Solo-ish (and why I’m currently losing to my own brain)
I spent yesterday afternoon staring at a spreadsheet until the gridlines started to vibrate.
I didn’t actually do anything with it.
I just looked at the rows with the same blank expression I usually reserve for IKEA instructions.
(I know, I know. I’m supposed to be a ‘strategic leader’ in L&D, but I’m currently losing a fight with a sum formula. My accountant is the only one who knows the truth about my spreadsheet skills.)
Sixty days into 2026, and I’ve realised something: being a ‘solo’ business owner isn’t a one-man show.
We’ve been sold this romantic, Pinterest-ready idea of the digital nomad, crushing goals with nothing but a laptop and a flat white.
The reality? It’s about knowing when to put the ego aside and starting to outsource the bits you’re rubbish at.
The Hum of the Fridge
We are absolute pros at pretending in the L&D world.
We talk about ‘self-directed learning’ and ‘individual development’ as if people thrive in total isolation. I used to do this all the time in my corporate life. I thought if I just worked harder, or learned one more prompt, I’d finally feel like I’d ‘made it’.
I’ve worked from home for 25 years, but I’ve still had to learn how to handle the lack of background noise.
I miss the spark. I miss having a peer to tell me my latest idea is a total non-starter before I spend four days building it.
Ideation is exhausting. When you can create anything, you often end up creating nothing.
The Hype is Cooling
While I’ve been wrestling with my own inner critic, the tech world has finally decided to grow up.
Remember 2024? Every vendor was screaming “AI! AI! AI!” like a seagull over a dropped chip. It was loud, and it was mostly useless.
But 1/6th of the way into this year, the fog is clearing.
AI is finally becoming... boring.
And honestly? Boring is brilliant.
The hype cycle is finally running out of steam. While there are still plenty of people shouting into the void, the sensible crowd has stopped talking about the ‘magic’ and started looking for things that actually work.
Vendors are (mostly) over the phase of screaming about LLMs. They are finally starting to show us features that solve real problems for L&D professionals.
The noise hasn’t disappeared completely, but it is definitely dying down. We’re finally being left with utility.
How to survive the first 1/6th of the year
If you’re feeling like the walls are closing in, whether you’re a founder or just feeling isolated in a massive organisation, here is the ‘Survival Stack’ I’m currently building:
The Village Rule: You cannot do it all. I’m outsourcing my accounting before I lose my mind, and I’m finding peers to spar with. If you are the only one vetting your own strategy, you will win every argument, and that is a very dangerous way to work.
The Strategic Stare: In my previous life, sitting and ‘just thinking’ looked like laziness. Out here, it’s the job. Give yourself permission to stare at a wall for twenty minutes. That’s where the ideas actually appear.
The Utility Filter: Stop buying the hype. Look for the boring features. If a tool doesn’t save you 30 minutes of grunt work today, it’s just shiny luggage.
The Honest Truth
It’s been a cluttered and fascinating 60 days.
The ‘Why would they hire me?’ voice hasn’t gone away. If I’m honest, it’s actually getting louder.
But I’ve realised that voice isn’t a sign of failure: it’s just a sign that I’m building something that actually exists in the real world.
I wouldn’t go back to my old life for all the free biscuits in the world.
A quick word from this week's sponsor, Sana Learn.
The utility filter I mentioned this week cuts both ways — if a tool doesn't solve a real problem, it's just shiny luggage.
Sana Learn is the one tool in the L&D space I keep coming back to precisely because it passes that test. It consolidates your LMS, LXP, authoring tool, and virtual classroom into one platform, with an AI tutor that gives every learner personalised, on-demand support. Less admin, less switching between tools, and more time for the work that actually matters.
No hype. No seagulls. Just fewer headaches and better outcomes.
If you're trying to consolidate your stack - or finally build a business case that goes beyond completion rates, they're worth a look.
What’s the biggest lesson you’ve learned so far in 2026? Drop a comment: I need to know I’m not the only one staring at vibrating spreadsheets.
Catch you in the next one,
Mark