Life After Bell… How Has it Been 3 Months Already?
Three months ago, I walked into the office, handed my computer over and walked back out, with nothing but a head full of dreams of entrepreneurial freedom, and never having to hear about my Verint performance scores ever again!
I had visions of productive mornings, strategic planning sessions, and the sweet taste of being my own boss. What I didn’t expect was to discover the profound art of the afternoon nap.
Let me paint you a picture: it’s 2 PM on a Tuesday, and I’m sprawled across my deck chair, laptop balanced precariously on my chest, having fallen asleep mid-email. The sun is warming my face, birds are chirping, and somewhere in the distance, I can sense the corporate world grinding on without me. This wasn’t in any of the “How to Succeed as a Solopreneur” articles I’d devoured before making the leap.
The Highs: Freedom Tastes Like Afternoon Sunlight
The upsides of this journey have been awesome. There’s something magical about waking up without an alarm, knowing that your day is entirely your own to structure. Sadly, there’s also something beyond scary about that same thing!
The client work has been slow but steady. There’s a particular satisfaction in seeing your own name on invoices, knowing that every dollar earned is a direct result of your efforts. No middle management taking credit, no company politics determining your worth. No one tracking every click. Just you, your skills, and the market’s willingness to pay for them.
The Lows: When Reality Hits Your Inbox
But let’s be honest – it hasn’t all been sunshine and spontaneous naps. There are days when the isolation feels crushing. You would think that after 5 years of working from home (thank you, COVID) that isolation would be the last thing that I would notice. I might not have been in the office, but even the simple group chat messages, or occasional phone call were enough to keep me sane.
I just didn’t know it yet.
The Insurance Awakening
Nothing prepared me for the sticker shock of individual health insurance. At Bell, I barely glanced at my benefits package. The premiums were deducted automatically, the coverage was comprehensive, and I took it all for granted. Dental cleanings, prescription medications, visits to my favourite acupuncturist– everything was just… handled.
But now? Oh was I ever in for a shock. One of the perks of the voluntary severance package was that you were automatically covered for any pre-existing conditions. You just needed to call Blue Cross within a set amount of time, and convert from a group plan to an individual one.
I was prepared for it to cost more. What I was not prepared for was how vastly different my coverage would be. Yeah, I technically still have Blue Cross insurance. And it more than technically sucks compared to what I had before. I pay more out of pocket now, for far less insurance than I had before.
Finding the Balance
Three months in, I’m learning to navigate this new reality. The afternoon naps aren’t a sign of laziness – they’re a necessary reset in a world where work-life balance has to be actively constructed rather than imposed by office hours. Those deck sessions have become sacred time for reflection and strategic thinking.
I’ve even took my laptop to the beach this week and sat there, listening to the waves, while working through an issue that had been on my todo list.
The loneliness still factors in some days, but I have friends only a message bubble away, even if they don’t completely understand what I’m trying to do with my life. And then there are the cats. They are always quick to give me their opinion, whether I ask for it or not.
The Verdict
Would I go back to Bell? Ask me on a day when I’m stressed about a late payment and my answer might surprise you. But ask me on a Tuesday afternoon, sitting on my deck with the sun on my face and a happy client thanking me for fixing some mess that they’ve been trying to figure out, and the answer is clear.
This journey isn’t the Instagram-perfect entrepreneurial dream that social media sells. It’s messier, lonelier, and more expensive than I anticipated. But it’s also more authentic, more challenging, and ultimately more rewarding than anything I experienced at any previous company.
The naps aren’t a bug in the system – they’re a feature. And sometimes, falling asleep on your deck is exactly the kind of problem you want to have.
