Building your dream alone sounds freeing. Until you realize that every decision, every problem, every task and every bad day lands on you.

Six months into building CFTR - Calls From The Road as a solopreneur, I've learned that independence and isolation are two very different things.

For Part 2 of the Lisbon Series, I'm back at Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics, where I studied in 2018 and constantly switched between working alone and working in groups. Eight years later, that same tension has become one of the biggest questions in my business: How much should you actually build alone?

In this episode, I break down the real pros and cons of being a solopreneur versus building with a co-founder or team — from speed and creative control to loneliness, burnout, blind spots, accountability and finding people with complementary skills.

But more importantly, I'm sharing the 10 rules that are currently keeping me sane while building alone.

How to trust yourself without ignoring feedback. Why the thing you're avoiding is probably the thing you need to do. How to protect your focus, redefine hustle, deal with sacrifice, change course when something isn't working and manage the voice in your own head.

Because I'm learning that building solo doesn't mean figuring everything out alone.

You can own your vision and still surround yourself with people who challenge you, support you and are better than you at things.

Maybe that's what independence actually is: not doing everything yourself, but being intentional about what stays yours and who you let build beside you.

📍 Filmed at Católica Lisbon School of Business & Economics in Lisbon, Portugal, where I studied in 2018.

Lisbon Series — Part 2 of 4

See you on the road. ❤️‍🔥

Chapters:

0:00 Intro / Back at University in Lisbon

3:14 Episode Setup: Solo vs. Co-Founder

4:24 Pros of Being a Solopreneur

5:59 Cons of Being a Solopreneur

13:22 Pros of Having Co-Founders

14:55 Cons of Having Co-Founders

17:15 Truth 1: Trust Yourself, Not the Committee

18:36 Truth 2: Do the Thing You're Avoiding

19:57 Truth 3: Don't Take Advice From the Wrong People

20:38 Truth 4: Redefine Hustle

21:45 Truth 5: Protect Your Focus

22:39 Truth 6: Reframe the Sacrifice

23:47 Truth 7: Give Yourself Permission to Change Course

24:28 Truth 8: Own Your Identity

25:06 Truth 9: Be Prepared for Delayed Gratification

25:41 Truth 10: Manage the Voice in Your Head

28:46 Closing Thoughts & What's Next

Socials:

Instagram Mila: @milakaethe

Instagram CFTR: @callsfromtheroad

TikTok CFTR: @callsfromtheroad

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