June 2, 2025
The Solo Perspective: Appreciating The Challenges Of Corporate Life
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Episode Summary:
What’s it really like to hop the fence between corporate life and solo entrepreneurship? Join co-hosts Michelle Kane of Voice Matters and Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro in this lively discussion about the contrasts between these two worlds. From navigating corporate protocols to enjoying the streamlined, impactful decision-making as a solo pro, they explore the lessons learned, the unique challenges, and the joys of creating your own career path. Whether you’re considering becoming your own boss or just want to appreciate your current work environment, this episode offers valuable insights and some laughs along the way.
Key Highlights:
- How experiences in solo and corporate careers shape your perspective.
- The beauty of streamlined decision-making as a solo professional.
- Challenges like “buzzword overload” and imposter syndrome in corporate spaces.
- Why being a solo doesn’t mean you lack the sophisticated processes of corporate life.
- Tips for appreciating both sides and finding fulfillment in your career choice.
- Thoughts on evolving professionally and taking control of your career in a modern work landscape.
Timestamps:
- 00:12 – Introduction and banter about the weather.
- 01:08 – Kicking off the topic: life as a solo vs. corporate life.
- 03:38 – Karen reflects on government and corporate inefficiencies.
- 04:10 – The benefits of streamlined workflows as a solo.
- 06:28 – Why protocols exist and how they affect workplaces.
- 07:57 – The challenges of self-perception as a solo.
- 09:20 – Controlling your career path and the rewards of solo life.
- 10:48 – How the modern work environment enables pivoting and flexibility.
- 11:44 – Closing thoughts and encouragement for listeners.
Related Episodes & Resources:
- Episode 286: What You Need to Know to Become a Solo PR Pro in 2025
- Episode 287: Confidence, Capability and Why PR Needs More Collaboration
- Learn more about SoloPRPro.com
Please listen and share!
Did today’s episode resonate with you? Share your experiences with us at SoloPRPro.com. And don’t forget to subscribe to That Solo Life wherever you listen to podcasts. If you enjoyed this conversation, leave us a review, and share the episode with a fellow PR pro or entrepreneur! See you next time!
That Solo Life, Episode 302: The Solo Perspective: Appreciating The Challenges Of Corporate Life
Transcribing live conversations can be tricky so please be forgiving of any typos or errors that you find. Love something here and want to share? Great, please read the notes at the end. Enjoy!
Michelle Kane (00:12):
Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters and my ever wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, Karen, here we are again. Ready for a fun time.
Karen Swim, APR (00:31):
Hi, Michelle, how are you doing today? I'm doing well, doing well. We're all living the dream, right? We are here in Michigan. We are enjoying a wonderful, she said with sarcasm, dripping a wonderful return to winter.
Michelle Kane (00:47):
Yes. As we record this, we're having a bit of a chill snap here in the northeast as well. It's like, what? Come on now. What's with the wind? What's with the chilly weather? I have all my cute summer shoes out, so knock it off.
Karen Swim, APR (01:03):
I know.
Michelle Kane (01:04):
Oh, well, what are you going to do? But we're still living the dream, which brings us to our topic today. We want to talk about life as a solo versus life in corporate and just some differences we're noticing, and this is not to slag off on anyone in any role, no matter where you are, but it is interesting when you hop that fence and you experience things, a lot of things might become clearer. A lot of things might become less. So just say that. But you do find it interesting when you experience both worlds. And I mean, what it comes down to is whatever's right for you. But we have noticed some things as in our solo journey, and I know I love what you said when we were talking about this topic, about how we wonder why the government's so slow. And then sometimes we experience things in corporate America.
Karen Swim, APR (02:05):
It's true. I can remember when I worked in corporate America being one of those business people that would say the common thing, why can't the government be more like business? And it just seemed filled with delays and unnecessary steps, and it was so inefficient. And then as a solo, I now look at corporate American go, oh my God, you guys are so inefficient. Why does everything have to take so long? Why are you making this so hard?
Michelle Kane (02:34):
Yeah, yeah, it's true. And I suppose at the onset of all those things, there was good reason. I mean, certainly in government things are slow, but we're finding these days, there's sometimes good reason for that, and that's okay. But yeah, I think just because of the sheer size of corporate America, I came up on that when I was in church. Comms members would say, you need to run this like a business, but we're not. Yes, of course we're responsible for our budgets and what we spend and what we spend it on, but we're about people. We're the ones to give you a hug. Your corporation's not going to give you a hug or veer off or what we used to call hold the baby. Sometimes in the course of our days, no matter what our job was, something would come across our path and we'd have to deal with it. And that's just counter, that goes against corporate America. You need to bring a business. It's like, well, we have a budget. Isn't that good enough?
Karen Swim, APR (03:43):
I think one of the beautiful things about being a solo is being in the position where many of us, we still get to work with very large corporations, and you bring a different perspective, a different energy, because we don't have as many people that need to sign off or be in the approval process. Our communications loop is a lot smaller and things are more streamlined for us, but we can bring that to corporations and help them to move things along faster and help them to prioritize what's really important and to help them spot gaps or inefficiencies in their process too. But it also brings me to mind that it's all about perspective. Sometimes we can be a little dismissive of the job that others have to do, and we always feel like we can do it better, but it's a matter of the environment that you work in, what you're working with, the resources, and what the protocols are. Because we can't get away from protocols no matter what job we're in, who we work for, or whom we don't work for, they do exist. And it just is a good reminder to take a breath and be respectful of people and try to understand why they're doing the things that they do before you immediately jump to criticism.
Michelle Kane (05:14):
Yeah, I mean, if anything, it makes me appreciate them more because of what they have to go through to get somewhere. And you're right, oftentimes, the larger the organization, the longer it takes to get everyone on the same page and to make sure we're all following the right plan. I mean, that can be a challenge as well. So sometimes that becomes part of our job. We turn into air traffic controllers. No, no, no. Wait,
Karen Swim, APR (05:43):
Wait, wait. Here's the runway. Come on, follow me. We're almost there. So close. So close. And it is interesting. And some days, yeah, I do close my laptop and think so glad I just have to answer to me most times. I agree with you, and it confirms for me that being a solo is exactly where I'm supposed to be today. There used to be those moments every now and then where I would be like, oh, I miss corporate America. Can I just go back there? That seemed simpler, and I'm sure that many of you in the audience can relate to that, where you have those days where you think, I don't want to be in charge. I don't want to figure out all the things. I don't want to learn anything else. I just want to show up at a job, have them give me a check and go home at night. But it's never that simple, by the way.
Michelle Kane (06:37):
No, no, it's not. I know. Oh, please. I have those thoughts too. It's like you say, do I have to be in charge again? I don't want, I don't feel like making a decision today. I guess that is, we all pay a price, right? No matter what our choices are. It comes with that and you just roll with it. And at the same time, from the other side of things, it kind of like you say, the perspective it gives you. You have a new appreciation sometimes for the processes, but sometimes you realize, so sometimes this is what happens to me. I'll think, oh, they have all these buzzwords for things and these processes. That must mean that I am, I'm not good at my job. I don't have those things. I just do the thing. But then you realize you just have to do the thing. I mean, you can add all those layers and call it all those shiny names, but no, you don't really have to do that. And so sometimes it does head game you in a way, I don't know, maybe
Karen Swim, APR (07:49):
That's just, yes, it does. Corporate America can make you feel like somehow you are operating on a different planet because they do. They have an awful lot of terms and processes and things that they do, and it can make your head spin and you'll think, I don't have any of those things, and it can make you feel like a little tiny fish. However, oftentimes you really are doing all of those things in a different way, in a more streamlined fashion, and you just don't have a big fancy name for it. Again, this is not to bash our corporate brethren, it's just to encourage solos that I don't think I've ever met someone who ran away because they hated their job or because they didn't run away. They made a decision that the next step for their career was being in charge, being in control. And it's because they reached a point in their career where they felt confident enough that they really could offer their skills on the open market, and they wanted to be in control of all of those things.
(09:01):
They wanted to do things in a different way. They wanted to control who they work with. They wanted to control the types of projects they did. They didn't want to do things just because it was on a job description. They really wanted to do the things that they were passionate about. So this is an encouragement that you really did make the right choice, and I don't want to say that we outgrow, it's just that we evolve and we change in the things that we want from work and the way that we want to work. And running your own business is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is one of the most rewarding things that you can ever do.
Michelle Kane (09:43):
Yeah, that's true. That's true. And I agree. Certainly not saying we're not pitting one thing against the other. For sure. Hey, if an opportunity came along that was a good fit for me and I felt excited about it, of course, of course I'd go for it, but that's just not where I am right now, and that doesn't feel like where I'm supposed to be right now. And I think that is the bottom line. And the beauty of even being able to be a solo that it's even possible is, I know there's a lot of us who've been at this a long time, but it's still a fairly recent opportunity. Could we have done this in the nineties? Not nearly as easily. Absolutely not. Nope.
Karen Swim, APR (10:30):
I know. It's really a beautiful thing, and it's with us having longer lifespans, what I think is so wonderful is that we can move in and out of being solo. So we really do have some control over our careers and we can pivot as much as we want to, and we weren't able to do that as easily in days past. So I think that we are living in a pretty good time. There are definitely some cracks in our work landscape, and there are things that still need to be improved, but in terms of being able to choose how you engage with a company, this is really a beautiful time to be working.
Michelle Kane (11:12):
It's so true, and I love that you said pivot.
Karen Swim, APR (11:16):
Yeah.
Michelle Kane (11:16):
Isn't that the truth? I mean, we do that every day in our work and we can do it easily. Whereas if there are a lot of layers to your company, it's not as easy to do that. In fact, it's really difficult. And the fact that we can do that, yeah, we can do that in our work, and we can do that even in the course of how we do our work and how we construct our business. It is truly a pretty beautiful thing. Wow. We hope you've gotten something out of this little time together today. We hope you've been inspired and we hope you've nodded along, maybe giggled or thought of an experience of oof. Yeah, tell us about it. Please tell us@solopro.com and please do share this around. And until next time, thanks for listening to "That Solo Life."
We ask that you honor the following if you want to use the transcripts for this or any episode.
You are more than welcome to share the transcript (up to 500 words) in media articles (e.g., PR News, O’Dwyers), on your personal website, in a non-commercial article or blog post (e.g., Substack), and/or on a personal social media account for non-commercial purposes, provided that you include attribution to “That Solo Life” and link back to the soloprpro/podcast URL. For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above.
But please note that no one is authorized to copy any portion of the podcast content or use That Solo Life’s name, image or likeness for any commercial purpose or use, including without limitation inclusion in any books, e-books, book summaries or synopses, or on a commercial website or social media site (e.g., Facebook, X, Instagram, etc.) that offers or promotes your or another’s products or services.
Got questions? Email us at info@soloprpro.com.
Transcribing live conversations can be tricky so please be forgiving of any typos or errors that you find. Love something here and want to share? Great, please read the notes at the end. Enjoy!
Michelle Kane (00:12):
Thank you for joining us for this episode of That Solo Life, the podcast for PR pros and marketers who work for themselves, people like me, Michelle Kane, with VoiceMatters and my ever wonderful co-host, Karen Swim of Solo PR Pro. Hey, Karen, here we are again. Ready for a fun time.
Karen Swim, APR (00:31):
Hi, Michelle, how are you doing today? I'm doing well, doing well. We're all living the dream, right? We are here in Michigan. We are enjoying a wonderful, she said with sarcasm, dripping a wonderful return to winter.
Michelle Kane (00:47):
Yes. As we record this, we're having a bit of a chill snap here in the northeast as well. It's like, what? Come on now. What's with the wind? What's with the chilly weather? I have all my cute summer shoes out, so knock it off.
Karen Swim, APR (01:03):
I know.
Michelle Kane (01:04):
Oh, well, what are you going to do? But we're still living the dream, which brings us to our topic today. We want to talk about life as a solo versus life in corporate and just some differences we're noticing, and this is not to slag off on anyone in any role, no matter where you are, but it is interesting when you hop that fence and you experience things, a lot of things might become clearer. A lot of things might become less. So just say that. But you do find it interesting when you experience both worlds. And I mean, what it comes down to is whatever's right for you. But we have noticed some things as in our solo journey, and I know I love what you said when we were talking about this topic, about how we wonder why the government's so slow. And then sometimes we experience things in corporate America.
Karen Swim, APR (02:05):
It's true. I can remember when I worked in corporate America being one of those business people that would say the common thing, why can't the government be more like business? And it just seemed filled with delays and unnecessary steps, and it was so inefficient. And then as a solo, I now look at corporate American go, oh my God, you guys are so inefficient. Why does everything have to take so long? Why are you making this so hard?
Michelle Kane (02:34):
Yeah, yeah, it's true. And I suppose at the onset of all those things, there was good reason. I mean, certainly in government things are slow, but we're finding these days, there's sometimes good reason for that, and that's okay. But yeah, I think just because of the sheer size of corporate America, I came up on that when I was in church. Comms members would say, you need to run this like a business, but we're not. Yes, of course we're responsible for our budgets and what we spend and what we spend it on, but we're about people. We're the ones to give you a hug. Your corporation's not going to give you a hug or veer off or what we used to call hold the baby. Sometimes in the course of our days, no matter what our job was, something would come across our path and we'd have to deal with it. And that's just counter, that goes against corporate America. You need to bring a business. It's like, well, we have a budget. Isn't that good enough?
Karen Swim, APR (03:43):
I think one of the beautiful things about being a solo is being in the position where many of us, we still get to work with very large corporations, and you bring a different perspective, a different energy, because we don't have as many people that need to sign off or be in the approval process. Our communications loop is a lot smaller and things are more streamlined for us, but we can bring that to corporations and help them to move things along faster and help them to prioritize what's really important and to help them spot gaps or inefficiencies in their process too. But it also brings me to mind that it's all about perspective. Sometimes we can be a little dismissive of the job that others have to do, and we always feel like we can do it better, but it's a matter of the environment that you work in, what you're working with, the resources, and what the protocols are. Because we can't get away from protocols no matter what job we're in, who we work for, or whom we don't work for, they do exist. And it just is a good reminder to take a breath and be respectful of people and try to understand why they're doing the things that they do before you immediately jump to criticism.
Michelle Kane (05:14):
Yeah, I mean, if anything, it makes me appreciate them more because of what they have to go through to get somewhere. And you're right, oftentimes, the larger the organization, the longer it takes to get everyone on the same page and to make sure we're all following the right plan. I mean, that can be a challenge as well. So sometimes that becomes part of our job. We turn into air traffic controllers. No, no, no. Wait,
Karen Swim, APR (05:43):
Wait, wait. Here's the runway. Come on, follow me. We're almost there. So close. So close. And it is interesting. And some days, yeah, I do close my laptop and think so glad I just have to answer to me most times. I agree with you, and it confirms for me that being a solo is exactly where I'm supposed to be today. There used to be those moments every now and then where I would be like, oh, I miss corporate America. Can I just go back there? That seemed simpler, and I'm sure that many of you in the audience can relate to that, where you have those days where you think, I don't want to be in charge. I don't want to figure out all the things. I don't want to learn anything else. I just want to show up at a job, have them give me a check and go home at night. But it's never that simple, by the way.
Michelle Kane (06:37):
No, no, it's not. I know. Oh, please. I have those thoughts too. It's like you say, do I have to be in charge again? I don't want, I don't feel like making a decision today. I guess that is, we all pay a price, right? No matter what our choices are. It comes with that and you just roll with it. And at the same time, from the other side of things, it kind of like you say, the perspective it gives you. You have a new appreciation sometimes for the processes, but sometimes you realize, so sometimes this is what happens to me. I'll think, oh, they have all these buzzwords for things and these processes. That must mean that I am, I'm not good at my job. I don't have those things. I just do the thing. But then you realize you just have to do the thing. I mean, you can add all those layers and call it all those shiny names, but no, you don't really have to do that. And so sometimes it does head game you in a way, I don't know, maybe
Karen Swim, APR (07:49):
That's just, yes, it does. Corporate America can make you feel like somehow you are operating on a different planet because they do. They have an awful lot of terms and processes and things that they do, and it can make your head spin and you'll think, I don't have any of those things, and it can make you feel like a little tiny fish. However, oftentimes you really are doing all of those things in a different way, in a more streamlined fashion, and you just don't have a big fancy name for it. Again, this is not to bash our corporate brethren, it's just to encourage solos that I don't think I've ever met someone who ran away because they hated their job or because they didn't run away. They made a decision that the next step for their career was being in charge, being in control. And it's because they reached a point in their career where they felt confident enough that they really could offer their skills on the open market, and they wanted to be in control of all of those things.
(09:01):
They wanted to do things in a different way. They wanted to control who they work with. They wanted to control the types of projects they did. They didn't want to do things just because it was on a job description. They really wanted to do the things that they were passionate about. So this is an encouragement that you really did make the right choice, and I don't want to say that we outgrow, it's just that we evolve and we change in the things that we want from work and the way that we want to work. And running your own business is not easy. It is not for the faint of heart, but it is one of the most rewarding things that you can ever do.
Michelle Kane (09:43):
Yeah, that's true. That's true. And I agree. Certainly not saying we're not pitting one thing against the other. For sure. Hey, if an opportunity came along that was a good fit for me and I felt excited about it, of course, of course I'd go for it, but that's just not where I am right now, and that doesn't feel like where I'm supposed to be right now. And I think that is the bottom line. And the beauty of even being able to be a solo that it's even possible is, I know there's a lot of us who've been at this a long time, but it's still a fairly recent opportunity. Could we have done this in the nineties? Not nearly as easily. Absolutely not. Nope.
Karen Swim, APR (10:30):
I know. It's really a beautiful thing, and it's with us having longer lifespans, what I think is so wonderful is that we can move in and out of being solo. So we really do have some control over our careers and we can pivot as much as we want to, and we weren't able to do that as easily in days past. So I think that we are living in a pretty good time. There are definitely some cracks in our work landscape, and there are things that still need to be improved, but in terms of being able to choose how you engage with a company, this is really a beautiful time to be working.
Michelle Kane (11:12):
It's so true, and I love that you said pivot.
Karen Swim, APR (11:16):
Yeah.
Michelle Kane (11:16):
Isn't that the truth? I mean, we do that every day in our work and we can do it easily. Whereas if there are a lot of layers to your company, it's not as easy to do that. In fact, it's really difficult. And the fact that we can do that, yeah, we can do that in our work, and we can do that even in the course of how we do our work and how we construct our business. It is truly a pretty beautiful thing. Wow. We hope you've gotten something out of this little time together today. We hope you've been inspired and we hope you've nodded along, maybe giggled or thought of an experience of oof. Yeah, tell us about it. Please tell us@solopro.com and please do share this around. And until next time, thanks for listening to "That Solo Life."
We ask that you honor the following if you want to use the transcripts for this or any episode.
You are more than welcome to share the transcript (up to 500 words) in media articles (e.g., PR News, O’Dwyers), on your personal website, in a non-commercial article or blog post (e.g., Substack), and/or on a personal social media account for non-commercial purposes, provided that you include attribution to “That Solo Life” and link back to the soloprpro/podcast URL. For the sake of clarity, media outlets with advertising models are permitted to use excerpts from the transcript per the above.
But please note that no one is authorized to copy any portion of the podcast content or use That Solo Life’s name, image or likeness for any commercial purpose or use, including without limitation inclusion in any books, e-books, book summaries or synopses, or on a commercial website or social media site (e.g., Facebook, X, Instagram, etc.) that offers or promotes your or another’s products or services.
Got questions? Email us at info@soloprpro.com.