Breaking Barriers: Never-ending Mindset Adventures

Beyond the 9-to-5: The Solopreneur’s Bold Journey

The end of the first year as a part-time solopreneur is rapidly approaching, and as always happens at the end of each year, it’s the time to stand back and reflect on the last twelve months. Of course, the time for reflection is purely arbitrary; in practice, we should pause and reflect regularly. Every day is a learning opportunity not to be missed. Mindset matters.

Disclosure. I use an AI assistant when writing. The assistant may suggest outlines, topics, or subtleties I had not thought of. The actual writing is all human me.

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Mindset Matters

Many things are difficult for a one-person company. One of the significant problems we must face is simply being solo with limited opportunities for business-related discussions and feedback. The questions and self-doubts running around in our heads are endless, and building a robust solopreneur mindset is essential.

The Everyday Solopreneur: Navigating the Marketing Maze

So, as a relatively new solopreneur, you have one major client in your portfolio. Good for you. If we are realistic about how the business world works, we know that relying on a single customer is a recipe for disaster. We must sell ourselves and our services to mitigate these risks, no matter how uncomfortable that may feel for some of us.

Crushing Self-Doubt and Imposter Syndrome

You can read this section header in two ways, of course. Perhaps I mean something like winning some victory, leaving you feeling positive, confident, and generally at one with the world, or something like that. It could also mean how nagging self-doubt will crush your confidence if you let it, inevitably leading to feeling like a fraud. How you read it is up to you.

It can be lonely as a new solopreneur; your livelihood depends on you and nobody else. Understandably, the pressure to build the business together with a lack of a diverse client base can quickly prey on the mind. The questions rapidly surface in the conscious mind: what if I can’t get any more clients, and even if I do get the opportunity, can I pull it off without being seen as a waste of time and space? Etc.

These feelings are, unfortunately, unavoidable. But it’s how we deal with them that will make all the difference. It’s important to understand that every successful solopreneur has gone through this and probably still does occasionally. Even those that have repeatedly failed manage to pick themselves up and try again. Put simply, as a solopreneur, failure is not an option.

When the self-doubt surges to the forefront, yet again. Try to think of the successful solopreneurs you know, not necessarily personally, who struggled at the start of their solo career but had the determination to push through, no matter what.

For example, Joanna Penn is an author I follow. She has just celebrated her fifteenth solo anniversary. She started small, balancing her day job, which she hated, with writing early mornings and weekends while her evenings were busy learning about the creative business.

Her first book was a non-fiction, self-published in early 2008. She eventually left her day job to become a full-time author in 2011. As a self-labelled introvert, she too suffered from feelings of self-doubt and imposter syndrome and still does, although less so than in her early days. Inspiring.

Another creative I follow is Mark Ellis; from starting in his back bedroom studio just a few years ago, he’s built up his creative business astronomically quickly, in my opinion. See Mark Ellis Reviews for links to his creative “empire”. Awesome.

Validation: A Simple Thank-you Will Do

We all like to be praised for a job well done, but so few of us receive this positive feedback. Instead, if something has gone wrong or we’ve made a mistake, we are quick enough to be told. This applies to every industry and every business. As a solopreneur, positive feedback is a must to build our reputation; from this, we have a good basis to attract new clients or customers. A negative review or evaluation can have severe impacts on future business ambitions.

Think of, for example, a restaurant you have frequented for several years. The food was always good and the personnel friendly, but then the owners decided to increase their profits by raising prices and cutting down on the quality of their ingredients. You may forgive a disappointing experience once, but if this happens a second time, the chances are that you will never go back. Even if the changes were reversed, the damage has been done.

Positive feedback and validation are doubly important for a solopreneur, especially for those of us who are introverts. If the client base is limited, we must ensure that we give our entire focus during the hours we are being paid for. But this isn’t enough; we must push for approval, thus validation, at every step. This can be tricky to do without sounding ridiculous.

We should formalise the client’s acceptance and approval process as part of your contract. Identifying milestones, documenting the required approvals at the beginning, and completing each milestone is one way to do it. At least you won’t sound like a small child constantly seeking attention.

Solopreneurs need to be constantly aware of any shortfalls in their skills and take action to improve their knowledge in the area. All client feedback, positive and negative, must be critically analysed with any valid points addressed. The approval documents will prove helpful here; written feedback is always more valuable than a pat on the back or a verbal thank-you. The documents become part of the project’s record.

Fear of Failure

I’m sure we all go through moments where we’re scared that we’ll fail at one task or project. This feeling is naturally exacerbated when one is a solopreneur with very few clients. Failure in this situation could prove disastrous. This, in turn, may lead to a spiral of anxiety and fear if we let it.

Instead, we must accept the possibility of failure and consider it along with our planning and contractual obligations. In the software consulting industry, in my opinion, it’s nigh on impossible to give guarantees. The nature and inherent complexity of software mean that it isn’t yet an exact science. There will always be hidden complications, technical limitations, and unforeseen issues. With this in mind, it would be ridiculous to give cast-iron guarantees.

Knowing this and, doubtless, similar unknowns in other industries give the consultant shelter when a project fails for reasons outside their control. But this is a worst-case scenario. We can eliminate the fear of failure by knowing our discipline for daily tasks and agreements. We also know that, no matter what happens, we will succeed. Even if not in the manner that we had anticipated.

Rejection and Criticism

Every client is precious when running a small business, especially as a one-person band. Losing a client hurts us and does not just impact our confidence. The financial consequences can be terminal for the business unless another replacement client can be found quickly.

The possibility of a client terminating the contract can often be anticipated as long as we have tried and tested client feedback methods in place. This can be semi-formal or informal conversations, but it is always better to lean toward formality. This always comes over as more professional, no matter how well we get on with the client.

Just as important is building a respectful relationship with the client; if you are viewed as a valued member of the client’s team, then you are more likely to be aware of any impending changes within the client’s business that may affect your agreements. With more formal constructive feedback agreements, criticism can be taken in and acted upon long before it becomes an issue.

Neither rejection nor criticism are pleasant to be on the receiving end of. But with preparation, we can mitigate the impacts.

Final Thoughts:

No matter the current status of your fledgling business, the most vital ingredient is a diverse range of clients. This can be extremely difficult, as I know from my experiences this year, but we don’t just give up. If one approach didn’t work, then try something else. Better yet, try several different methods in parallel; at some point, we will find the right one.

We solopreneurs are not in a sprint; this is a long-distance endeavour. Tell yourself that failure is not an option (there’s that quote again; which movie is this from?). On that note, I wish all my readers a relaxing holiday, just one more newsletter until a new and challenging year.

I would love to hear from you; if you comment, I can guarantee that I will reply, though it may take a day or two. 😉

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KodifyIT B.V. is an advisory bureau targeting businesses that have either been on the receiving end of a failed project or are aware of the potential pitfalls and wish to mitigate as much risk as possible while developing a project’s client requirements. We aim to side-step any issues before they cost time and money.

I apologise to my readers for some of the spellings you may feel are incorrect. I was born and brought up in the United Kingdom, and this is the spelling I am comfortable with (Grammarly is happy with it anyway).