about women who are unattached and in powerful positions. Our societal narrative focuses so much on being in a relationship that we forget about the power of living for ourselves.
I was reminded of this recently while watching a television show called Dollface. It is a parody of the way women can get caught up in romantic relationships to the point that they have no female friends left to turn to when their relationship ends.
After getting dumped by her mediocre boyfriend, the main character gets on a bus driven by a literal cat lady (who makes her feline/homo sapien appearance in subsequent episodes) and is threatened to end up being stuck in perpetual partner-pleasing mode for eternity unless she starts being motivated to start anew.
While I haven’t progressed very far into the series, the main challenge of the story is how the main character navigates life as a single woman, repairs friendships, and steps into her own power.
What does this have to do with leadership and entrepreneurship? Learning to live and lead in a way that is empowering and aligns with your vision for who you are and who you want to become is relevant to all aspects of our lives.
Learning to be an independent woman without (or even with) a relationship and an independent professional require similar skills. It’s about owning who you are: your experiences, background, desires, and values. As a solopreneur, you make choices every day about who you want to work with, how you want to show up, and how to be your own motivator and leader.
We move towards owning who we are by surrounding ourselves with people who support us and our vision, leaning into soul-nourishing activities, and cutting out what does not serve us. It is an ongoing journey, but a truly rewarding one.
So next time you feel out of place as a single woman, or a woman striving to make her way professionally, remember this: you are the CEO of your own life. The more we own our role as solopreneurs, the more this becomes true in other aspects of our life.
I am cheering on all of the women solopreneurs out there. Find other women doing the same. And never forget to keep cheering for yourself.
Rachel Lipton
Rachel Lipton, MPP, CPCC, ACC is a Co-Active Certified Coach with a decade of experience consulting with organizations to significantly elevate their leadership development and organizational effectiveness strategies. She supports executives, emerging leaders, and teams to thrive in today’s workplace and understands what individuals and organizations need to function effectively on the human level. Drawn toward intersectional disciplines with broad applications, Rachel has a BA from UC Berkeley with dual degrees in Political Science and Mass Communications and a Masters in Public Policy from USC.
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