Envato Notes

---

Going Solo—What it Takes to Succeed on Your Own Posted: 01 Sep 2013 05:00 PM PDT Throughout September, the Envato Marketplaces are celebrating the world of the startup. Founding a startup can be a lonely affair. It can require courage and focus. It can require key design, development and communication decisions. We want to be there for you. This month we’ll show you how you can lean on he creative talent of the Marketplaces team and expert contributors. Our first guest post comes from FreelanceSwitch. If your point of view is off when considering going solo, you can waste precious time, and increase your odds of failure. To succeed on your own may take some rewiring of your way of looking at entrepreneurship. There are a handful of perspective shifts that are critical to success as a freelancer, microbusiness startup, solopreneur, or whatever term feels like the right fit for you and your venture. Let’s examine closely the tightly-held entrepreneurial beliefs on “the lone gunman,” “nose to the grindstone,” and “the expert”. Dispelling these myths now will put you in the right mindset to go solo and succeed on your own. Yes, today, right now. Starting your own business isn’t as intimidating or difficult as you are imagining. It’s time to shift your frame of mind, set your expectations, gather your pillar resources, and make it happen. Myth 1: The Lone Gunman Image via PhotoDune Alright, Clint Eastwood, it’s time to put your cowboy boots on, mosey into town, and kill everyone with your six-shooter. If there ever was a persistent myth in western culture, one that grabs hold of budding entrepreneurs, makes them eschew help from others, put their heads down with the mindset of doing it all on their own, it’s this one of the lone gunman. But let’s be clear, this isn’t a Spaghetti Western and we aren’t a pistol-toting cowboy. To succeed on your own in any business you need a posse. A group of peers and professionals you can count on. Here are some of the critical people you need in your corner: accountability group (often, referred to as mastermind groups) lawyers, accountants, and other handy professionals peers for networking and bouncing ideas off mentors, coaches, or advisers expert contractors you can count on So, going solo doesn’t require doing everything single-handedly, as it takes connections and a support system to succeed in any business. Yes, you are doing a big chunk of the work, but your are not alone. Here are some handy articles on this topic over on FreelanceSwitch: Build Your Freelance Back-up Team: If we work at a larger company, we have whole departments to back us up, such as: tech support, legal, accounting, and human resources. As freelancers, we need to cobble together this back-up team ourselves. 5 Tips for Freelance Mentor Relationships: This article offers up tips on being a good apprentice, which dives into the benefits of a mentor to mentee business relationship. Discover how mentors can help you connect with clients, navigate tough contract issues, and help you solve all sorts of pressing business problems. Can a Coach Help a Freelancer?: There is a reason why top athletes train for competing at such a high level with a coach. Similarily, a business coach can provide you with the critical assessment, and advice, you need to improve your business. Useful Resources and Tips for Managing Your Virtual Staff: Learn the basics of how to move from a soloist approach to running your business to that of an orchestrator. Now, are you ready to grind it out? Myth 2: Nose to the Grindstone Image via PhotoDune If we continue to put our nose to the grindstone, we will eventually be noseless. It’s not a pretty picture. Hard work is a given, and if you work hard, so is burnout. In the long term, it’s more important to develop a reliable, simple system for getting things done than to overdo it. Grit, determination, and similar qualities are all good to have, but what really makes for a successful business is building long term habits that you can rely on. Over on FreelanceSwitch we a have some killer articles on productivity, many of them written by habit building master Leo Babauta of ZenHabits. Here are minimalist tips for getting things done, setting plans, and following through: A Guide to Simple Project Management: Learn to clearly define outcomes for the projects you take on, set up your management process with a bias toward action, and keep your clients involved. Minimalist Time Management: Keep Your Day Open: Time management doesn’t have to be a rigid or time-consuming process. If you like to keep things fluid, but still get things done, then minimalist time management may be just the right fit for you. Get Things Started: Simpler Than GTD?: If a structured to do system feels too restrictive for you, then try a simpler method. Discover the difference between getting things started and getting things done. 10 Ways to Make Laziness Work for You: This is the best post ever. Learn to delegate, automate, stall, procrastinate, simplify, and other habits that the lazy amongst us can put to work for them in their business, instead of against them. 46 Must-Read Productivity Tips for Freelancers: A large list of easy to digest nuggets of productivity wisdom from some of the best productivity sites. The last solopreneaur myth we’ll look at in this post is that of the expert. Myth 3: The Expert Image via PhotoDune It’s not that being an expert isn’t helpful, or that achieving expert status doesn’t elevate your business, or your reputation; It certainly does. Yet, you can’t be the expert at everything. If you’re a freelancer, you should work on mastering your core skill, whether that’s writing, graphic design, or becoming a code ninja. Be careful though, closely tied to the expert myth is the myth of perfection. We don’t need to be the best in our field to launch a successful business and serve our customers well. The real question is are you able to provide value? We can’t be ten year veterans on our first day. Just be you, where you are at right now, and find the value you can offer to your customers today, then set those long term goals. As a freelancer, or microbusiness owner, there are many components to running that business. Even if you’re a jack-of-all-trades type of entrepreneur, you are not going to be an expert at all of the important skills it takes to run an online business. Consider where to outsource and where to focus your attention. Plenty of entrepreneurs are good at project management, planning, and leveraging other’s expertise to serve the growth of their business. Is being an expert helpful? Sure, of course. We should all be honing our craft, sharpening our skills, taking courses, reading books, and building our experience. In fact, keeping a lifelong student outlook will give you a greater degree of success over the long-haul. It’s important to always be learning and studying. Here are some helpful resources on building your expertise: How to Continually Sharpen Your Skills: Suggestions on how to take what skills you have and improve them, add new skills, and continually make progress. Why Freelancers Need Multiple Skills: Handling the Feast or Famine Phenomenon: Compelling advice on honing one specialty skill set, while building up more generalist, and complimentary skills as well. This makes you a more marketable and savvy freelancer. It’s OK if You’re Not an Expert: When one is asked to step outside their comfort zone, it can be intimidating, your confidence will shake. It’s important to work in areas that you aren’t an expert though, as it’s the only way to grow. How to Upgrade Your Skill-level in 24 Hours: It’s quite common when freelancing that requests will com in that are outside your current skill set, this post is about diving in, hitting these challenges with short bursts of intensity, and upping your game. Boost Your Freelance Brand 100 Percent with Your Expert Status: You certainly don’t need to be a top of your field expert to be a successful freelancer, but you can drive your business to new growth if you can brand yourself as such. Discover how you can grow your expert brand over the long haul. Don’t let a lack of expertise, or confidence, slow you down. What you know right now makes you an expert, when compared to someone outside your field of focus. Even if you’re a beginner, there is someone right now that needs help and you have the answer to their problem. Your Frame of Mind Photo via PhotoDune Now that we’ve got you in the right frame of mind, let me point out some of the epic resources we have over on FreelanceSwitch for launching a freelance business, authority blog, successful eBook, or your very own online microbusiness: Getting Started as a Freelancer: Learn from seasoned professionals about the common issues to watch out for when starting as a freelancer. Take a close look at the essential strategies you’ll need for success. Best of Both Worlds: How to Build a Freelance/Passive Business Online: Freelancing and passive online business projects can be complementary ventures, find out how in this article. Two Very Different Ways to Create a Profitable Authority Blog: This article shines a light on two very different options you have when it comes to picking a topic for your authority blog. These are two approaches, with equal potential for success, that enable anyone to create a successful and profitable blog. The Complete Introduction to Online Microbusiness: Familiarize yourself with building your own microbusiness, a business tiny enough to require only yourself and maybe a few contractors, but profitable enough to fund your biggest goals and priciest bucket-list items. Deep-Dive: The 7 Best Online Microbusiness Models: In this article, deep-dive into each of the seven main types of online micro businesses. Figure out which is the best match for your skills, resources and appetite for risk. Session: Profiting with Business eBooks: eBooks are a fantastic way for freelancers and business owners to demonstrate their expertise. They are excellent lead and profit generators. If you’re serious about writing a successful eBook, get started today with this nine part series. Solopreneuring What myths have you encountered, and overcome, while soloing-it? What advice do you have for those about to make a critical first step into solopreneuring? If you’re taking those first steps, what is holding you back, or weighing on your mind, let us know in the comments? We’re building a whole slew of resources on FreelanceSwtich to help you launch not only a successful freelance business, but also all sorts of solopreneur, and microbusiness ventures as well. What are you struggling with right now? What would you like to see us deep-dive into next?

You are subscribed to email updates from Envato Notes To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610