Business Strategist for Solopreneurs
Sometimes, it can feel like you are alone in your solopreneur business. Sometimes, people don’t think it’s a “real” business because you don’t have a location or employees. As this article shows, we are everywhere and our numbers are growing!
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When I worked for a big corporation, we had a budget department. It was not a big department, but there were 4-6 people whose sole function was to create and manage the company budget. Because it was a big company, the budget filled a 5-inch binder and there pages and pages documentation to go with it. The budget itself went from a big, broad picture to minute detail about each department within the company. The budget was drafted before the year started, and as the year progressed we measured how well we did in revenue and expenses against the budget.
In this setting, the budget served a lot of purposes and most of them aren’t relevant to solopreneurs. However, one of the vital functions of the budget was to justify every expense and make sure someone had the responsibility of deciding how to spend limited dollars. Nobody could just go off and autonomously decide to start some brand new promotion or create a brand new, untested product with no way of knowing if it would sell. While that does make for some slow implementation, it also makes sure that any new idea goes through some sort of review process.
As a solopreneur, you don’t have a budget department. In fact, you don’t have any departments or anyone to report to. This is a fun, phenomenal benefit of a one-person business, but it also means you can grab any half-baked idea you want and run with it. That can be a big problem!
Way too often, I see solopreneurs randomly adding project after project into their business with no planning and no way to measure what’s working. What they end up with is an overwhelming mash-up of disjointed tasks that aren’t working and no way to determine why.
So what’s the alternative? You don’t need a full department to help you stay on track, but you do need to perform the function of the budget department in your business. What if you did have to justify each new expenditure? What if you had to explain all the person-hours you needed? How would that change the way you work?
Here are a few tips to get your “budget department” started:
In short, one helpful way to look at any new project you are thinking of taking on is to pretend you have to justify it to a budget committee. How will it help your bottom line? How will it contribute to sales? If you are thinking of trying something new, and want to set it up properly from the start, I invite you to schedule a coaching session with me. I can help you make sure you are heading in the right direction and that you’ll be able to tell if your project is successful.
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If you’ve been reading my blog up until now, you may notice a change in the comments section. I’m now using Facebook comments instead of the built-in comments feature in WordPress. While this may not be a major change for my site visitors, I did want to use this decision as a case study to show how I think solopreneurs should think through things.
First, I was displeased with the way comments were working. Even with a spam catcher plugin, I still got several hundred spam comments for every real comment. Many of them were obviously spam, but I still had to at least scan them to make sure I didn’t throw away any gold. This took several minutes at least a few times per week, and this adds no value to my business. This year, my 6th in business, I’m working on streamlining and dropping things that don’t work. I’ve ditched all assumptions and am even more active with testing everything to see if it works for me. So, with that attitude, I decided to rethink if I even wanted comments at all.
After researching the various options, I decided to try Facebook comments. My research suggest that this will cut down on spam and increase the quality of comments. I also like that people can easily share their comment with their Facebook connections. Overall, it’s gotten harder to to get people to take the time to comment and if that’s the case I’d rather have them share my content to start a conversation.
I hope the new comment plan works well. If I make another change, I’ll detail that decision in a later post.
I want to straighten out some confusion I hear often. A one-person business is a viable, sustainable, long-term business model. Not everyone wants to have a bigger operation and not everyone wants to supervise a staff. Myself, and many other people love this business model, and while I do consider myself a solopreneur I do love to collaborate with others. I sometimes get the impression that people who are not solopreneurs think that being a one-person operation is just a temporary situation until the business grows. I intend to stay solo for the foreseeable future, and lots of people I work with do as well.
Many times, when I tell people I work with 1-person or solopreneur businesses, they often ask “You mean like startups?” I usually explain that typically, startups are looking to grow and make money for their founders or to be purchased by a bigger company. Some solopreneurs may be startups – there are probably some one-person businesses looking to grow and expand. However, there are a lot of people who are most content with the small, simple model of being a solopreneur. We can hire outsourced help when needed, but mostly the business thrives on us and our work alone.
I love being a solopreneur, and I love working with solopreneurs. I love the freedom, the flexibility and the autonomy. I also love to learn, so I like that a big part of my business is learning to tackle various parts of the operations. Being a solopreneur isn’t for everyone, but if you do find yourself drawn to this life you might just love it.
Make no mistake, it is challenging to run a solopreneur business. Aside from having a product or service that people want to buy, you have to be a business generalist and know a least a little bit about everything in your business aside from what you do for customers. There is a lot to do in order to keep a business running, and you have to do it all and do the work you get paid for. This is where automation can help. I believe that solopreneurs should automate everything they can before hiring help. Automation is cheaper, mistake free and can run 24/7 for you once you set it up. What are some areas of your business you can automate? How about appointment scheduling, social media, email sorting, computer backups and monitoring your industry to start with? I cover these 5 areas plus 4 more and 3 bonus automation-related strategies (12 areas in total) in my Kindle book “The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Automate Your Grunt Work.” This book has a 5-star rating and some of the comments include “Very helpful,” “No fluff,” and “Rich treasure chest of productivity.” So yes, you can be a solopreneur as a permanent way of doing business. However, I strongly recommend that you automate all the annoying little tasks that you can so you can focus more on what you love. Check out the book at the link below: The Solopreneur’s Success Strategy: Automate Your Grunt Work
Don’t have a Kindle device? You can still read this book with a free app for your smartphone or tablet or with the free Kindle desktop reader.
I’ve got a new free resource to share with you! I interviewed Martina Zorc of Star Brand Studio, and she shared really useful in-depth information on branding. In the interview, she shares what branding is (and it’s more than colors or a logo), why it’s important to attract ideal clients and not just any clients, and her 12-step system for branding. Grab your free copy by clicking the link below: Martina Zorc Interview
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Most of the time, I write strictly about solopreneur businesses, but sometimes I write about topics that aren’t all about business. Today is the first of a series of not-strictly-business posts about a new experiment I’m participating in called Happify.
Happify is a new website created to help people feel more happy. I was invited to be a pioneer member, and decided to jump in for several reasons:
I’ve been a member for 3 days now, and here’s how it’s gone so far.
The sign-up process was smooth. It was about the same as it is for most sites. One of my favorite parts was writing my bio – instead of the usual bio, I was asked to write a bit about what makes me happy. I wanted to use all the available space, so I had to think of lots of things. This led me to including things I wouldn’t normally have thought to include. An example is that I included my potential, and I’ve never thought of that as a reason to be happy but having the potential to do lots of different things and to be successful is something to be happy about.
I wasn’t crazy about some of the journaling exercises, such as “Write down things you are grateful for.” Been there, done that, not original. Even though the effectiveness of this practice may be supported by the evidence, I simply didn’t enjoy doing it. I actually kept a gratitude journal for several years where I wrote down at least 3 things I was grateful for every night. I eventually gave the practice up because I noticed no change from it. The good thing is the site lets you rate how much you enjoyed the activity, which I hope will allow for greater customization later.
One of the next activities was poorly designed, but I still got a benefit from it. It was supposed to build your ability to savor, and the idea was to look at a picture and find objects in the picture. Some of the objects were easy to spot, others not so much. I’ve thought about how to describe why I think it was poorly designed, but I’m unable to do do without spoiling it for anyone else who might want to do the exercise. In general, I place a high value on (and derive much enjoyment from) precision, logic and clear communication and this exercise was lacking in those areas which I think is poor design.
The other reason I didn’t like it was that I simply don’t enjoy this kind of activity so it was hard to savor it. That’s where I actually got the benefit from – getting clear on the idea that I don’t enjoy all activities equally and I only savor the ones I do like. If I’m going through the mail, that’s just a mundane chore of adult life. Yes, I can make it as nice as possible by giving myself a good place to work, nice music and maybe something nice to drink but in the end it’s still not something to savor. It’s something to plow through so I can get to something I want to savor and enjoy. A different example is coffee. I love coffee and almost always savor it when I have it, which is daily. I don’t even have to think about it. So what I learned is to be clear on whether or not an activity is worth savoring and then act accordingly.
Where the site got it right on the topic of savoring is with some of the other activities and questions on savoring. I liked having to think about what activity in my daily life I was going to savor and then write about it. It was a great way to draw attention to something I hadn’t thought of savoring before and now I realize how much I like it.
This site has several different tracks so you can pick what is most relevant to you and a lot of the activities have some choice too. You can interact with others by following them, sharing your activities or posting to forums.
So, I’ll check back in a few days and let you know how it’s going. So far, I like it. I feel like it’s only been a few minutes (under an hour total) investment of my time and that I have made a few thought changes that make me happier. That’s a good return on investment.
PS – As of right now, I have 5 invitations to test the site. Email me if you want one.
Recently, I was asked if a business license was needed for a person who writes an income producing blog from home. Without knowing where he lived or the rules in his area, I told him that in general the answer would be yes.
Your work-at-home business is in fact a business, and local municipalities generally want you to have a business license to operate within their area. There are several reasons for this. Your local governing body (city, state, town, township, county, etc) wants to know who is operating a business within the borders of their area. They want to make sure all applicable laws and rules are adhered to. They want to make sure no space is used in a way that isn’t allowed. For example, my city has limits on how many customers (if any) may come to your home for your business. Your driveway and garage must remain available for parking. They also have rules to keep you from parking over-size vehicles or having obtrusive signage.
One of the biggest reasons local governments want you to have a business license is so that you can pay tax on your revenues or profits. When I mentioned this in the conversation, several other people immediately balked at the idea of paying taxes and some present felt that it was a waste to have a license if it made you pay more in tax.
I realize that most people hate taxes, but I do believe your home-based business should have all applicable licenses. Having a license legitimizes your business and makes you look more like a real business. Getting the proper license eliminates the risk of getting caught without one. Penalties do vary but if you are caught doing business without a license, at the very least you can expect to have to pay back taxes.
I think it sends a powerful message to your own self as well. Your business is every bit as legitimate as any bricks and mortar business, and as a prosperous community member you are paying your share of taxes.
Getting a business license is usually not a big deal and the payoff is worth it. You’ll never have to worry about accepting a delivery, seeing a client in if they come to your house, and you’ll be free to earn all the money you want with no fear of getting caught! Any potential client can feel free to dig around about you, and they’ll find your business license is current and in good standing (and don’t think people won’t do this!).
If you don’t have a business license, try taking the first step toward getting one. Call your local government offices and see what’s required and if you need one.
I won’t ask you to share in the comments if you don’t have a business license, but if you do, tell me why you got it and how it changed your business.
I find myself saying more and more that our brains have become Google-ized. It’s not meant to pick on Google (which I love) but as a shorthand way of saying overloaded, drowning with input and managing more stuff than ever before. I’m increasingly finding that when I’m out just talking to people casually that I have to alter the way I speak because I can’t count on someone’s attention long enough to express a complex thought in 3 sentences. I’m rushing when I talk and trying to compress everything into the smallest number of words possible. While the change has been slow over the past decade, it seems to have really changed a lot in the last 3 to 5 years. One way I’ve changed is that I often shop for a short article on something I want to learn about rather than read a long one because I don’t know if I want to read a long one yet. In other words, I often won’t read a long article on something unless I know beforehand that the subject is worth it to me.
I haven’t seen this as much in business conversations but I think that makes sense. If we’re together to do business or talk about business, it doesn’t make much sense to rush and speak in simple terms. We’ve both committed time and energy to accomplish something, so we put more effort into being effective with our communication.
The important of this is that when people consume your information or content, they may be in a frame of mind where they are looking for a quick read, a fast conclusion, one simple concept or a two-minute breather. You can’t know what your reader’s current frame of mind is when they encounter your content.
As someone who wants other people to read your content, what do you do?
Where possible, consider making your content accessible by as many people as possible regardless of their frame of mind. This doesn’t mean you have to withhold your brilliance, but it does require some adapting. Keep your articles and blog posts on the short side and make them focused on just one point. People can do a quick read, get the point and move on. If you have a more complex concept to present, consider breaking it into individual pieces and linking them. That allows people to get the information a little bit at a time. Tailor your content to the situation – if it’s an article or blog post, you can’t count on much commitment. If it’s a tweet, there’s even less incentive to read it and be focused on it. If it’s a ebook your reader paid for, they probably have a higher level of commitment to the material.
In short, don’t ever dull your brilliance but when possible present it in a way that make it available to as many people as possible no matter what their frame of mind is at the time.
In the last year, I’ve begun using the concept of an inner circle for my business. It’s been a huge contributor to the success I’ve had this year so I wanted to share the idea with you.
As solopreneurs, we tend to work mostly alone. This is true even if you have outsourced help, partner with others sometimes or attend live events. Couple that with working from home (also mostly alone), and you’ve got a recipe for isolation in your business.
What’s the problem with working alone? Well, nothing if you do it right. I happen to love the solopreneur model and think it can be a good fit for a lot of people. The problem is when you try to work without ever having anyone to run things by before you do them. You might spend way too much time on an unworkable idea that one other pair of eyes could have spotted. The opposite can also happen – you might dismiss a great idea. It’s not necessary to discuss every move you make, but having a sounding board for the big ideas is a big help.
There are lots of ways to make sure you don’t overdo it on working alone, and one of those ways is to create an inner circle for yourself. If you ever had a regular job, you had coworkers. In a startup or non-profit, you might have a board of directors. Your inner circle a close group of advisers you create for yourself to fill the role your coworkers or board might play.
You inner circle should push, challenge, uplift and question you. They help you get unstuck. They are your sounding board. This is the first line of defense a new idea has to get past before too much work goes into it. They know you and your hot buttons and will call you out when you aren’t working up to your potential.
Your inner circle doesn’t take the place of learning and getting help in your business. Your inner circle might be more like your coworkers whereas your coach or teacher might be more like a boss or outside consultant. Both are important to success, but they fill different roles.
I created my inner circle by getting into a peer mastermind. After trying a few different formats, we got settled into a routine and now I plan many of my projects around this group. I get their feedback on big projects at each step of the way and commit to meet my deadlines during our meetings. You better believe I meet those deadlines too!
Do you have an inner circle? Who is in it? Are they the right people? Tell me about it in the comments.
Since most solopreneurs I know work from home, it makes sense to talk about home care even though it’s not strictly business. Your environment plays a huge role in how you feel, how much you get done and the quality of that work. One of the most common plagues of modern living is clutter. Although there are many types of non-physical clutter, I’m specifically talking about physical clutter here.
“Stuff” is relatively cheap now in terms of time, effort and money to acquire it. Relatively cheap postal rates are a boon for junk mailers. Magazines and newspapers take it upon themselves to subscribe you in order to pump up their circulation numbers. Add to that the normal upgrade cycle of all the various electronics devices and it makes for a lot of potential clutter.
Note that I called it potential clutter. All of the stuff that comes into your house has the potential to become clutter if left unchecked. Since the inflow is more or less ongoing, the mitigation needs to be ongoing as well. For years, I’ve cultivated the habit of continually decluttering. It’s something that happens casually throughout the day. If I buy a new pair of pants, I scan my existing pants to see what can be donated. If I’m putting something away and the cabinet or shelf seems crowded, I do a quick sweep to see what can go. I do a big yearly kitchen/pantry decluttering every winter.
Recently, I’ve adopted a slightly more formal approach that has been working great and has helped my business as well. I now declutter 15 minutes a day (props to flylady.net for the idea). One of the helpful things in this approach for me has been to use a wide definition of decluttering. It’s not just the “clean out the closet” tasks, but also putting everything back where it belongs. What’s great about this is that there’s never too much accumulation and there’s a set time to take care of it every day. When you practice 15 minutes a day of decluttering, you’ll find that most of the time you can put away anything left out in the last day or so and still have time to do real decluttering such as cleaning out closets, shelves and storage areas.
So how might this help your business?
It helps by taking something distracting off your plate when you are trying to work. If you go to an office outside of the house, it’s easy to leave home chores undone for the day since they are not right in your face reminding you. When you work from home, those tasks nag at you and may pull you from your work. There’s a certain pressure to feel like your house should always look good because you work from home, and this helps keep things tidy. By doing a little every day, you don’t have to try to find a huge block of time to do it later. If your house is in reasonably good shape, you’ve can’t procrastinate working in order to clean it. Having a clear space may help you concentrate or feel more focused. Knowing there’s a set block of time every day to do this kind of thing takes the pressure off. If I see an area that needs to be addressed, I know I’ll get to it eventually and it doesn’t hang over my head while sitting on my to-do list.
In invite you to join me in this daily practice and see how it improves your business. Many people make a new year’s resolution to get organized, and instead of that I suggest trying 15 minutes a day of decluttering. Tell me how it works for you in the comments.
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