We've been thinking a lot about the idea of growth for the sake of growth.

If you only looked at the media representation of starting a business (Silicon Valley, Shark Tank and the like), it might feel like “real” entrepreneurship means raising millions of dollars from a venture capital firm, not sleeping for a few years, and then achieving a 100x exit (or crashing and burning). 

In what should come as no surprise, we have a very different take.

When we shared our thoughts on working with friends a few weeks back, we got a lot of responses. (In case you missed it, we’re very pro-working-with-pals.)

Some were skeptical. Some were intrigued. All were lovely, because that’s the kind of community this is.

But people were curious about the how.

If you work for yourself, one question that has almost definitely popped into your head at some point is, “So… what do I call myself?”

Freelancer? Consultant? Entrepreneur? Solopreneur?

When Laura started working for herself 12 years ago (!) she really struggled with this. “Freelancer” didn’t feel like it quite captured everything she was doing. But “entrepreneur” felt inauthentic and intimidating.

Claudia Sheinbaum winning the election to become Mexico’s first female president has us in our feels. On the one hand, it’s another crack in the global glass ceiling. 🎉 On the other, yet another country has done what the U.S. refuses to: elect a woman to the most prominent seat of power in the country. 😔

With the election behind her, there are only tougher problems ahead for Sheinbaum. She’ll assume Mexico’s presidency and inherit growing issues with the cartels, the largest budget deficit since the 1980’s, and massive security concerns since more than 30 candidates were assassinated this election cycle. It’s a tale as old as time:

We hire women to clean up messes. 🧹

Have you ever been told “don’t mix friends and business?” A cursory Google search would suggest that this is common advice, but is it actually good advice?

Our hot take: no. 🔥

We’ve been thinking a lot about the concept of “enough” lately. In a world where we’re often told that more = better, it can be hard to determine what “enough” actually looks like.

Add working for yourself into the mix, and it gets even more complicated.

Salut de Paris! We made it. We largely disconnected. We're even writing this newsletter together from a delightful cafe. And we got to experience the phenomenon that is the Era's tour in-person, and there are no words...but we're going to write some anyway.

This week we're headed to Paris to celebrate Lauren's birthday, But taking time off as a business owner or freelancer brings up a bunch of stuff. It can be hard to log off without being consumed by guilt or worry. (Laura didn't take a real vacation for the first 5 years of solopreneurship 😬 ) So this week we’re digging into the work-leisure equation and how to actually disengage - and why your business will be better for it.

Welcome to the first issue of Ties That Bind, the weekly newsletter (now in blog form) from Weak Ties/Strong Bonds. So, what can you expect from Ties That Bind each week? 🗓️ First access to upcoming WT/SB events, 🗞️ content on entrepreneurship and women's issues that caught our attention, 💁‍♀️ stories from the amazing members of this community, and 😍 stuff we're loving each week. It should be fun.