So you’re a solopreneur
You’ve taken the leap, you’ve left that beige cubicle and you’re doing it, going it on your own. Friends and family think you’re nuts at the very least and at worst want to have you committed, as they’re terribly concerned about your current mental state.
Let’s start with the elephant in the room…
‘Are you crazy!’
I get that you are proud to be unemployable, for the most part because most employers have sucked the living blood from you and you know you can do it so much better on your own anyway…
but have you thought it through, I mean really thought this incredibly life-changing decision through before you scribbled your resignation letter on a post-it and took money out of the communal coffee fund…that you’re owed obviously.
(rational thinking: I am owed that money as it’s coffee I won’t be drinking and I’ll use it to invest in myself and start my world domination business).
[Tweet “Welcome to the world of the solopreneur. Impossible is just an opinion : Paulo Coelho!”]
A broad definition includes; self-employed, mumpreneurs (another from the urban dictionary), freelancers, coaches or consultants, all of whom represent a large proportion of a new type of workforce. A workforce looking for more flexibility, lifestyle change and a fulfilling purpose.
Let’s be honest though, the choice to pursue solopreneurship is a brave one as it doesn’t exactly go hand in hand with a pension or financial security but that doesn’t seem to be the driving factor and for most falls secondary to the flexibility and purpose focus.
Here’s the good news (phew!), the internet of things and social media has made ‘doing business’ so much easier, provided opportunities where once there were only dreams but this also makes it a bloody ocean to compete in and so the need to stand out is greater than ever.
The biggest barrier for solopreneurs, however, is not the lack of funds, teams or sales it’s actually the ability to move from an employee mindset to a CEO mindset. After all, you now employ YOU!
If you’ve chosen a different label such as; mumpreneur, small business owner, CEO, entrepreneur it doesn’t change a thing. You still need to focus on a change of mindset and a change of responsibility….for every single thing in your business.
You are now the accountant, the web designer, the sales person as well as the CEO – how would you appraise your abilities so far in your new job?
It’s fantastic that you have got your first website built, a business card (well you don’t feel professional without a business card!), you’ve done a course to build your first eCourse and eBook crikey you’ve even spent time reading everything there is to know about facebook ads and SEO…exhausting isn’t it!
Life as a solopreneur is tough and trying to fake it ‘til you make it feels a teensy bit inauthentic most days but that’s because chances are you haven’t thought about you first.
Did you stop to consider if you were actually cut out for this gig? Do you have the energy, the focus, the organisational skills, the drive to make a success of your business?
I know you have a great idea, product or service and I know that you can do it better than any large scale employer can do it. You have agility on your side, no board of directors to stand in the way of decisions but most of all you have the potential to do amazing work, fulfilling work that makes a difference. Isn’t that why you started out on your own in the first place?
If you really want to make a difference then you have to make a difference to YOU first. It’s the difference between building a great house and an outstanding WOW factor house.
Get the foundations right and what’s built on top can be anything you want – it’s more difficult to add in other rooms later if the foundation is wrong at the outset.
Invest in you as the CEO of your gig, switch up your mindset to think like an employer not an employee and become the most organised focused business owner ever.
Want to ask a question? Then drop me an email at info@straighttalkingginger.com I’m always happy to help.
