10 Things Only Solopreneurs Understand
First thing’s first, congratulations on making the move to leave the rat race and join the throngs of solopreneurs who are kicking butt and taking names!
It takes a lot of courage to take the leap into owning and operating your own business. Throughout the journey, you will feel like you’re the only one struggling. We want to tell you that you aren’t alone.
In fact, a staggering 41 million Americans are creating their very own business and are pursuing their dreams.
Today, we are going to talk about things that only your fellow solopreneurs can understand.
Let’s get started!
1. Solopreneurs Will Struggle to Maintain Goals
One of the biggest changes you will experience when you start your own business is setting and achieving goals. In the workplace, you have a boss who will tell you what needs to be done and by when.
Yet, as a solopreneur, you have to set and meet your own goals. You won’t have colleagues that you can ask for help. It’s all going to rest on your shoulders, and that can be overwhelming.
2. Being a Solopreneur Means Work is Your Life
Forget having a work-life balance! As a solopreneur, your business becomes your life.
This can be a blessing and a curse because once your business gets rolling, you aren’t going to have any free time. You won’t be able to go out like you used to because you’ll be working late nights answering emails, working on your website, and so much more.
But at least your business is a success! See what we mean about it being a blessing and a curse?
3. Freelancers Will Become Your Best Friend
One way you can free up some time is by relying on your friendly freelancer to get things done. You can find freelancers who do just about anything you need to get done.
Some tasks include:
- Writing blog posts
- Maintain your social media accounts
- Design your website/brand
- Create apps for your business
- and much more.
You can even find virtual assistants who can make appointments, read and respond to email, and light bookkeeping, among other things.
4. Self-Promotion Is Essential
After building a website, you’re going to want to embrace social media. This means you will want to create a business profile on various platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram so that you can engage and interact with your target audience.
When managing your company’s social media, we recommend keeping the two separate, don’t post personal information on the business accounts and vice versa. Unless, of course, you are your brand.
You can simplify the posting process across your social media accounts by using scheduling tools like Hootsuite, BirdEye, or Tailwind.
If you are trying to draw more locals to your business, you can use this printing company to create business cards, flyers, and brochures to help get the word out about your business.
5. Use Sponsored Posts and Ads
Along with using social media to connect with your client base, you can take out ads on those same social media platforms. These ads are generally sold by using a bidding process and the cost will vary based on the platform and the competition in your niche.
By using sponsored posts and ads, you can gain new followers and clients by expanding your reach.
6. Surround Yourself with Supportive People
Not everyone is going to understand the struggles that you are going to encounter while trying to get your business off the ground.
You are going to want to surround yourself with like-minded people who understand what you’re going through, but who can also offer advice. These people can be fellow solopreneurs or they can just be friends and family.
We also recommend that you look up professional organizations (either online or locally). These professional organizations can be a low-key group that gets together twice a month or so, or you can join a very active community.
Keep in mind that the more active the group is, you may be asked to pay a fee for membership. Depending on your finances, joining a larger, more active group could be very beneficial because it could lead to collaborative opportunities or you can even reach new clients.
7. Never Work for “Experience”
You are going to come across people who are going to want you to work for free. They’ll give you some lame line about you’ll gain experience or your work will be viewed by “millions” of people, thus giving you incredible exposure.
Experience or exposure isn’t going to keep the lights on, nor will it fuel your need for caffeine.
Your time is valuable, as is your expertise – even if you are just starting off. If anyone offers to pay you in exposure or experience, politely decline and move on because they do not respect what you can do for them.
8. Being a Solopreneur Means Flexibility
The beauty of working for yourself is that you can make a schedule that works for you. If you’re a night owl and are most productive between 12 a.m. and 4 a.m., then so be it! If you need to split up the work day, you can do that too.
9. The Potential to Make Money Explodes
Solopreneurs have the potential to make far more money then they would if they continued to work for someone else. With determination and a plan, there is no limit to what you can do.
You just have to switch from the “employee” mindset and adopt the type of thinking Jeff Bezos or Warren Buffet has!
10. There is Always Room to Improve
The beauty of being your own boss is there is no cap on your expertise. You can increase your skills until you master them. By mastering said skills, you can elevate the productiveness of your business.
It’s going to be difficult, that is to be sure. However, it’ll be worth it in the end!
Go Forth and Succeed!
Deciding to leave the office job behind is scary, especially when you take into consideration that only 20% of businesses will make it past the first 18 months. You can be among that 20% of successful businesses if you stop thinking like an employee and begin embracing the entrepreneurial mindset.
For more tips and sage bits of advice on running a business, check out our blog!