Author: CroneDev

When my energy and capacity dipped during our first Crowdfunder, I realised something vital: I couldn’t – and didn’t want to – do this alone.

My entire self-employed career so far has taken the guise of solopreneurship. I have either been a director of my own limited company or a sole trader. I grew a team of employees in my mid-twenties to late thirties, and in my forties thus far, I’ve chosen to operate as a one-woman band for ultimate simplicity and freedom. This has served me pretty well!

Yet something – so many things – are shifting during my perimenopausal years. I find more and more that I long to be connected with and working alongside others towards a collective purpose we all deeply care about.

For now, I will happily continue my private practice working as a life and business coach and running my micro-membership, Joyful Selling for Creative Business Owners. But I don’t want to start a new venture in that same solitary way.

I’m listening to my values shift deeper into connection and collaboration, and I have taken action in three main ways so far:

1. Indie CRONE Champions

In my initial visualisations of what I wanted to build, I imagined creating a lot of the content for Indie CRONE myself. That quickly stopped making sense because what I actually wanted was to know, learn, and connect with others through this project.

I’d read a fair bit about the new workplace legislation becoming part of UK law for companies with 250 or more employees. A section of this encourages large employers to publish Menopause Action Plans and introduce Menopause Champions who can advocate for employees in the workplace. I loved that. So, I have mirrored this idea and invited specialists, experts, and advocates to become Indie CRONE Champions, creating a rich support library for our community.

2. Consultants

As I started to meet with potential Indie CRONE Champions, it dawned on me that some of these folks held such incredible knowledge and experience. I realised it would be invaluable for us as a community if they could consult on this project, helping us co-create what true success looks like for independent income creators navigating menopause.

Crucially, this means building a space and resources that are intentionally welcoming. Menopause and self-employment don’t look the same for everyone, and it is incredibly important to me that we meet the distinct needs, desires, and lived experiences of the different intersections within our community – including but not limited to race, gender, class, disability, and neurodiversity. Working with consultants helps us to create an inclusive ecosystem where individuals feel seen, heard and supported.

3. Creating the CIC (Community Interest Company)

The network was coming together beautifully, but I wanted a core group of people to be even more involved – to have a real say in our direction and decision-making.

I’ve long known what a CIC is, and I have friends, neighbours, and clients who run them. A Community Interest Company is a special type of non-profit social enterprise designed specifically to use its profits and assets for the public good. It felt like the perfect legal skin for Indie CRONE to wear.

Setting up a CIC means this isn’t just “my” business. It is a structure built on shared governance, asset locking, and a collective mission. It legally ensures that everything we build, every penny we raise, and every resource we create goes straight back into supporting self-employed people navigating menopause.

Moving Forward, Together

Shifting from a one-woman band to a collaborative, community-led structure has required me to let go of total control – and honestly, it has been the most liberating feeling.

Perimenopause has stripped away my desire to hustle hard in isolation. Instead, it has gifted me the clarity to build a table where we can all sit, share, and support one another. Indie CRONE is no longer just a seed in my head; it’s becoming a community-backed ecosystem, and I am so excited to see how we grow it together.

Now, back to the paperwork to complete the Companies House registration. Forms and admin might be the ultimate downside of this stage, but for what we are building? It is entirely worth it.

I absolutely LOVE podcasting, mostly because I just love chatting! For me, a podcast is an unfiltered opportunity to connect with another human being who wants to get into the realness of a topic. It is a space where we can find a way to chuckle – or actually belly laugh – about things that, on paper, can feel heavy, isolating, and deeply difficult.

It never ceases to amaze me what the human spirit can bring to a conversation when it is met with zero judgment and pure understanding.

While the new website has been coming together, I’ve been quietly meeting on Zoom calls and pressing record. I am so incredibly grateful to the first four brilliant guests who have trusted me with their stories. Here is a little glimpse into what we’ve been chatting about:

Karen Arthur | Menopause Whilst Black

It was an absolute joy to chat with Karen, who shared her menopause experience, starting Menopause Whilst Black and life now as a post-menopausal self-employed creative, writer and advocate. She shared some beautiful nuggets on setting boundaries, listening to her body, and allowing oneself to transform and claim a unique path forward. Karen’s wisdom is a reminder to be gentle with ourselves, to trust the process, and to recognise that rest and creativity are essential parts of the journey as an entrepreneur.

Kiran Patel | Illustrating Rain

A huge thank you to Kiran for sharing her perimenopausal journey so far and the profound impact this transition can have on self-employed artists. Kiran opened up about how perimenopause revealed a raw honesty in her self-expression, which necessitated some shifts in her creative and business practices – including developing new courses and changing her approach to social media. We talked honestly about the challenge of balancing business needs with personal health, and the immense value of community companionship along the way.

Sharon Worth | Sharon Worth Coaching

I recently discovered Sharon’s work through Instagram, where she focuses on the intersection of perimenopause, menopause, and neurodivergence. Sharon shared her personal journey of discovering both her perimenopause and ADHD diagnoses around age 43–44, a pivotal moment that led her to pursue coaching and co-author two books, including Meno Wars. She also shed light on how practical support, like the DWP Access to Work grant for body doubling and accountability, allowed her to build her business. Sharon’s insights on self-compassion and trusting your instincts when navigating these overlapping life transitions are vital for anyone who works for themselves.

Natalie Lue | Baggage Reclaim & Author of The Joy of Saying No

Natalie shared her experience of navigating perimenopause for nine years, opening up about symptoms like freezing, overthinking, and a decline in confidence that affected her ability to generate an income. She discussed having a hysterectomy and the logistical tightrope of balancing medical appointments with business responsibilities. Natalie also described how she has recently prioritised her art practice, realising she needed to make her artistic identity a priority. We both looked ahead at entering our 50s, sharing our plans to be gentler on ourselves and lean into our creativity over traditional business metrics.

What’s Next?

I am now actively looking for support to produce the podcast. In the meantime, I am going to keep pressing record and building a varied, rich bank of incredible stories. My hope is that these conversations will help us feel a little less alone, understand ourselves a bit more, and provide some inspiration along the way.

Could you be next? If you are an independent income creator and navigating the hormonal shifts of any stage of menopause and would like to be a guest on the podcast, please get in touch! I would love to chat with you.

On March 6th of this year – just twelve days after launching the Indie CRONE Instagram account – I took a leap of faith. I decided to run a Crowdfunder to gather the initial funding needed to grow a seed of an idea into something real.

From the outside, it might look like everything happened overnight. But the truth is, I had spent the entire year prior navigating a deep, low tide in my perimenopause journey.

During that season, I looked for community-driven support tailored to self-employed people like me – people trying to sustain a livelihood while dealing with profound hormonal shifts and brain fog. I couldn’t find it anywhere. At times, it was the most isolated I have ever felt in my 25-year self-employed career.

Yet, even in the quietest moments, the cogs were slowly whirring away. I began visualising what non-judgemental connection with others and meaningful support could look like. I realised that my own experience, my skill set, and my fierce passion for this community made me a great candidate to build it.

When my energy and capacity finally began to open up at the beginning of this year, it felt like a springboard. I launched the Instagram account and quickly followed it with a Crowdfunder to test the waters.

Admittedly, my energy dipped during the campaign itself. I found I just didn’t have enough in the tank to push us past the £5k mark and towards our original £25k goal. But if my perimenopause journey has taught me anything so far, it’s that that is okay. I found it so much easier to accept that shortfall than I ever would have in the past. It wasn’t a failure. It was simply the start.

To the 181 humans who backed the very first Indie CRONE Crowdfunder: a wholehearted thank you. Because of you, we raised £4,531. That generosity has officially gotten this project off the ground, and it is the exact reason you are able to read these words on this brand new website today.

We are here. And this is just the beginning.