Eight years ago, I was laid off for the second time in two years. I had no experience in starting a business. I didn’t even know that I wanted to start a business. All I knew was that I couldn’t remain at an employer’s mercy.
I was the only source of income in a house of five as we raised three growing boys. The pressure was on. Stress was high. I was an emotional wreck.
Eight years later, I remain the only source of income in my home. All of that income was earned as a business owner.
It’s been an insane ride. I still struggle to believe that this is my life. But I’ve learned so much along the way.
The Solopreneur Project was created to tell that story.
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My Why
The foundation of this project is understanding why you are doing what you’re doing. It’s about giving yourself direction, motivation, and permission. When you have that foundation, decision making crystalizes.
Our oldest son is a cancer survivor. A golfball-sized tumor was found lodged between his aorta and spine at the age of two and a half. It forever changed our perspective and what was important to us.
I’m done wasting time. Wasting time on unnecessary phone calls. Wasting time fighting through traffic. And wasting time sitting in pointless meetings.
Whatever I did was going to be on my terms. It was going to help me build a business around what was important.
I’m not motivated to make the most money or be famous. I’m motivated by the prospect of free time, spending more of it with my family.
Who Is This For?
The Solopreneur Project is for people with a business model similar to mine.
- You focus on online content creation (blog, video, podcast)
- You sell a digital product (training or memberships)
- You teach how to do something through tutorials
- You build an email list
You could be successful or struggling to find that success. You may be established or just about to get going.
This project is for people who deal with the unique challenges of being a solopreneur.
What Is the Solopreneur Project?
The Solopreneur Project is a simple email campaign. It’s completely free. None of the content lives on my website or any website. Every day, you’ll get a different email.
It is still being built, but here is what it looks like at the moment:
- My “Big Why”
- Create without judgment
- Does it energize you?
- The freedom to say “NO”
- Establish your core values
- Following the crowd
- Something you own
- Create a routine
- Evergreen vs. Nevergreen
- The Hustle Fallacy
- The permission
- An evolution: Will they pay for it?
- On pricing
- On discounts
- Misfits and how they hurt your business
- The loneliness of going solo
At the end of many of these emails, I give you a short assignment. You can share the results with me or not. But the purpose is to keep you on task and help you assemble your direction and purpose.
Why Am I Doing This?
It’s been eight years! During the past couple, I’ve been looking for a way to share what I’ve learned as a solopreneur. I’ve written some blog posts about entrepreneurship. Last year, we experimented with a private community for entrepreneurs.
Eight years from now, will I be writing about Facebook ads? What will the state of Facebook even be? These questions are major motivators for me.
I am in a position to share information that could help a lot of people. Ultimately, my goal is to make an impact.
I don’t have any special training. As a result, one mental obstacle for me was always was the belief I wasn’t qualified to start a business. I was wrong.
I’m not saying that doing this is easy. And there is a long list of challenges that we face as solopreneurs that most people don’t understand. But you can do this, too.
The Solopreneur Project is completely free. One reason I’m doing it is to see where it takes me. I’m using tactics to create this project that I discuss in the project itself.
It may lead to a new product or a new community. I’m doing this to learn whether that’s possible. Your feedback will help me learn more about how I can help you.
Join Me!
If you’re not a solopreneur, that’s fine! Ignore this post (although you got this far, sheesh!).
But, if it feels like this post was written with you in mind, I’d love to have you along for the ride. Let’s figure this out together.