Building a Business That Fits Your Life

From Corporate Drone to Conscious Consultant: What Jose Solera Taught Me About Building a Business That Fits Your Life

Here is something I do not hear said often enough.

You do not have to build a big business. You just have to build the right one.

That was one of the threads running through my conversation with Jose Solera — consultant, coach, and self-described "corporate drone" who spent 23 years at Intel before quietly building something entirely his own. And what he built looks nothing like what most people imagine when they hear the word entrepreneur.

It looks like freedom. With purpose built in.

Start Before You Leave

Jose did not quit his job and leap into the unknown. He started building while he was still employed — picking up coaching work, running workshops, setting up his LLC — so that by the time he was ready to transition, the foundation was already there.

I did the same thing. I started my business 20 years ago while I was still working part time. Within three to four months I had enough clients to leave. That safety net made all the difference.

If you are sitting in a corporate role right now thinking about what comes next — do not wait until you leave to start. Start now. Build the thing while you still have the income. The runway you create for yourself is the difference between a leap of faith and a calculated move.

You Do Not Need a Team. You Need a Network.

One of the things I loved most about Jose's story is how lean his business is by design.

He does not want staff. He does not want overheads. When he needed a co-facilitator for a workshop with 65 people, he called a friend from his Intel days and they delivered it together — remotely, seamlessly, and profitably.

I fell into the trap of building too big too fast. At one point I had ten staff, crazy overheads, and a business that felt nothing like the life I wanted. I eventually rebuilt it to fit my lifestyle. Jose built his that way from the start.

The question is not how big can you grow this. The question is what does the right size actually look like for you?

Communication Is the Whole Game

Jose has spent years coaching leaders using a model called the Six Domains of Leadership — developed by Delta Leadership in partnership with Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.

And when I asked him what the most common leadership gap is, his answer was immediate.

Communication. Every time.

"If you have a vision but you don't communicate it — you don't have a vision," he told me. "If you want to know your people but you don't spend time with them — you don't know them. And they don't trust you."

He shared a story from his Intel days running the Y2K programme. They had the CEO send a company-wide communication about the initiative. Two months later, Jose went back and said they needed to do it again. The CEO pushed back — he had just sent the message.

Jose's response? If it is not repeated, it becomes the flavour of the month. And then it disappears.

That is as true in a business of one as it is in a corporation of thousands. If you are not consistently and repeatedly communicating your value, your vision, and your presence — you are invisible. And invisible does not get hired.

Leadership Is Not a Title

The other thing Jose said that stayed with me is this.

You do not need people working for you to be a leader. Leadership shows up in how you carry yourself, how you communicate, how you create trust — whether you are running a team of fifty or working alone from your kitchen table.

And it is learnable. Jose is clear on that. Some people have natural leadership instincts. Others develop them. But the behaviours that define great leadership — credibility, trust, context, inspiration, support, and responsibility — can be practised and improved by anyone willing to pay attention.

That is what the Six Domains of Leadership framework is built around. Not a personality type. Behaviours. And behaviours can be changed.

The Bottom Line

Jose Solera built a business that works for his life — not the other way around. He uses his decades of expertise without being defined by his past titles. He leads with value, communicates consistently, and keeps his overhead intentionally low.

That is not a small ambition. That is a very clear one.

Listen to my full conversation with Jose Solera on the You're the Boss podcast.

👉 [Click here to listen to the full episode]

👉 Take the free Personal Brand Power Scorecard → powerbrand.scoreapp.com

Unchained. Unapologetic. Unstoppable.

— Ange Dove, Personal Brand Coach & Message Strategist