Ep. 19 - Six steps to Solopreneurship
Solopreneurship and freelancing are the future of employment in North America. Already, 59 million Americans perform some fashion of freelance work. That number is astonishing, and will likely be on the rise as people push for more freedom, autonomy, and control over their lives (i.e., 'The Great Resignation'). We haven’t even scratched the surface yet.
People will argue that the ship has sailed. Making money online, or in the form of freelancing was easier ten years ago, and we missed our opportunity to penetrate the market. My favourite one is, 'all the ideas are taken!' However, I wholeheartedly disagree with this.
Think about this for a second. Facebook is only 17 years old. 17 years! That’s nothing - they're still a baby in the business world. They’re just getting started, they haven’t even scratched the surface of their potential moving forward. The internet is in its infancy still, and the opportunities are boundless. I will admit, there is much more noise out there compared with ten or twenty years ago, so some people naturally have a first mover advantage. However, anyone can carve out a niche through consistency. Consistency is key. For example, I’ve been posting on LinkedIn for a little over four months, almost every weekday, and sometimes twice a day. I feel I’m still one or two years away from realizing the full fruits of that labour. But what I’ve seen over this time is quite fascinating. I’ve probably witnessed 99% of people fall off. Someone will post about XYZ for a couple weeks straight, saying they’re going to be doing all this stuff, and then... crickets.
The reality is the majority of people will give up. Everyone wants a quick win. But quick wins are usually fraudulent or a flash in the pan. Thus, through consistency you’re already ahead of the game. You’re already making progress.
So number one, stay consistent, the rest of these steps will not matter if you’re not doing something everyday to improve yourself, or your business. That may be overwhelming, but it’s the reality. Winning each day will allow you to win each week, each month and so on. Small returns compound in a big way.
- Get your financial house in order. Seriously, just stop spending money on frivolous things. When you’re constantly chasing money and attempting to climb out of debt, it makes for an unnecessary and painful headache. It will consume your life. It will put everything else on-hold, as you’ll be solely focused on getting the highest paying job, and paying off your debt. This relinquishes opportunities and optionality. Financial freedom (or even a 6-month emergency fund) is crucial to increase optionality, and therefore, allow you the flexibility to take aim on your ambition.
- Find problems and solve them. Business ideas do not need to be complex or life-changing, they just need to solve a problem in an efficient manner. The best ones are usually very, very simple. If you can make someone's life easier through a product or service, then you’ve found a problem and solved it. Here is a great example of simplicity, and not 'reinventing the wheel'. The wheel was invented 5,000 years ago, however the rolling suitcase was only invented in 1970. People had been carrying bags/luggage for centuries. Simple, but genius idea. Don't try to be the next Bezos jetting off to space. Start by solving small problems, and be the best at it.
- Don’t write a business plan. Just start. Let’s be honest, ‘plans’ are just guesses. Financial ‘forecasts’ are just guesses. You have no idea how your product or service will perform. Don’t spend countless hours building a beautiful business plan. Just start, and keep your options open. The beauty of being a small business is your ability to pivot quickly and take advantage of new opportunities. Plans keep us rigid. Rigidity in today’s business world is a surefire way to fail.
- Test the market (for under $200). Ask friends and family, post on a subReddit, post on LinkedIn, create a landing page and run a few ads. Do something to test your idea. Are people interested? Fine if they are, but will they pay? This is the point I come back to all the time. People don’t test enough. Play around with a few options. This is the ultimate call option on your business - pay a few small premiums for a potentially large pay off down the road.
- Get help. Solo doesn’t mean alone. This one is important. You will need help. I think everyone needs three people on their team; 1) A mentor, someone who is just a few steps ahead of you; 2) A counsellor - it’s worth the investment; and 3) A personal assistant or a part-time contractor. There are many moving parts to running your own business (even if it’s small). Try to offload low value and tedious tasks. We can't do everything - accept this before you burn out.
- Go all in. This one is self-explanatory. Don’t complain about your idea ‘not working’ if you didn’t put in the work. As I mentioned earlier, I’ve already seen numerous people fall off the path in the last year. I’ve subscribed to newsletters that phase out after the THIRD week. Nothing comes easy. Posting on LinkedIn everyday for a week won’t give you the ability to sell online. Writing five articles (or even 20) won’t give you the privilege to charge for a newsletter. It takes work. But the good news is that the majority of people can’t hack it.
So, focus on one day at a time. Don't get overwhelmed by looking one year out, or even one week out. Win the day --> win the week --> win the month --> win the year. It's a simple formula, but it works.
Happy Friday ✌️