The Empty Neighborhood Test

The Solopreneur Copilot

P.S. read an web version of this email here: barrontech.kit.com/posts/

This morning I went for a walk through my neighborhood - I created a voice note and this is summarized output of it.

It was the middle of the day, and the streets were quiet. Nearly every driveway was empty. All the cars were gone, and the neighborhood felt still in a way it usually doesn’t in the evenings or on weekends.

Everyone was at work.

Seeing that made me stop and think about something that has been on my mind a lot lately: most people spend their days doing what they think they should be doing, not what they actually want to be doing.

At first, that might sound like one of those vague, motivational sayings you see floating around the internet. But if you step back and really think about it, it raises an uncomfortable question.

If you asked people to sit down and write out their ideal life, how many would honestly say something like this:

Very few people would describe their ideal life that way.

Yet millions of people live exactly that reality every day. Not necessarily because they deliberately chose it, but because they followed a path that felt like the responsible or expected one. School leads to a job, the job leads to promotions and raises, and over time the routine becomes the structure of life itself.

But imagine something different for a moment.

Imagine if everyone in my (or your) neighborhood was actually doing what they wanted to do. I suspect the streets would look very different. You would see more people outside during the day. Neighbors grabbing coffee together. People working on projects or businesses they care about. More people working from home, building something local, or creating income streams that don’t require commuting into an office every day.

Instead, the pattern for most people looks something like this: wake up early, commute into the city, work under pressure for most of the day, drive home exhausted, and repeat the process tomorrow.

One of the most common explanations people give for staying in that cycle is simple and understandable:

“I’m doing this for my family.”

I used to tell myself the same thing.

For a long time I made good money, and on paper everything looked fine. But the reality was that I was constantly stressed. Work lived in my head all the time. My attention and energy were tied up in deadlines, pressure, and responsibilities that never really shut off.

My family often got whatever energy was left over at the end of the day.

Eventually I had to confront an uncomfortable realization. Sometimes “I’m doing this for my family” can become a socially acceptable way of saying, “I don’t see another path.”

Of course there are situations where people truly don’t have many options.

But in many cases, the problem isn’t that alternatives don’t exist — it’s that no one has taken the time to build a plan toward them.

For me, the deeper issue comes down to something I think about often: agency.

The highest form of freedom isn’t money. It’s agency — the ability to control your time, your income, and the direction of your life.

No one has perfect control over their life. That’s not realistic. But when I look around, I suspect most people are operating with only about 10–20 percent control. They feel locked into a structure where their time, income, and schedule are largely determined by someone else.

I remember being in my twenties and feeling excited when I landed my first job paying around $80,000 a year. At the time it felt like I had made it. I didn’t yet understand how the system worked or what the long-term tradeoffs looked like. I was simply following the path that seemed successful.

It took me another decade to realize that what I had stepped onto wasn’t really a destination.

About two or three years ago, I started intentionally working toward something different. My goal wasn’t to abandon work altogether or chase some unrealistic lifestyle. It was simply to create more control over my own life.

Today I work with a small organization made up of people I trust. I have ownership in the company, and we are building in an area that I believe has a strong future.

Alongside that, I’ve also built a solo business that generates about $10,200 per month in recurring revenue. That didn’t happen overnight, and it’s still growing. But it represents something important to me: another income stream that I control.

My goal isn’t to depend entirely on a single employer for the rest of my life.

This isn’t about becoming an influencer or chasing some internet fantasy. It’s also not about quitting your job tomorrow and hoping everything works out.

It’s about building real businesses and real sources of income over time.

There are more ways to do that today than ever before. Consulting, services, apps, digital products, local businesses, and technology-enabled ventures all offer different paths toward independence. Social media can help in some cases, but it’s far from the only option.

What matters most is starting to think about the question many people avoid asking themselves.

Are you doing what you genuinely want to do?

Or are you doing what you think you’re supposed to do?

If those two things aren’t aligned, the answer isn’t necessarily to blow up your life tomorrow. But it might be worth starting to build a plan that moves you in a different direction.

I didn’t begin thinking about this seriously until my late thirties. I’m 41 now, and if there’s one thing I wish I had done earlier, it’s this: start building more agency in my life sooner.

If you’re someone who’s thinking about building something of your own — a business, a side income stream, or simply more control over how you spend your time — I’m always happy to talk about it.

Sometimes the first step is just realizing that another path is possible.

Quick question for you:

What would you actually do if your schedule was completely yours?

To your solopreneur success,

Matt Barron

P.S. All previous emails can be read here: barrontech.kit.com​

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