Today I want to focus on those who want to grow and garner more clients, but remain a solopreneur. Being a solopreneur means you’re a one woman or one man show; you handle everything yourself. It is totally possible to grow as a solopreneur. Here are a few tips to follow that can assist you in doing so successfully:
- Explain solopreneurship to your clients – Let your clients know that you intend to remain a one person entity, so-to-speak and that you’ll be handling all of the work personally. This way everyone has the same expectations when you take off or become ill. Your clients know that they may have to find a temp to fill in for you and won’t become frustrated, should that happen.
- Use Online tools to your advantage – Make sure you are utilizing all the online tools you can to ensure your time is freed up to assist clients in the best way possible. Want to find out which tools work best for an online business owner? Read “Online Tools for Entrepreneurs and Freelancers“.
- Keep your Business in order – Make sure you touch base with a good CPA and possibly an attorney to make sure you’re on track and getting all the tax breaks you deserve as an entrepreneur.
Follow these tips to continue to grow as a solopreneur and let me know if you need help.
This is Shilonda Downing, signing out for Virtual Work Team LLC!
Another great article Shilonda! I have often thought about just being a solopreneur, and up to this point it has worked well for me. If I know that a certain day I will not be able to work, or if I have an appointment that will keep me from my work, I always let my clients know ahead of time and remind them a day or two before.
The downside I have found with being a solopreneur, is that sometimes “life happens”, an unexpected emergency that pulls me from my work. In these cases it can be harmful to the clients business as well. I like the idea of being able to let my clients decide if it is ok for a team member to complete that day’s tasks. So I am torn which is the better option for my business, but at this time I am still a solopreneur and enjoy every bit of it.
Teri
Hi Teri:
Thanks for the compliment on the article Teri and you’re awesome at keeping clients apprised of when you’ll be out. I know that personally! 🙂 I agree with you that the emergencies can pose a challenge and in that case you always have a Virtual Work Team member that can act as back up to help your clients; keep that in mind. That way you too have a team that you can outsource to, even as a solopreneur. That means if you truly enjoy solopreneurship, you don’t have to change things up, yet have the peace of mind that if life happens, you have reliable staff at VWT that can pitch in. Great thoughts and input as always!
Shilonda Downing
Virtual Work Team LLC
Great article, Shilonda! I myself am in a similar boat to Teri – enjoying my solopreneurship, but also experiencing the ‘hiccups’ which accompany Life. In instances like that it would indeed be a plus to be able to have other team members who could pick up the slack for that time period, so that it is not the client who suffers.
Hi my friend Gillian!
Thanks so much for the complient and chiming in! I truly apologize for the late response, my spam plug-in is a bit over zealous and keeps marking some comments as spam that it should not, so again my apologies. I love your comments and input and you’re right about the hiccups of solopreneurship. It’s not for everyone, as many find that it’s almost a necessity to eventually hire a team as they grow. However, I thought I focus on the fact that it can be done, and some prefer that, so I thought I’d outline ways to succeed when you’re by yourself. Thanks so much again for sharing your unfiltered and honest thoughts about the way things really are 🙂
Shilonda
Virtual Work Team LLC