Talent, timing, network — none of it matters if you quit before the moment arrives. After building several companies and advising a lot of people who've struck out on their own, if you asked me for the one trait that separates the people who make it from the people who don't, it wouldn't be intelligence, or connections, or perfect timing. It's perseverance. And I don't mean the motivational-poster version. Most people who go independent don't stop because they've failed. They stop because they haven't succeeded yet — and in a hard moment, those two things feel identical. They're not. Real perseverance isn't blind stubbornness. It's staying in motion, adapting, and keeping the door open long enough for something to actually happen. The hardest stretch is never the leap. It's the long middle — when you've left the title behind, you're doing the work, and the clients aren't showing up yet. What I've come to believe is that the distance between wanting to quit and the breakthrough is usually shorter than it feels in the moment — but you only find that out if you're still standing there when it comes. If you're in that middle right now, growing a coaching or consulting business of your own: what's keeping you in the game? What would help you stay? 🎙️ From my conversation with Julia Lucidi on the Founder Tactics podcast — full episode linked in the first comment. #IndependentConsultant #Coaching #Solopreneur #GoingIndependent #PersonalBrand