28 Jun Solo Act: Qualities Necessary to Being a Successful Solopreneur
We are a small business nation. No matter how much you hear about Wall Street or Big Pharma or even Hollywood, millions of Americans work for small businesses. And more and more people want the ultimate small business – a company of one. They want to be a successful solopreneur – permanently, not building an empire, but a happy cottage. But it’s not for everyone.
Can you become a successful solopreneur?
You do you. You have to know exactly what your business is. What your service or product is, and why you do it better. Unlike even a business with half a dozen people can afford to take on jobs that are slightly outside of the mission.
But if there’s only you, you can’t stretch very easily. You can’t lean on others’ strengths to deliver a slightly mismatched request. In some cases, that will even mean turning down business opportunities.
Fear not. Being a successful solopreneur is not for the faint of heart. It isn’t just the financial risk, the isolation, the emotional drain, the long hours – it’s all of that and five more things. Twelve times a day. You have to believe in yourself – even when you don’t. First, there’s no one else to tell you to have confidence.
Second, you literally cannot afford to be second guess yourself. Whether it’s deciding a marketing strategy, a sales plan or getting a business loan, you will need a built-in engine that runs on very little.
Disciplined action. Being a successful solopreneur means you’re the CEO, or Owner, or Chief Person-in-Charge, or whatever great title you give yourself. But you are also Billing, Customer Service, Sales and Payroll (definitely Payroll).
That means every day pulls on all the hats you wear, and you just can’t get distracted or drown in one task. You will have to have a really discipline approach to getting things done.
Ultimately, a successful solopreneur is a happy one.
If you are just a paycheck player for someone else, you don’t have to believe in the mission. You can probably miss a deadline every now and then. You can almost certainly take a vacation. But if you really want to be a successful solopreneur, the act of working on your own has to be part of what drives you. It is about more than just making a lot of money, going solo is not just a job, not just a career. It’s a state of mind.
