Solopreneur Business For Dummies Cheat Sheet

Smart solopreneurs know that success starts with understanding themself just as much as they understand their business. This cheat sheet helps you decide if solopreneurship is truly the right fit for you (it isn’t for everybody!), highlights common mistakes to avoid when you’re flying solo in business, and provides effective ways to stay connected and combat loneliness and isolation.

Is solopreneurship for you?

The idea of being your own boss without anybody to report to or manage sounds pretty dreamy, doesn’t it? However, it isn’t for everybody. Here are some questions you should ask yourself before going all in on a solopreneur business:

• Do you like working on your own? Are you self-motivated? Or do you rely on external accountability?

• Do you enjoy learning new things? As a solopreneur, you’ll be constantly seeking out new information and resources in order to run your own business as well as grow and evolve.

• Are you a problem-solver? You don’t need to know everything, but you do need to know how to figure things out.

• Can you handle emotional roller coasters? Developing a resilient mindset comes with the territory.

• Do you embrace uncertainty? Or do you rely on familiarity and consistency, like getting a regular paycheck?

• Do you actively seek community? Even if you’re introverted, cultivating a community and building relationships are necessary for the longevity of your business.

5 mistakes to avoid when creating a solopreneur business

Starting life as a solopreneur is exciting, but if you aren’t careful, you can easily fall into traps that may slow your progress, decrease your motivation, and even derail your business entirely. The good news is that many of these mistakes are preventable if you’re aware of them. Learn from the mistakes of others and don’t let the following scenarios happen to you:

• Running the entire business by yourself: Flying solo in business doesn’t mean you’re alone. Make automation, outsourcing, and AI work for you to get things done. Doing everything alone is the easiest way to burn out.

• Working only in your business, not on it: Client and customer work is important, but so is revising things that aren’t working, optimizing your processes, and implementing solid marketing and sales strategies for your own business to make sure leads are always coming in. Put time on your calendar to get the strategic work done.

• Saying yes to too many things: If you don’t charge enough for your product or service, you may feel the need to accept every opportunity that comes your way. Remember your why and try to say yes only to opportunities that align with the reason you started your business.

• Not niching down enough: Trying to be a jack-of-all-trades means you’re the master of none. Focus on a small audience that you can help, and put your time and effort toward solving their problems. Niche down as small as you can to start. Once you’ve mastered that audience, you can always widen your reach.

• Not setting boundaries: Setting boundaries often leads to more credibility with clients and customers, better work-life balance, and a more successful business. The right clients and customers will admire you for respecting your own time and energy.

6 ways solopreneurs can avoid isolation

Flying solo in business doesn’t mean you’re alone. But it can certainly feel that way unless you put an honest effort toward making sure you create a community for yourself. Human interaction isn’t necessary only for extroverts. Introverts rely on external accountability and feedback for the success of their business. Here are some tips to combat the isolation and loneliness that often come with being a solopreneur:

• Work from coworking spaces. Not only do these spaces foster creativity and productivity, but they also provide a built-in community for people willing to help each other and collaborate on projects.

• Host regular client meetings. Doing client work can help you feel less isolated. Whether you do them weekly or monthly, get regular calls with clients on your calendar to maintain human connections.

• Find an accountability buddy. Many solopreneurs struggle with being self-accountable. An accountability buddy can help you stick to your goals and give you feedback. And you’ll have regular human interaction even when you’re running a one-person business.

• Focus on collaborations. Solopreneurs love working with other solopreneurs, so partner up! Find complementary businesses and tap into each other's networks to reach new audiences and share the workload.

• Participate in community activities you’re passionate about. Whether you join a tennis league, an improv class, or a sewing club, do things outside work that connect you with others. The people you’re recreating with may not turn into clients, but they’ll turn into referral machines if you make genuine connections while doing something you love.

• Put coffee chats on your calendar. Introduce yourself to new people within your space and put meetups with them on your calendar. These aren’t sales meetings. They’re simply a way to connect with others in your field.