Succeeding as a Solopreneur: Six Keys to Taking the Leap, Winning Clients, and Building Wealth

By Liz Steblay

Six keys to successful self-employment

 

Succeeding as a Solopreneur is the definitive guide to launching and growing your own business as a self-employed professional. For current and aspiring solopreneurs, this book will help you master the critical steps for achieving success at every stage of your solopreneur journey, from determining if you’re ready to “go for it,” to setting a marketing and pricing strategy, to lowering your tax rate to keep more of what you earn.

 

Veteran solopreneur and nationally recognized mentor and advocate for self-employed professionals Liz Steblay distills her twenty years of experience as an independent consultant and business owner into six keys that unlock prosperous self-employment. Packed with real-life examples from Liz’s and other solo practitioners’ experiences, Succeeding as a Solopreneur will provide you with practical steps and advice so you can not only make a living as a self-employed professional but also build wealth for years to come and create the career of your dreams!

 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Greenleaf Book Group
• Release date: Mar 5, 2024
• ISBN: 9781639090334

Book preview

KEY 1

Be Prepared to Vanquish FUD

Being a solopreneur—a self-employed professional—is hard. So hard, in fact, I often try to talk people out of it. It’s not the right path for everyone. You have to do things you’ve never done before, learn new things, and push your boundaries all while trying to earn a living. It takes courage, determination, creativity, vulnerability, authenticity, smarts, and grit.

Solopreneurship is a journey filled with unexpected challenges, setbacks, disappointments, and successes.

But FUD (fear, uncertainty, and doubt) is always lurking, looking to strike you down.

CHAPTER 1

FUD (Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt)

According to a Wakefield Research poll, approximately 57 percent of Americans have at least one idea for a business or product, but 33 percent would rather skydive than take the leap into solopreneurship. Moreover, only two out of five people considering a professional change will do it.¹

Why? Fear of change, uncertainty about their situation, and doubt about their own abilities.

FUD is the one constant I’ve observed across all fields and life stages throughout my years of coaching solopreneurs. It nibbles away not only at those just starting out, but it also gnaws at established solopreneurs with years of experience.

As humans, we’re hardwired to fear the unknown. Our adaptive reaction to fear—fight, flight, or freeze—is essential to survival. Although striking out as a solopreneur does not rank up there with fleeing a charging lion, it can still be terrifying to leave behind a stable paycheck.

The most common signs of FUD for aspiring and active solopreneurs look like:

What if I don’t make enough money?

What if it takes months to get my first project?

What if I don’t get enough leads?

What if I make a mistake in my proposals or contracts?

What if I’m charging too much or too little?

What if I get sued?

What if I need to hire other people?

What if I get audited?

What if I get too much business?

What if I fail?

Some FUD is entirely valid. But most exists only in your mind, where it takes on an exaggerated size and shape of its own.

The good news is anything you can conceive, you can overcome. So how do you vanquish FUD?

You don’t. Not really.

Don’t fool yourself into thinking you can completely rid yourself of FUD. By acknowledging it instead, you can contain, shrink, manage, and use it to your advantage. You can harness all its negative energy and repurpose it to move forward into your own business—and even grow your business beyond your original vision.

Start by writing down the things you want to do, and why you are scared to do them. By brain-dumping your FUD into a list, you can develop an action plan to confront or eliminate each one.

Be bold as you work through your list of scary reasons. Demystifying your FUD will unstick your paralysis. If you get heart palpitations when you think about reaching out to people to connect, for instance, start with just five a week. Send them an encouraging note. Forward an interesting article. Congratulate them on reaching a milestone.

What is the worst that can happen? The person tells you to leave them alone. That’s not so bad; nothing to be afraid of. And it’s not likely to happen. Recognize that whatever you can imagine is something you can either recover from or overcome. And if your FUD revolves around your own uncertainty, ask yourself, How can I learn more about this so it’s not scary?

The scariest thing I have ever done was bungee jump in New Zealand. I thought doing this crazy activity would conquer my fear of heights—face your fear and all that. So, I researched bungee jumping statistics and scrutinized the safety record of the place where I was literally going to take the leap. Yet, with all that swirling in my head, I still sat in the car at the jump location, terrified. I called my ten-year-old daughter back in California.

I’m thinking about bungee jumping, I said. What do you think?

Do it, Mom! Do it! Do it!

Needless to say, I had to do it. How could I go home and tell my excited child I had wimped out? Making that commitment to someone whose opinion mattered immensely is what literally pushed me over the edge.

That strategy can work with anything scary—whether it’s bungee jumping or leaping into solopreneurship. Accountability is a powerful motivator.

If you still find yourself stalled by FUD, face your fear with a buddy. Though you may not both have the same FUD, you can encourage each other to keep moving forward. It’s the first step in building a support system.

Preparing for the Leap to Self-Employment

Building your own business takes a staggering amount of work that might seem insurmountable, which is why a strong support team is crucial. I’m not talking about administrative support—I mean emotional and professional support from people like your partner, your friends, your business contacts, and perhaps even your children. Those support people will ground and motivate you when your FUD threatens to stress you out.

Becoming a solopreneur does not need to happen in one dramatic, cord-cutting, current-job-leaving, fear-producing moment. That kind of go big or go home attitude is unnecessary and can get you stuck in terrifying inaction. After all, your livelihood is at stake. You need positive forward movement. It’s perfectly reasonable to transition to self-employment in manageable steps. Be what I call a slasher.

For three years as I was starting my first business, I introduced myself as a consultant/entrepreneur (consultant-slash-entrepreneur). Then as the ratio of my time flipped, as an entrepreneur/consultant . . . and finally—when I focused on my business full-time—I dropped the slash-consultant part. I know several people who were executives/coaches until they had enough wind under their wings to fly as simply coaches.

Setting attainable small goals for your business while still an employee allows you to create momentum, risk-free. Define your niche and start building credibility outside your current real job by publishing white papers, speaking at conferences, or writing articles for your own blog or as a guest blogger. People hire solopreneurs who are experts in their field, so work on being perceived as one.

As your confidence grows, ease into your transition even more by talking to key people and doing your research. Reach out to colleagues you trust, both in your current company and your broader network, to get their perspective on whether you should go independent. You aren’t making a commitment; you’re just considering your options and asking for their input.

Use questions like: What do you think? In what type of situations would you hire someone like me? Then—and this is crucial—really listen to their answers. Jot down what they say and ask follow-up questions.

Being asked for input and feedback is flattering; people will become invested in your success and part of your support network because you value their opinion. When you do make the leap—often using their advice—they will root for you.

They will want you to succeed.

Know Your Why

Yogi Berra, a famous baseball player and coach, once said, You’ve got to be very careful if you don’t know where you are going because you might not get there.

Each person goes into solopreneurship for their own unique reasons: They’re tired of working for somebody else. They want to stop commuting. They want more flexibility, more control over their time. Or they want the money and success of somebody they know who made the leap.

Some people become solopreneurs later in life to still feel relevant, to contribute the wisdom they’ve gained over the years to the next generation.

You need to know why you’re making this leap from the beginning, because it’s likely to be the hardest job you’ll ever undertake. Your why will serve as your North Star on catastrophic days—it will help you focus, make decisions, and find the grit you need to keep going.

But your why may not be as apparent as you might think.

Mike Fasulo, the former president and chief operating officer (COO) of Sony Electronics needed some help to figure out his why. After he retired and played golf for six months, he was bored. When we started our coaching conversation, I opened with, Well, I’m going to assume you don’t need the money.

He chuckled. No, I don’t need the money. But I miss helping people and making a difference.

What would people hire you to do? I asked, even though it seemed obvious. After all, he had thirty-eight years of experience in the electronics industry; he could do any number of things. But the usual COO tasks left him uninspired.

Finally, he admitted, You know, I really made a difference by bringing diversity to the board of directors. For decades, the electronics landscape consisted of middle-aged white men. Whenever I created a team with a diverse perspective, we came out stronger and better for it. Building diverse teams—reshaping leadership teams and the board of directors—became my hallmark at Sony. And I really liked doing it.

By pinpointing how he could make a difference, Mike discovered the why that would inspire him even when confronted by obstacles.

Clearly define your why before you plunge into solopreneurship. Is it for common reasons like autonomy, flexibility, and control? Or to pursue a personal passion? Consider these questions and write down your answers so you can share them with your #1 support person:

Why do you want to be a solopreneur?

How will you feel when your enterprise is successful?

How will being self-employed affect your life?

‒Your relationships

‒Your health

‒Your environment or home

What are your goals regarding income?

‒Be specific. For example: I want to make at least $150,000 a year. Or I want to make enough money to pay for an amazing family vacation every year.

This may seem like a waste of time—a fluffy exercise—but trust me, it’s well worth the effort.

People don’t buy what you do; people buy why you do it. . . . If you don’t know why you do what you do, then how will you ever get people to vote for you, or buy something from you?

—Simon Sinek,

How Great Leaders Inspire Action, TED Talk

Knowing your why will keep you going whenever FUD rears its ugly head!

No Such Thing as Failure

Many potential solopreneurs confess that their #1 FUD is actually the fear of failure, so take a moment to consider what success or failure means to you.

Success is typically built on a heaping tower of failures. If you flip your narrative to view obstacles as learning opportunities, you’ll redefine failure as positive progress, not negative setbacks. Even the most successful people have their moments of fear or self-doubt, and no one is immune to imposter syndrome. Positive self-talk powers athletes to push through their FUD; you can do this too. Use it when negative thoughts creep into your own mind. Remind yourself of your skills and successes. Visualize your goals. Keep your eye on your why and the attainable goals you’ve set.

Be your own coach.

Though affirmative self-talk might seem unnatural at first, if you commit to repeating at least one positive statement every time FUD wants to highlight the negative, that positive-reinforcement technique will become second nature. You can say something as simple as, Well, at least I learned _____. Remember, you are going into solopreneurship because you have a solution/expertise to offer your prospective clients. You don’t have to be flawless. Stay positive, and obstacles or setbacks will not derail your progress. They may actually propel you forward.

I’m a glass half-full kind of person. I look for the silver lining when failures happen, even if it takes years to recognize what it is. I remind myself to keep going in challenging moments—tomorrow is a new day. Whenever I want to quit, I repeat one of my mantras, adapted from a Robert Frost poem: The only way out is through. I need to put one foot in front of the other, take one day at a time, and keep going.

The Only Way Out Is Through

Becoming a solopreneur is a long road. It takes months to build momentum and it can take years to finally feel certain you made the right choice. You will have stressful days, if not weeks, not to mention recurring bouts of FUD.

In my early years as a solopreneur, I was a single mom living in San Francisco with no significant other to fall back on. I’d been an independent consultant for a couple of years doing high-stress projects and dealing with the challenges of running my business: cash flow, invoicing, lining up new projects. My daughter was about five years old when I had a surprising meltdown over washing her hair. She wouldn’t do it herself, but she wouldn’t let me do it either. She was just being a normal kid insisting, No, Mom, you’re not going to wash my hair! We’re not going to wash my hair tonight! Our battle of wills went back and forth for five minutes or longer. Suddenly, it was just too much, and I lost it.

You know what? I shrieked, I give up! I can’t take it anymore! Collapsing onto the floor next to the bathtub, I started sobbing.

Horrified, Kate said, Mom! I’m sorry! You can wash my hair! What’s wrong?

Honey, it’s okay, I said, pulling myself together. It’s not you. I’m just so stressed out.

Breaking down over washing my child’s hair was a sure sign I had reached my limit. I couldn’t do one more thing.

When you come apart at the seams, you must reassess to get through it. First, look at all the stressors in your life—not only the work you’re doing, but everything else that’s happening. My meltdown was not simply the result of a typical interaction with my daughter, or