If it's earning you $10k+ a month then you can probably afford going to specialist and by that I mean psychotherapist. Just do it. Don't listen to random advice from random internet people. If you're feeling miserable (especially if it's going on for quite some time) that might be the symptom of some bigger underlying issue.
Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
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Re: Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
#12What helped for me is build a team around you. The moment there are others that join your mission, everything changes. I started out my service based UI design business ( http://fairpixels.pro ) as a solopreneur. At some point, I started getting the same feelings as you're describing and realised (from past projects) that having a team for support had always worked for me. If you don’t have the budget, no worries. Yo…
In particular - it helps to do your work in a coworking space. Even if the team is not people working for you or your company, it is really nice to have others that you see every day who have a similar goals as you.
Alternatively, maybe find meetups and/or online communities for other solopreneurs.
Re: Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
#13Maybe you're burnout or depressed (see depression signs) ?
Re: Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
#14What is your nutrition story like? Do you have a healthy diet?
Your symptoms could also be caused by a vitamin deficiency.
Re: Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
#15At $10k/mo, you can easily afford to hire someone else. That'll both give you a community to keep you encouraged and give you a bit of breathing room, which you should use to take a vacation.
Re: Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
#16Are you sure you don't need another goal? sounds like you might have hit a plateau and it's time to find another goal.
Re: Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
#17Do you work from home? If you do, consider going somewhere else to work, and make that place your workplace. Coworking spaces are especially good because you'll be around people working all day, which will stimulate you to work too, without having to actually employ anyone, like other comments suggest.
Some people are not made to work alone year-long. I know I'm one of them, working for home has been exactly what you described. Now that I'm in an office, I spend most of my workday actually working.
Re: Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
#18I used to be the same way.
Wake up at 5am, meditate, exercise, and shower before starting your day. Stop eating processed carbs and sugar. Get off the computer at 9pm and sleep at 10pm. Clean your room. Schedule sprints of work for yourself, drag yourself over to your chair, and force yourself to start typing anything. Talk to your friends more often. Set 1-3 large goals at the beginning of the day and explain to yourself why they're important.
There are lots of reasons you might be feeling this way, and it's different for everyone. Maybe you're disorganized, or you feel your work is too easy, or your health is bad. You'll have to find out which one it is by trying a lot of different things.
If after doing all this you still feel the same way, please seriously consider the very real possibility of clinical depression, and seek professional help.
Re: Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
#19Maybe you dislike the tools you use, or the domain you work on...
Without details, it's difficult to point the issues.
You could try to ask that to someone you trust.
Re: Ask HN: I'm a solopreneur and I feel demoralised
#20Sound like you need a vacation.