Strong Female Leaders

By Nan Nan Liu-Maffetone | Strong Female Leaders | Reading Time: Five Minutes
If you are driven by freedom, passion and a yearning to succeed on your own terms, then being a solopreneur is for you. As difficult as being a solopreneur is, it is also rewarding if you endure and persist. To help you along the the way, today's article offers a list of tips. Scroll down and take a look, and best of luck to you on the amazing solopreneur journey.

7 Tips on Becoming a Successful Solopreneur

1. Know the solopreneur meaning.

If you are a solopreneur, you start and run a business by yourself. You have no partners, W-2 employees or other official support. You are a special type of entrepreneur that requires complete independence. Unlike freelancers who work on projects based on contracts for other organizations, you own and operate your own revenue engine, and the work is never-ending.
Prior to becoming a solopreneur, you must understand the complete picture. Know that without partners, co-founders and staff, you are utterly alone and will not get much support if any. You are also responsible for keeping the business in tact which includes tasks that you may not want to do like cold calling, filing tax returns and book-keeping.
Solopreneurship is isolating. If you are not sure about it, then you should consider other options before making a commitment.

2. Define a market, then niche down and scale up.

As a solopreneur, you will likely lack the funding to buy into a market. It is better to define a market that truly needs your product or service and niche down to a specific client profile.
For example, you are in the beauty market, and the market is saturated. But what if you created vegan cosmetics for tweens with sensitive skin and market it on Tik Tok with makeup tutoials as pillar content? Not only will you help people with sensitive skin, you can also educate tweens on how to propely apply makeup.
Another consideration is that your business has to be scalable. In other words, can you incease revenue without increasing cost? Take the vegan makeup above as an example again. Can you later on create another product line for a more mature clientele, with the same ingredients and add anti-aging benefit?
No matter how competitive the market is, there is always an opportunity to niche down. With creativity and strategic thinking, you can find both an un-tapped niche and growth opportunities.

3. Have a business plan with an emphasis on sales.

A business plan is a road map that aims to take your business from zero to hero. It consists of goals and objectives, how to achieve them, and ways to measure success.
As a solopreneur, your major business goal should be generating revenue. Sure, altuistic values such as serving the commmunity, producing quality products and solving problems are great goals. For a business, the first and foremost is to make money. Because if it doesn't make money, it's a hobby and not a business; and you are a wanna-preneur and not a solopeneur.
Make sales and marketing the focal point of your plan. Whatever bullet points that follow must contribute to customer acquisition and converting interactions to dollar signs.
If a task doesn't contribute to making money, pass it on. Remember that as a solopreneur, your time is gold, and you have to turn it into gold.

4. Build a sales engine.

Even if you are a creative, when it comes to sales, you have to have the discipline of an engineer. A sales engine is an intuitive process of prospecting, qualifying and acquiring customers. Of course, you can fill in the details and make improvements along the way. The important thing is that you have a working engine and you run it everyday.
The end product is always a commitment from clients to move forward. To get to that point, you will need several qualified prospects in the pipe. So keep oiling, fine-tuning and running that engine.

5. Use a CRM.

A CRM, or Client Relationship Management, software increases productivity by helping you manage clients, schedule meetings and improve relationships. There are many inexpensive options, including Monday and PipelineDeals.com, with simple interfaces that require little time to learn. With a CRM that does a lot of the organizing and administrative work for you, you have more time to focus on the important things.

6. Find a coach.

As a solopreneur, you work alone, and you will get lonely. Even if you are the best in your field, you risk being burnt out from having little support. Getting a coach is a great way to build a support system and protect mental health. Additionally, a coach helps set attainable goals, keep you accountable, and offer a fresh perspective.
If you know successful solopreneurs, ask them for coaching. If not, then seek general business coaching. A coach's advice, expertise and guidance will keep you engaged and persistent towards your goals.

7. Shut off all negativities.

There will always be people who are skeptical. Most of them mean well, like family, friends and team members. But negativity is still negativity. Their words can still deter you from getting what you want. They might assume that you are not serious, that it is just a hobby, or that you have gone nuts. Whatever they say to you, shut them off. If you have to, take a break from spending time with them.
If you trust yourself to be deserving of what you reach for, then trust that someone else's opinion is none of your business.

Parting Thoughts

Being a solopreneur creates the opportunity to have a career by your own design. If you have something valuable to offer the world, then believe in your abilities and trust the process. You may not be there yet, but you are on your way. Even though being a solopreneur is hard and lonely, you can still make it a worthy journey by focusing on the positives like the progress that you make each day. Again, good luck to you. You are worth millions. All you have to do now is believe in yourself.