What is a Solopreneur?

Solopreneur is a word that applies to many people and yet they don’t know it.

“What is a solopreneur,” you might ask?

Simply stated, a solopreneur is an entrepreneur who works solo; and this makes perfect sense.  Now just because the word solo is in there doesn’t mean to think small – always think big.

Thanks to the online marketplace there has been an explosion of solopreneurs.  Operating a business from the privacy and comfort of home appeals to thousands of people and the Internet helps to facilitate this goal. Depending on the type of business, not only is this simple to do but very little capital is required to get things off the ground.

Solopreneur Success

Create a job description for yourself.  Having these guidelines to work within will help you stay on task and not venture down an unrelated path that ends up costing you lost time. By sticking to your job description you will no doubt soon discover that you’ll accomplish a lot more than you realize.

Many factors go into the success of a solopreneur’s business.  For example, there is some truth to the ole’ saying that you can only get out what you put into something.  If you’re willing to put as much time and effort into your venture as possible, then you’re increasing the chances of success.  Putting in an eight hour day may not be enough to attain your goals.  Yup, working on your own business doesn’t necessarily mean you work less hours; you may, in fact, work more.  Another item to keep in mind is that sometimes trying to do it all can result in failure.  Being independent has advantages but sometimes it may be necessary to outsource.

When you outsource work this frees up valuable time for you to focus on other tasks such as bringing in new business and building relationships that will help you grow.  However, if you provide a service that must depend on you (i.e. massage therapy) then think about hiring other service providers on a freelance basis or joining a network marketing business that fits into your vision.  Remember, you can’t do it all sometimes and outsourcing tasks like website building, web content writing, and bookkeeping can free up some of your time.

Being flexible is essential to the solopreneur.  There will always be new opportunities and ideas that cross your path and things can change.  When you build your vision and lay out the steps to get there, you can remind yourself that the long-term goal needs room for modifications once in a while.

Social media is huge to self-promote and it is very time consuming.  Setting a block of time aside daily or several times a week to work on social media is a must.  Again, if need be, outsource to do this as social media can be very draining on your time.

Celebrate Your Successes

So many business owners minimize their success because they measure it only in terms of money.  Lacking recognition of even minor successes can cause a nasty ripple effect of self-defeating thoughts and ultimately behaviors.  As you meet your goals and overcome difficult hurdles, celebrate them!  Of course profit is nice but for countless solopreneurs this may take time; but every step towards making a decent profit and long term goals is worth celebrating.