Today, I am going to share how you can escape the “stuck creator” trap and change your mindset about making money from your one-person business, whether you're a current solopreneur or a pre-solopreneur (before making the leap to go solo).

By doing so, you will be able to monetise your knowledge and skills with confidence and grow (personally and business-wise). If you are a pre-solopreneur, you will be able to increase your revenues to the point where you can confidently make the leap and create your own solo business.

Unfortunately, most people don’t talk about this part of the solopreneurial journey: monetisation.

Most pre- and current solopreneurs are doing the work. They’re posting the content. They’re growing the audience. They’re even getting DMs, thank-you emails, and a few “you changed my life” messages.

But their bank account hasn’t moved. Not by much. Maybe not at all.

And the worst part? They’re exhausted, not just physically, but existentially. They wonder if they’re delusional. They start questioning everything: their offer, their skills, their potential, their worth.

Anxiety starts building, and the very freedom (which motivated them to go solo) is compromised (again).

This is a quiet crisis no one shares publicly. But it’s one you must face if you want real freedom.

Let’s break down why this happens and how to move past it with clarity, momentum, and sustainable income.

The Hidden Cost of Not Monetising

When you’re not monetising, it doesn’t feel like a business problem. It feels like a personal failure. It creates a kind of emotional erosion.

Over time, you start to burn out emotionally. Providing value for months without results can lead to self-doubt and eventually apathy. Psychologists refer to this phenomenon as "learned helplessness", a condition in which the brain becomes conditioned to stop trying after repeated failures, even when the opportunity remains real and available.

And because you're not monetising, you end up defaulting to autopilot. Content becomes a habit, not a growth lever. Instead of building toward something, you're just doing more of what feels familiar. Neuroscience refers to this as the Default Mode Network, a brain state activated when there is no clear task or goal. You become trapped in internal loops, disconnected from strategic forward motion.

Even worse, you're getting no real feedback. You post content. You show up. But without offers, pricing, or audience response, you're not learning anything actionable. You’re stuck in the illusion of movement. In systems theory, feedback is the backbone of adaptive systems. Without it, you can’t evolve, you only repeat.

Meanwhile, you feel dissonance between the life you want and the one you’re living. You quit the job. You started the business. But you still worry about money every week. You still don’t feel free. As the Stoic philosopher Seneca once said, "We suffer more in imagination than in reality." If your internal world is still trapped in anxiety, no external escape will truly set you free.

And worst of all? You lose trust in yourself. You hesitate. You second-guess. You start to delay launching, pricing, or even creating. Psychologist Albert Bandura referred to this as self-efficacy: the belief in one's ability to produce results. Without wins, that belief erodes, and your growth stalls.

Why Most People Don’t Monetise (Even When They’re Ready)

So what’s behind all of this? It’s rarely a lack of skill.

Most people don’t monetise because they stay stuck in "value mode." They think, "Let me just help people for free a little longer." However, endless generosity without direction can become a trap. Your audience doesn’t even know you're available to help beyond the free stuff. According to behavioural economics, this comes with an opportunity cost: every moment spent not charging for your value is a moment you're also losing trust, energy, and momentum.

Then there’s the fear. Selling feels vulnerable. Instead of learning how to sell effectively, people often avoid selling altogether. In psychology, this avoidance deepens the fear. Exposure therapy has proven that the only way to reduce anxiety around something is to actually do the thing, repeatedly and intentionally.

Another common trap is selling what you love instead of what people need. You might create something you're passionate about, but that doesn't guarantee it's solving a real, urgent problem. In physics, entropy describes the spread of energy without direction. Passion without demand is scattered energy, and it dissipates quickly.

Even when people do have something to sell, it often lacks clarity. Their positioning is vague. Their language is confusing. Their audience is left wondering: What exactly are you offering me? Cognitive psychology, as illustrated by Hick’s Law, demonstrates that excessive complexity or numerous choices can paralyse action. Simplicity sells. Clarity converts.

And finally, there’s the deeper identity issue. Most pre-solopreneurs still think like employees. They wait to be told. They need permission. They want validation. Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre famously argued that “existence precedes essence", meaning you become who you are by what you choose to do. Until you act like a solopreneur, you won’t become one.

How to Rethink Monetisation

Monetisation is not the end of the journey. It’s not the “reward.” It’s the foundation for clarity, confidence, and freedom. And it starts with a few important reframes:

First, understand that what you monetise should be driven by real problems, not just your passion. Passion creates content. Pain creates products. When you focus on solving a tangible problem your audience is actively struggling with, you unlock demand. People don't buy products, they hire them to solve problems.

Next, shift how you monetise. Instead of going from free content to hard sell, create a bridge. Guide your audience with connection, context, and clarity. Physics offers a useful parallel here: gradient descent, the idea that change happens most effectively through small, optimised steps. Selling should feel like a natural next step, not a jarring pivot.

As for when to monetise? Sooner than you think. Many creators delay until they feel "ready," but validated learning comes from launching early and adjusting quickly. Perfection is delay in disguise.

And perhaps most important: build feedback loops into your process. Launch. Learn. Improve. Repeat. Cybernetics demonstrates that feedback-driven systems evolve more rapidly and accurately than static ones. Your business should be dynamic, not rigid.

Finally, break the autopilot loop of "not yet." Zeno’s paradox in philosophy illustrates how dividing a journey into endless segments can mean you never actually begin. Done is better than perfect. Starting is the only way to cross the gap.

The 5 Mindset Shifts That Unlock Revenue

Once you reframe how you view monetisation, you still need to shift your perspective on yourself. These are the 5 mindset shifts that move people from stuck to thriving:

1. From "I Hope It Works" → "I’m Building It to Work". Hope is not a strategy. Intention is. Newton's first law of motion reminds us that objects remain at rest unless acted upon. Your dream won’t move until you do.

2. From "I Need to Be Liked" → "I Need to Be Clear". Clarity over popularity. Trying to please everyone waters down your message. When people can clearly place you in their mental map, they trust you more.

3. From "More Effort" → "More Direction". Hard work isn't the issue. Alignment is. The second law of thermodynamics teaches us that energy spreads thin without structure. It’s not how hard you push — it’s whether you’re pushing in the right direction.

4. From "Free = Safety" → "Offers = Service". Endless free content may feel safe, but real transformation begins when people commit financially. Nietzsche referred to this as the “Will to Power”, the human drive to create, shape, and influence. Monetising isn’t greed. It’s power used well.

5. From "Me vs. Money" → "Money as Leverage". Money doesn’t pollute your mission. It fuels it. Economically speaking, money is a form of stored energy. It gives you time, space, and sustainability.

A Final Thought

If you’re not monetising yet, you’re not broken. You’re just stuck in a loop you didn’t know you were in.

But now you know.

And the way out is clear:

• Stop defaulting to value-only mode

• Stop waiting for permission

• Stop perfecting in the shadows

Start showing up with a product, a price, and a promise. Start learning in public. Start serving people at the level they’re ready to commit to.

Start building financial freedom the only way it’s ever built: Through aligned action and confident monetisation.

What’s next?

It’s all about mindset and strategy. As ancient Greek and Roman philosophers taught, we can only control our minds, thoughts, and actions. Focusing on this can help you avoid unnecessary struggle, get unstuck, and move forward faster.

If you need guidance getting unstuck and making crucial mindset shifts, I can help, especially if

• you want to quit your 9-5 job and create your one-person business, but you struggle to pivot (and then regret not making the leap)

• you are a currently struggling solopreneur (stuck in failure, regret and a flawed mindset that doesn’t serve you)

This is why I created the new 1-hour short video course, “5 Game-Changing Mindset Shifts For Success.” In this video course, I show you how to make the 5 essential mindset shifts to overcome your self-blockages as a solopreneur and thrive.

This is what you will learn and practice:

• The Power of Mindset

• The 5 Most Problematic Mindset Flaws

• How to overcome the Imposter Syndrome (versus self-doubt)

• How to embrace failure as a learning tool (versus fear of failure)

• How to cultivate a Growth Mindset (versus a static fixed mindset)

• How to boost your positivity (versus the negativity, which doesn't serve you)

• How to set healthy boundaries (versus being a people pleaser at work and life in general)

PLUS, you get a free PDF guide with 5 unconventional yet proven and effective exercises for practising the mindset shifts and preventing relapse.

Unlock the course below.