Are you a recovering employee? Here’s some advice on starting your own business.

It used to be that betting on a “secure” job was the safest way to build a career and make a living, given that steady paychecks come as regularly as household bills. But now, given all of the churn even in federal government jobs and the impact of AI, it’s not far-fetched to imagine the day when applying for a job becomes a nostalgic concept, like a drive-in movie, not a default.

Currently, between 6-11% of the U.S. population is self-employed, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That percentage could change if it gets harder to win or keep a traditional job, and people who want to stay employed start exploring the idea of starting a one-person business.

What would your life be like if your professional identity was no longer tied to having a specific job—or was permanently separated from it because your type of job no longer exists—and you became your own employer? It’s an interesting question to consider.

It makes me think of a wonky buzzword from the dot-com era: disintermediation. That referred to eliminating middlemen and going directly to consumers with what you’re selling. When you start your own business, that’s what you’re doing: Instead of relying on someone else to find the work for you and parcel it out, you’re connecting with your customers and end users in a way you may never have done before.

Many people in the self-employed and freelance economy have experienced the separation of their identify from having a particular job and found it’s a mind-expanding and empowering journey. I’ve been on it myself since 2007, and wouldn’t trade it, but it takes some adjusting. The steady paycheck life can be addictive.

Leaving behind the mindsets and behaviors that allowed you to adapt to the world of traditional jobs requires conscious attention, because what helped you excel, or at least survive, as an employee can derail you when you’re building a new business. In the case of people leaving jobs that never delivered what they promised, or no longer do, I consider the mindset shifts a kind of “recovery” from beliefs that perhaps once reflected reality but no longer do.

I moderate the “Tiny Business, Big Money series,” a panel discussion on the second Monday of every month for the New York Public Library. With emcee Helena Escalante, I interview million-dollar one-person business creators and owners who have reached $1 million in revenue with very small teams.

We held a special edition of the series on April 14 on “How to start a business in 2 weeks when life happens.” Our goal was to deliver a crash course to people who are considering self-employment instead of hitting the job market, or until they can find a job. Here is a link to the program. (These expire about 30 days from the date of the event, so please message me if you missed the window).

I’m going to explore what each of the panelists shared because it was so valuable, starting with Jason Allan Scott, founder of dog-supplement maker Pawprint Lab and co-host of the Rich Life Recipe podcast with Alicia Schiro, another million-dollar, one-person business owner.

Jason is a serial entrepreneur in the high-revenue microbusiness space. We met when I interviewed him about his work as a keynote speaker. His other startups have included A Podcast Company, which teaches people how to run podcasts; KOPUS, an on-demand app to help event venues keep vacant spaces filled; Pynk, an impact investment fund; and Lokkima, a provider of cryotherapy equipment. He’s also been part of the prestigious Techstars accelerator.

Here is some of the advice Jason gave to anyone who needs to start a business ASAP.

Summon your courage and ask a lot of questions. Fear, not lack of knowledge, is the main obstacle for aspiring entrepreneurs looking for a business idea or for validation of one. “The biggest problem most people have isn’t that they don’t know who to ask or what to start,” he says. “It’s they’re just scared to ask.”

The antidote: Courage. LinkedIn and other social media make it easy for introverts to reach out to friendly colleagues and connections and seek advice. That’s the quickest way to get started.

Look for an idea that taps into what makes you unique. What makes us different as human beings can become the fingerprint for a one-of-a-kind business. “There's only one Joe Rogan because there are few people in the world that are interested in comedy plus UFC, plus politics, plus science fiction,” he said.

Keep the party going. The ideal product or service is something your customers will want to keep buying—one that stops a pain they’re experiencing, he says. “You don’t want to sell once. You want a way to have a toothpaste-like product where they’re using it twice a day and they just keep using it for life.”

Test your idea….before you invest. What Jason asks himself when he thinks he’s onto a good idea: “Can I call 10 people? Can I get 10 people excited? Can I give them my PayPal link? Can they send me the money?”

If you don’t like calling friends and colleagues, e-mail is a good substitute, he says. The point is to put it out there and get real-world feedback, so you don’t waste your startup money on an offering that people aren’t currently interested in buying. This will also help you tailor what you’re selling based on the feedback you get.

Use free and low-cost online tools to do your research. “There are so many ways to find a million-dollar business,” Jason says. He points to Google Trends, Facebook audience tools, SEM rush and other keyword planners…and even bookstores. “You can go to Amazon and look at Amazon's bestsellers,” he says. “What are people currently buying? Because that's a problem, if they're looking to find the solution on Amazon. And then what are the complaints by people in the reviews?” That could be an addressable market.

Make “discipline” your new mantra. Although entrepreneurs are some of the most inspired and creative people on the planet, the successful ones are also disciplined about making steady and consistent efforts to build traction.

“There are certain rules that apply to every single human being,” he says. “If you follow the rules. you're almost guaranteed to be successful, but if you go the opposite way—if you are distracted and you are just trying everything at once—nothing will happen.”

A good analogy is hitting the gym more as summer approaches. Showing up once a week is a good start if you’ve been too busy to exercise, but you won’t get real results until you’re suiting up in your exercise gear three or four times a week and swiping that card at your workout palace of choice.

A final word:

Starting and growing a business is a practice, like yoga or martial arts. Not all the learning will be visible until the moment arrives to tap into it—but you’ll miss it if you don’t show up for yourself consistently.

I tried for years to do the headstand in my hot yoga class. I loved flipping upside down as a kid, but by the time I started yoga, it had been years since I’d done that, and I was afraid to topple.

The breakthrough came after I had COVID and returned to my practice with a clean bill of health. The first day back, I felt like I was suffocating, but I wanted to push through. The most intuitive way to get more air into my lungs and to my brain was to flip upside down and do the headstand. And then, suddenly, I was doing it. Now I can do it almost anytime I want. I don’t think that would have happened if I had not shown up all along, slowly building the muscles and control that kept me from falling onto someone else’s mat.

All of us have a different “headstand” in our business. Regardless of what yours is, if you follow Jason’s advice and build a daily practice around your business, you’ll be surprised at how much you learn. Self-employment is a momentum game—and that momentum is a powerful fuel for carving a brand-new path for yourself, one that puts you back in control and takes the middlemen out of the equation.