my own journey – Page 2 – Michele Christensen

Being a solopreneur can be a long-term thing if you like it!

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.

Beware of the “Trojan Horse” Sales pitch

As I’ve increased the reach of my business, I’ve had an increasing number of people attempt to pitch me something in the guise of a Trojan Horse. It’s usually something like “Can I share your {whatever} with my audience?” or one particularly blatant one “I have a speaking gig for you, let’s talk (turned out to be a long sales pitch for something that was completely inappropriate for me.)

Just to be clear, it’s totally appropriate to pitch and sell when you are in business. Without selling, there would be no business. My objection to the Trojan Horse approach is that it is sneaky and often untargeted. In each case, I didn’t know I was going to be pitched to and the product or service being offered was not something I needed or wanted. The person pitching me occupied my time under false pretenses and I felt burned at the end.

What I want to share with you is to be on the lookout for these sales pitches. They will waste your time and if your experience is like mine, the people that do this don’t even try to target the right potential customers. Here are a few warning signs to look out for:

Somebody comes to you with an offer that is too good to be true
The person is overly flattering when it’s clear they haven’t gotten to know you or your work
They request a phone, in-person or Skype meeting without explaining what the value to you will be or why it can’t be handled in a more efficient manner
Vague references to “working together” without even one example of what that might look like
You have a feeling of “What is this person talking about?” or “What the heck?” that isn’t shared by the other person
They express urgency at needing to meet with you right away

One of the really vexing parts of the Trojan Horse sales pitch is that it is usually flattering! I admit, the first few times it happened I was thrilled that a stranger recognized my genius. I’ve now gotten pretty good at sniffing out legitimate admiration vs. insincere and generic compliments designed to woo me into a meeting. I’ve also come to recognize just how valuable my time is, so I place a higher bar on any meeting and very low value on ego-boosting.

Another problem with ducking these sales pitches is that if you get too broad with your criteria for declining, you may miss legitimate and valuable opportunities to collaborate and have a sales conversation about something that may actually be useful to you.

It goes without saying that you should not be using this to sell your own products or services. It makes a very bad impression and wastes both your time and your unqualified prospect’s time. The big question is how do you avoid the time-wasting Trojan Horses and accept the right appointments?

Here are a few ideas:

First, don’t jump to schedule an appointment just because someone asks. Check them out by visiting their website, social media sites and doing a Google search.

Second, make sure you understand why you are having a meeting rather than some other form of communication such as exchanging emails. Ask them some questions about why a meeting makes sense. Often, this drives away people who you probably don’t want to meet with and people who are a good fit appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Third, don’t schedule right away. I generally schedule everything a week ahead of time anyway, but a side benefit of this is that it wards off people who don’t have a legitimate purpose for talking to you. They don’t want to work that hard or plan ahead!

Fourth, pay attention to your feelings. If you feel pressured, unsure, weird, etc. it may be because the meeting isn’t right for you.

As a solopreneur, you have to guard your time or you won’t be able to do everything you need to do. Don’t plan a meeting simply because someone asks. Make sure you know the value of the meeting for both you and the person who wants to meet with you.

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Ten reasons why you need to be email marketing

One of my big strategic shifts this year has been to devote even more time to email marketing. I’ve let go a lot of what I used to do that didn’t work as well. I didn’t start building my list or doing any email marketing until I had been in business for more than a year because I needed convincing that it was a worthwhile tactic for me to use. Let me state that I am now officially convinced that email marketing is one of the most powerful ways for almost any business to market. In this article, I’ll give you 10 reasons why you need to be email marketing.

Less selling. People will want to buy your products and services with less selling by you.
Keep in touch with people who are interested but not yet ready to buy.
Have a warm audience to test new ideas on and get feedback.
Be a better event participant and JV partner. You are much more attractive to collaborators when you have an audience that you’ve already proven yourself to.
Decrease the variability in your business. You’ll be able to make offers to a receptive audience when things are slowing down.
You control when people hear from you instead of depending on them to visit your site at the right time
Earn the trust and respect of your audience over time
Non-monetary support – even people that don’t buy can bring ideas, questions, participation, shares, etc
Better return on time spent because you are talking to a self-selected audience of interested people
Make more money. It may not be the only reason you are in business but it has to be one of the reasons.

Are you convinced you need to be using email marketing? If so, I invite you to join me on this special training They say “The money is in the list…” So where’s mine? I’ll be co-presenting with Becky Sangha, The Online Video Marketer, and we’ll be sharing how you can start your email marketing campaign in just a few weeks. If you aren’t convinced yet, I’d love for you to join me as well so you can get more information on how email marketing can help your business. Click here to sign up.

Are you using email marketing in an original way? Share it in the comments. Please share this article using the Pin It and social sharing buttons below. Thanks!

Planning and working ahead

One of the big shifts I’ve made in my business this year has to do with planning and working ahead. In December, I met with my mastermind and we each planned our year out in a big picture way using big desk-sized calendars. At this planning meeting, we also each honed our focus to just a few areas where we are really getting results. My 2014 has been so much smoother because of it! I usually have at least the next few days if not weeks of promotions, blog posts and emails planned and I try to always keep a little ahead.

For me, there’s nothing that kills the joy of my business more than working under pressure. The same blog post, web page, or social media post which is a fun and creative activity when done without time pressure becomes a dreaded chore when I’m trying to beat the clock. It’s a great feeling to know I’m days or weeks ahead of schedule and if something should pop up in my personal life I can take care of it without having my business sit or even look idle. Before you can start working ahead though, you have to start planning ahead. You have to have some idea of what’s coming up in your business and what you are promoting. If you can plan your year at a big picture level that’s a great place to start. If that feels like too much, try planning the next month. If that’s too much, you can start with just planning your next few blog posts and emails. Are you still flying by the seat of your pants in your business? Schedule a few coaching sessions with me to get some plans laid down. You’ll feel more sure of what you are working on and have a better sense of how the pieces fit together. Click here to schedule some time with me.

Google-ized brains and how you communicate

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.

How solopreneurs can use Foursquare

I admit, I’m late in jumping on the Foursquare bandwagon. As with any new undertaking, I have to have a definitive reason for getting involved with something and I have to know what I expect to get from it and have a way to measure that result. I’ve checked out Foursquare several times, but never felt like it was a good fit for my business until now. In this article, I’ll share why I decided to start using it, what I’m using it for and how I keep myself safe.

In case you don’t know, Foursquare is a social media site and smartphone app that uses your phone’s gps system to let you “check in” to physical locations. As a work-at-home solopreneur, I don’t actually have a physical location so it never seemed like something that would work for me. I was also concerned about announcing to the world where I am and that my house is empty.

The reason I finally decided to jump is to spice up my Twitter feed with some more interesting personal information. Several people I follow on Twitter have their check ins included in their Twitter feed and I found I really enjoyed it, especially when they included a picture. It’s important to share some information about yourself, your personality and life in your marketing so people have a sense of just who they are considering doing business with. As with any sharing of personal information, don’t overdo it.

So, the main reason I’m using Foursquare is to add some variety to my Twitter feed. I’m definitely accomplishing that, but there are a few added benefits I hadn’t considered. It’s actually a fun service to use. There’s elements of gaming in it such as the ability to earn badges, which often come as a surprise. I also find it tends to get me out of the house more because I don’t like to see a whole day with no check ins.

The big question is safety. When the practice of revealing your physical location became popular, there was a lot of stories about people being burglarized while they were out and of people being stalked at the places they go regularly. I protect myself from burglary by never checking in unless someone is home at my house. I also have two large, very loud dogs that show up all the time in my social media postings for any would-be burglar to see. If this isn’t an option for you, consider only checking in when you will be home shortly.

As far as discouraging stalkers, I only check in when I’m leaving a place. If someone tries to find me, I won’t be there anymore. I also never check in at any of my regular stops, i.e. places where there is a pattern to my visiting or places I go often. There’s no way to figure out where I go regularly by looking at Foursquare.

Do you see any way to use Foursquare in your solopreneur business? Tell me about it in the comments.

Who is in your inner circle?

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.

Does home clutter limit your business potential?

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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Solopreneurs, what’s your theme for 2013?

This is the third year for which I’ve picked a theme. It’s been a great way to push ahead on one big, bold area of my business that I want to work on. My theme for 2012 was my signature system, which is written in being finalized as we speak. I seem to get my theme project done every year but it usually takes all year. I recall finishing something relating to my 2011 theme last year on the day of New Year’s Eve!

My signature system is a comprehensive guide to setting up a home based, solopreneur business based on packaging and selling your knowledge. I’ve finished the first draft and need to polish the writing and get some feedback from my inner circle before launching a beta version sometime early next year. (If you are interested in being the first to know when it’s ready, be sure to sign up for my newsletter in the red box in the sidebar. I’ll be offering it there first.)

My theme for 2013 is speaking. I enjoy public speaking and seem to have been spared the fear of speaking that so many people suffer from, so I’ve decided that this will be the next big push in my business. This is an example of one of the most important principles I live by – use your gifts to serve others and improve the world. By luck of the draw, I have a gift of being able to speak publicly without big fears, and so my belief is that I should use this to help other people. Speaking is a great way to reach a lot of people in a short amount of time, so even small speaking gigs are really effective.

I’ll be crafting my signature talk after I finalize my signature system so I don’t have the specifics yet, but my talk will cover some of the same things in my signature system. I’m committed to the idea that people will benefit from the talk whether they go further with me or not, so you can be sure there will be loads of great information you can take action on right away.

So, I’ve shared my theme for 2013, and now I have a big, burning question for you.

What’s your theme for 2013?

What’s the single most important thing you could focus on in 2013 so you end the year with a grander business that moves your mission in the world further along? Share it in the comments.

If you’re not sure, let’s schedule a time to talk and figure it out together. Click here.

If you’d like to read last year’s post where I share my theme for 2012, click here.