When There’s No Break Room: Finding Your “We” as a Solopreneur
By Kat Nisson, MLIS, CPCC | Co-Author, Worth at Work | RK Copywrites
When you work independently, you carry everything alone. The wins, the losses, and the voice in your head that has opinions about all of it.
You probably know the feeling. The team meeting where someone notices you're off, the coworker who checks in after a tough call, the break room where you can vent for five minutes and get back to it. None of it exists.
And that can be incredibly isolating.
I spent more than two decades in public service, much of it as a library administrator, leading teams and doing frontline work that asked a lot of the people doing it. Later, I became a ghostwriter. Different work, same pull toward helping people find their voice and shape something they believed in.
But when I transitioned to working for myself, something shifted. The people I used to lean on weren't there anymore. The informal support systems I'd taken for granted had vanished. And I didn't realize how much I'd been relying on them until they were gone.
The Voice in Your Head Gets Louder
In the newly released book I co-authored with Randy Haveson, Worth at Work: An Inside-Out Approach to Confident Teams and Exceptional Service, we talk about something Randy calls the "bully voice." It's that internal narrator that assumes the worst, magnifies problems, and predicts failure. It speaks in absolutes: always, never, everyone, no one.
When you work alone, that voice gets louder. There's no one to interrupt it. No colleague to say, "Actually, that went fine." No team to remind you that one bad interaction doesn't define your entire career.
The bully voice has some favorite scripts. The Catastrophizer takes any problem and projects it to its worst possible outcome. The Comparator constantly measures you against others and finds you lacking. The Mind Reader claims to know what others are thinking, and it's never good.
Sound familiar?
The antidote is what we call the "best friend voice." Not toxic positivity or pretending everything is fine. Just the kind of honest perspective you'd offer someone you care about. If a friend came to you after a rough client call, you probably wouldn't pile on with criticism. You'd help them see what actually happened, what they could do next, and remind them that one hard moment isn't the whole story.
Most of us do this naturally for others. Turning that same voice inward takes practice.
The Ceiling You Hit Alone
Here's what I've learned: You can do all the internal work in the world. Develop your best friend voice, manage your energy, tend to your physical and mental wellness. But if you're operating in complete isolation, you'll still hit a ceiling.
The shift from "I've got this" to "We've got this" is where things open up.
In 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬, we explore what we call the "We Over Me" philosophy. It's an orientation where you habitually focus on what's best for the collective, where your individual success becomes meaningful in the context of shared success. It's not self-sacrifice or martyrdom. It's genuine collaboration where people who are secure in themselves can offer themselves fully to something larger.
For those of us without traditional coworkers, this means we have to build that community intentionally. We have to find our "we."
What I Found in the Prosper Network
When I joined The Prosper Network, I wasn't sure what to expect. Another networking group? Another Slack channel that would go quiet after a few weeks?
What I found was different.
I found a community where people actually share their wins without apology. Where asking for help doesn't feel like admitting weakness. Where someone else's success feels like your success, too, because you're genuinely rooting for each other.
The week 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘵𝘩 𝘢𝘵 𝘞𝘰𝘳𝘬 launched, I heard from people I hadn't connected with in ages. Former colleagues, folks from the library world, names I hadn't seen in years. Some bought copies for their teams. One person told me they got emotional reading the introduction. (I got emotional writing it, so fair enough. 🤣)
But what struck me most was how many of those messages came from this community. People checking in. Celebrating alongside me. Asking how they could help spread the word.
That's collective confidence in action. When a group of people believes in what they can achieve together, something shifts. You're not carrying everything alone anymore.
Building Your Own “We”
If you're working independently and feeling the weight of isolation, here's what I'd offer:
Find spaces where sharing your struggles is normalized. The worth check-in we describe in the book is simple: before work begins, acknowledge where you actually are. "I'm at about seventy percent today." "Honestly, I'm running low." These conversations don't have to be long. The point is that someone else knows what you're carrying.
Look for communities built on reciprocity. The Prosper Network's core values are generosity, reciprocity, and expansion. That's not accidental. Genuine "We Over Me" orientation is reciprocal: everyone is oriented toward the collective, not some people serving while others take.
Practice catching your bully voice. When you notice harsh self-talk, pause and ask: Would I talk to a friend this way? If not, what would I actually say to them? That's the voice worth listening to.
Where to Go From Here
Worth at Work hit #1 New Release in both Service Industry and Hospitality on Amazon in its debut week. Randy and I wrote it for hospitality teams, but the concepts apply anywhere people are trying to show up for others while quietly running on empty themselves.
If you're curious about the book, you can find it wherever books are sold. And if you're looking for a community where you can practice this "We Over Me" philosophy in real time, The Prosper Network might be exactly what you need.
You don't have to carry everything alone. 🤗
There are people out here ready to be your "we." You just have to let them in.
Kat Nisson is co-author of Worth at Work (Press 49, 2026), an Amazon #1 New Release in Service Industry and Hospitality. She's VP of Everything at WORTH@WORK and founder of RK Copywrites, where she helps mission-driven leaders build authentic content and inclusive communities. A former librarian and certified coach, she's spent 25+ years helping people find their voice.