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There’s a curious thing about being a solopreneur – in order to be successful and happy as a solopreneur, you have to like being alone and like people too.



You have to like being alone because much of your work will happen while you are alone.  The business is really built on you and what you offer.  You are the business.  From an outsider’s perspective, it might seem like the perfect fit if you don’t like people.  However, a one-person business is the possibly the worst place to try and hide if you don’t like people.

As a solopreneur, you provide the product or service your business sells which may or may not involve people.  You also provide the marketing and customer support, and those definitely involve people!  Any time you collaborate for publicity, co-creation or for any reason it’s you who is doing the collaboration.  As a solopreneur, there isn’t anyone who can take those meetings for you.  Even if you use outsourced help, those people are not the face of your business the way you are.

If you are thinking of a solopreneur business, be honest with yourself about how much you like people.  If your ideal is to sit behind your computer and never talk to anyone you might not be able to build a successful solo business.  If you like people and you relish quiet time alone, you might just find a business model you love!

This is one of the ideas I help you explore in my book “Is a Solopreneur Business Right for You?”  It’s available now in the Kindle store for reading on any Kindle device, on the free Kindle desktop reader, or on a free app for your tablet or smart phone.  

2014 is shaping up to be a year of books for me!  Not only am I writing the first book of a series, but I am reading a lot!  It’s been said that you have to read in order to be an author, and reading is one of my favorite ways to learn so I’ve been doing a lot of it.

My latest book is from copywriter Michele PW and is called “5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners Make When They Hire a Copywriter and How to Avoid Them.”  Michele is a copywriter herself and teaches other people not only copywriting but marketing and business savvy that come from learning copywriting.  I took a copywriting course with her called Juicy Online Essentials Marketing Bootcamp, and it proved to be a turning point in my business.  Not only did I learn a lot about creating my own sales copy, it helped me get really clear on what I offer and who I love to work with.  I’ve used the skills I learned in that class to help clients with their copy and marketing.

The book starts with an explanation of what copywriters do and why you would want to hire one.  In true Michele PW style, this section is a great example of direct response copywriting (i.e. copy that makes you want to DO something) and makes you want to read the rest of the book.

She also points out that since there is no certification or license, anyone can call themselves a copywriter.  What this means is that just because someone has designated themselves a copywriter doesn’t mean that you should infer any level of experience or skill.  She gives detailed steps on exactly how to determine if a person has the qualifications you need for your work.

Another thing I loved about this book is the emphasis on you doing your part of the work when hiring a copywriter.  The best writer in the world can’t work their magic if you don’t give them the raw materials they need.  You’ve got to be clear on exactly what you want from the copy, who it is for and how they can benefit before the writer even gets started.

The final point I want to highlight is that she wisely draws a line between writing marketing copy and creating marketing strategy.  Some copywriters do both, but you shouldn’t assume a writer can or will assess your overall strategy when you hire them to write a sales page.

The best news I have for you is that this book is free until Monday January 20th, so grab your copy before that sweet deal goes away!

Here’s the link to the book:

5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs and Small Business Owners Make When They Hire a Copywriter and How to Avoid Them

At the end of 2013, I published my first Kindle book.  It was a 99-cent book, and this price point fit nicely with my strategy.  My goal was to simply get a book published and go through the entire process end to end.  I wanted to start with something that would be an entry point for people thinking of starting a business.

I studied some on Kindle before writing and publishing my book, so I knew some of the ways you could make an inexpensive book work for you.  I included offers for free gifts to build my email list, affiliate links and links to my own products.

Unfortunately, I didn’t know about Kristen Eckstein’s book “Author’s Quick Guide to Making Money with Your 99-Cent Kindle Book.”  I could have done a lot better job with my book if I had read this first.

A lot of people have asked me about selling a book for just 99 Cents.  It seems like such a low price, how can it possibly be worth doing?

That’s a question Kristen answers with gusto in this book.  The answer is that there are other ways to make money with a Kindle book other than the commission on the sales price.  She goes into a lot of depth and tells you exactly how to implement each strategy including her ninja tricks.  From the beginning, she spells out that making money on a 99-Cent book is not about the Amazon commission on the sales price but all about the back end, i.e. what you do after the sale.

As a Kindle author and a Kindle consumer, I recommend this book.  The book will pay for itself pretty easily if you implement just one strategy.  To make it an even sweeter deal, there’s a Countdown deal going on for this book right now.  It’s just 99 cents as of this writing, and it gradually goes back to the original price over the next few days.  If you are thinking of getting this book, now is the time!  Grab your copy and let me know what you think in the comments.

One of the greatest things about being a solopreneur is that you have a huge amount of freedom in choosing who you work with and how you work.  You have choice in all the areas of your business including customers, vendors, and any help you might hire.  If you discover someone isn’t a good fit for your business, it’s much easier to part ways and move on when you are a solopreneur.  Working a solo business means you don’t have to fill things out in triplicate, wait for approval, play politics or put up with being treated poorly.  A solo business isn’t for everyone, but if it is a good fit for you it’s a great way to live!

Are you thinking of a solopreneur business?  Are you wondering if it’s really possible to have a one-person business over the long haul?  My book “Is a Solopreneur Business Right for You?” will help you figure that out.  Grab your copy today!  

Ever since reading The Secret Collaborative Economy, I’ve been so much more aware of the role of collaboration in the success of small and solopreneur businesses.  One of the great things I learned both from the book and from the author is that always approach other people by asking what you can do for them first.  Establish your desire and ability to help them before you think about asking for a favor.

I’ve been keenly aware of this in my own collaborative efforts and have changed my tactics a bit in the process.  I’m working much more on keeping relationships alive so that the channel is open when I or the other person need a favor.  When I ask for something, I try to make it valuable to the other person as well.  I try to make it easy on them, and make sure they know how to get the most out of what they are doing for me.

I’ve also become much more aware of bad examples of collaboration requests, particularly when they come from people who I’ve never heard of and they are asking me to do something with little or no discernible benefit to me or the people I serve.  Like most people, I’m busy and a self-serving request from someone I’ve never heard of has a slim-to-zero chance of being acted on by me.

Here’s an example of a poorly framed request: I received a request to blog about an article on someone else’s blog.  I had not interacted with the blog or the company that published it, and they aren’t a well-known company in my niche.  The request came from a PR firm and not the author or company representative.  It didn’t address me by name but instead said “Hi there,” as the greeting.  The request didn’t specify any benefit to me or why visitors to my site would benefit from this post.

Pretty bad form huh?

How could they have done better?  Here’s my list:

• Use my name in your request so I know I’m not just part of a mass-market email blast.
• Explain how my blogging about this would benefit me.  Are you providing a solution to something I’ve identified as a challenge?  Is it brilliant information on a topic I’ve said I’m interested in?  It doesn’t have to be elaborate, but give me some idea of why I would consider your request.
• Specifically explain how this subject helps my niche and their unique needs.  Include something such as “I see that you serve solopreneurs, and the xyz version of our product is specially designed for very small companies.”
• Have the author, or at least a company representative, do the outreach.  Having the request come from a PR firm looks not like collaboration but like you paid someone to blanket as many people as possible with the request.
• Make sure the article subject is relevant to my niche.  In this case, the company serves much bigger entities than I do so it is unlikely that anyone I attract will be interested in their product.

How can you be a better collaborator?  Share your ideas in the comments, and check out The Secret Collaborative Economy for ideas.

Modern life is complicated.  Errands, cleaning, mail, banking, child care, retirement planning, paying bills, fixing administrative mixups, home repair, scheduling, even planning fun time is all very complex.  It takes a lot of time and can be much more difficult when your schedule is not flexible.  A solopreneur business can help you keep your life on track and help you manage all these complexities.  You have much more freedom to work when you want and you have the luxury of taking care of personal business while most people are working.  My own solopreneur business got started when my husband was working long hours and we purchased a fixer-upper house.  I needed to be around to supervise the work and make sure everything was done right.

How might your life be easier if you had more flexibility?  Being self-employed may make your life easier to manage.

This is one of the topics I explore in my book “Is a Solopreneur Business Right for You?”  Flexibility is a great thing about having your own solo business, and I tell you other great things as well as some of the not so great things.  Grab your copy here! 

If you want to be a solopreneur, you have to be prepared to dig into all the areas of your business.  Even if you hire some outsourced help, you still need to know enough to communicate what you need, make sure you get what you asked for and can manage the people you hire.  Some of the business skills you need may be new or uncomfortable for some people but it’s important to have at least some level of mastery.

The first skill you have to acquire is comfort with technology.  A lot of people make the mistake of blindly outsourcing their tech needs without learning some basic skills first.  It’s fine to outsource your tech needs, but if you don’t at least have some knowledge it can be hard for you to get what you want and need from your tech person.  I’ve seen a lot of people have their outsourced tech project go awry even though their hired contractor tried their best.  Even if you have no interest in actually learning any tech processes, it will make you a better client to your hired contractor if you learn some of the vocabulary, concepts, limitations and best practices of the area you are working on.  Of course, if you want to go the full solo route for some of the more accessible tech projects that’s an option too.

The second skill you need some basic financial analysis.  This probably sounds horrible to you if you are a right-brain, creative type but you can get away with very little in this area.  Some basic numbers to look at: sales, number of customers, where sales are coming from, expenses and reach (total number of people you can reach on email and social media for starters).  In general, you want sales and reach to go up over time.  Expenses should go down, stay flat or increase by less than sales increase by.  There are many more financial and numerical measures you can look at, but this is a place to start and it’s a minimum for any solopreneur business owner.

The third area is writing.  This may be hard for some people because they simply don’t like it, aren’t good at it or are slow writers.  It’s possible to build a successful business without any writing, but as a solopreneur your life will be a lot easier if you can do some of  your own writing.  Even if you decide to outsource this to a large degree, you’ll get better results if you can provide a good description of what you want.

Being a solopreneur isn’t for everyone, but that doesn’t mean the only option is a job at a big company.  If you have areas of your business you just can’t bring yourself to master, try taking a middle ground instead of running the other way.  Gain enough familiarity to make yourself a good client and see if you can find some help.  Your business will be better served by you gaining the knowledge you need than trying to duck it.

Curious if you have what it takes to be a one-person business?  This is one of the topics I cover in my book “Is a Solopreneur Business Right for You?”  Grab you copy and find out if you are solopreneur material!

One of the things I love about the solopreneur business model is that there are so many different businesses you can have.  You can literally create a business that has never existed before.  Assuming people want and can pay for what want to sell, there is an almost limitless array of products and services you can offer as a solopreneur.  Do you have that “one thing” you are known for, that people ask you about all the time, that people want your help with and that you are known as the go-to guy or gal for?  If so, maybe that’s your solopreneur business!

This is one of the ideas I explore in my book “Is a Solopreneur Business Right for You?”  I talk about the various types of solopreneur businesses and what personality traits will help you be successful as a solopreneur.  Head over to the Kindle store and check it out!

Today, I’m guest posting over at The Busy Fool.  Head on over and check it out – there are some great tips for picking which activities to focus on and what to do first.  This might be perfect timing for you if you are planning your 2014!  There’s lots of great information for entrepreneurs over at The Busy Fool so be sure to take a look around while you are there!

Michele’s guest post on The Busy Fool blog