Four Slay-Worthy Lessons About Self-Employment From Watching RuPaul’s Drag Race

What a fun show is teaching solopreneurs about business

Hey, queens, you probably don’t think RuPaul’s Drag Race is about solopreneurship. And, technically, you’re right!

But Drag Race is teaching me a great deal about self-employment.

If you don’t know, RuPaul’s Drag Race is a reality competition TV series hosted by drag queen RuPaul. Drag queens compete against each other in a contest of charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent to see who will snare the crown.

Each episode combines performance and fashion challenges, testing the queens’ artistic abilities, performance skills, and personal style. It’s not merely a show. It’s a platform that promotes creativity, self-expression, and, above all, the art of drag.

And it’s also a show that’s teaching me a ton about solopreneurship.

Let’s sashay our way into four things I’m learning about self-employment from RuPaul’s Drag Race.

Take Yourself Seriously

Every episode of Drag Race ends with RuPaul saying, “If you can’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?”

Ru’s message is about self-acceptance, which is crucial for drag queens and other members of the LGBTQ+ community to hear. But it’s also something I’m incorporating into how I think about my solopreneurship.

Self-employment means you’re in charge of everything: branding, how you use your time, getting clients, and more.

As I embark on my fifth year of solopreneurship, I realize I’ve not taken myself as seriously as I should. Some days, I don’t manage my time well. I’m too passive about gaining clients. Overall, I’m too laid back about my business.

But if I don’t take my business seriously, how the hell can I expect someone else to? Believe in yourself, and others will, too.

Lesson: Self-employment means you are your business. Take yourself seriously if you want your business to prosper.

Be Your Authentic Self

The most successful contestants on RuPaul’s Drag Race are those who know who they are.

They know their style and what looks good on them. They have a perspective. The best queens are those with a unique flair they own and share.

The same is true in solopreneurship.

You’re likely not the only person doing what you do. Your uniqueness, what makes you you, sets you apart from your competition.

For so long, I tried mimicking others in life and business. I saw how other solopreneurs succeeded, and I applied that roadmap to my work.

But not being my authentic self means I’m not standing out. And it means I’m missing the energy and inspiration I need to put in the time and effort required to flourish in self-employment.

Lesson: Knowing who you are and showing that person to the world is how you separate yourself from other solopreneurs.

Embrace Risks

Another theme among the best Drag Race contestants is that they take risks.

Some queens wear boundary-busting outfits. Some queens take roles in plays that the show stages that defy their personal experiences, while others perform complex, jaw-dropping routines and dances.

There’s an inherent risk in self-employment. You’re placing more bets on yourself than if you pursued a more conventional career. Yet, as I’ve done, you can play it safe within solopreneurship, which isn’t always good.

I’ve pursued conventional paths to building my business. Nearly all my income comes from working for clients I get through personal referrals. There’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a successful model that works for me.

But are there opportunities that better align with my authentic self?

I’m an artist who loves telling stories. Yet, I’ve separated that part of myself from my business. No more. It’s time to take a risk by pursuing creative storytelling professionally.

Lesson: Playing it safe can pay the bills, but does it pay off? Taking risks in your work may help you rise above the fray while fulfilling your sense of purpose.

Learn from Feedback

Every Drag Race episode features judges critiquing some of the queens.

Those contestants who stay in the competition, who succeed week after week, often listen to and incorporate the judges’ feedback.

Feedback can be hard to come by in solopreneurship because we don’t have bosses giving us annual reviews. And clients often, even when asked, decline to provide honest assessments.

And when we do receive critiques, it’s sometimes challenging to embrace and use. After all, we don’t have a boss forcing us to change.

However, solopreneurs must be diligent about identifying and growing from the feedback we do receive. For example, a client declining to renew a contract is a form of feedback, especially if the client explains why.

I used to coast, thinking everything was fine and I was who I needed to be for my clients. I now realize that I have room to grow and that clients can provide feedback in less-than-obvious ways.

When they do, I need to embrace it and learn from it. Otherwise, I’m coasting and not growing. And, if I’m not developing, neither is my business.

Lesson: Proactively receive and identify feedback from clients. Then, absorb that feedback. Learn from it and make any changes or adjustments you should make.

Four Solopreneurship Lessons from RuPaul’s Drag Race

RuPaul’s Drag Race is a fun show that’s helping me grow as a queer man and as a solopreneur.

Here are four pivotal lessons Drag Race is teaching me about self-employment:

• Take yourself seriously.
• Be your authentic self.
• Embrace risks.
• Learn from feedback.

Solopreneurship is a journey that isn’t always easy. Thankfully, we have people like RuPaul helping us find our way.

Now, let’s get out there and slay, you self-employed queens, kings, and everyone in between!

Nicholas Barron is a communications consultant in Washington, D.C., who sends out a weekly list of the hottest new books. Subscribe to Literairyland today.