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Planning to start your small business alone? While you may already have a plan to work on, have you thought things through?
You will find no person more ambitious and dedicated than an aspiring solopreneur. They fight harder to prove their business worthy, not to the world but themselves. This is what sets them apart from everyone else.
However, being a solopreneur in competitive business industry is not easy - you will have to overcome and tackle a plethora of challenges before you make it big.
We have penned down some failproof yet handy tips and tricks to help you become a successful solopreneur in no time and answering that challenging question how to be a successful solopreneur.
Before you start your venture, you need to have a well-defined and well-thought out niche based on your expertise and skills. Your niche showcases your talents and drives your marketing campaigns by targeting relevant and potential customers.
You will have to keep in mind that there will be others offering the same products or services as you in the market to beat the competition, and you will need to level up. The best way is to find a new angle and bring in some innovation in your niche.
If you're not sure how your skills could be turned into CASH, you could chat with a business coach that would help you identify your specific set of skills.
Here is a step-by-step guide on how you can choose your niche as a solopreneur:
Before you begin your solopreneur business, you would have worked for someone in the past. Be it in your school, college, or as an intern. You can take a sneak peek at your past and analyze what projects you have enjoyed most and performed well.
This will help you shortlist your business niche based on your expertise and experience. Remember, there is no rush. You can take all the time you want because your niche and how you manage it will determine your success.
It is important that you are passionate about your niche and business goals, or you will be shutting down in no time. If you lose interest in your work, it becomes a burden.
If you cannot pick the best option from your list of "possible niches," you need to narrow down your options. The best way to do that is to analyze and evaluate if you can use your niche to conform to consumer demands and solve their problems while sustaining a profitable business.
You can leverage the research keywords to identify the customer pain points or indulge in your niche-related market survey to see if you can help.
If you are able to come up with the solutions, your business will be niche-ready. If not, go back to step 1.
High competition means high demand, but it also tells you that it will be hard to bring up your brand name and survive unless you do it the right way.
The easiest way to oust your competition is to build your empire on their weaknesses. For instance, if your research tells you that your competitor is producing low-quality content or lacks transparency with their potential clients, you can use them in your favor.
Your business will end even before it starts taking off if you fail to determine the profitability of your defined niche.
Search the in-demand product or service for your niche and spread the word about it on various platforms. It will help you create awareness, promote your brand and monetize your niche.
It is always a smart decision to test any and every one of your business ideas and business skills. It shows you how things will work out in the future. Moreover, testing your ideas empowers you to decide if you want to continue with it or change your track while no damage has been done yet.
To capitalize on a lucrative market and become a successful business owner, making a business plan that aligns with your business goals and your niche is crucial.
An impeccable business plan can serve various purposes as it provides a road map to your solopreneur journey. It is all a part of the plan, from market research and business name to creating an avid online presence.
Moreover, your business plan tells you what business tools you can leverage to strengthen your business approach. For example, you will need web hosting to create a great website that will be the face of your business and an avenue for customer service.
Your business plan enables you to highlight your needs and summarize your business goals to the people you may hire for different services such as blog writing or web development.
Also, in your business plan, be specific about whether your business falls into the traditional or the lean time category. The traditional business plans are more common and specifically structured. While the lead startups are also structured but less commonly written in a summarized way.
Here are the reasons that showcase the importance of a business plan:
The business plan lays down the foundation for your new business. It is the key to success to organize, operate and grow your little venture into a multi-million-dollar business- even in a limited time.
Your business plan is an outline, a living project that shows how you can grow in terms of revenue and traffic over the next 3-5 years. It creates an executive summary of crucial things like product development, changes in physical products, etc.
An avid business plan enables better, more informed decision-making. At times, accompanied with the right piece of advice, it helps you take a step back and create a new angle to the business approach to increase profitability.
Frequently, when you start small, your business will require funding. Especially if you plan to grow rapidly. Your promising business plans with potential and success strategies can get you, investors, or new business partners.
Write the business plan specifically, said no successful entrepreneur ever. You can write in any format. It is not how you write and what you write that matters. Your business plan should meet your needs and customer demands and align smoothly with the business goals.
The best way to promote yourself as a solopreneur is to make your brand personal and genuine. Tell a story, connect with the audience, and reach them via different social channels like Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
Your identity can relate to the customer persona and give them a reason to approach your business. Keep in mind that you are steering a one-person business amongst other highly competitive businesses. This is why you need to go up and beyond to capture and engage the target audience. How to be a successful solopreneur can depend on your brand alone.
You can leverage all forms of marketing, such as affiliate marketing, email marketing, and social media marketing, but if you fail to hit the right chord of your customers-* it will all go in vain.
So, do not hide behind your product or service. Instead, come forward and tell the audience that you care and that you are there to solve their problems with state-of-the-art solutions.
Here is how you can do it:
Your business will disappear into thin air without a proper marketing approach. Dedicate a specific amount of your profit to marketing every month. It will help you keep your brand fresh in the customer's minds.
In today's era, digital marketing is an absolute necessity for every size and type of business. It allows you to capture and engage a profitable market share size without much hassle. Moreover, you can reinvest as much as you can and as little as you want.
You can use several platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook, etc., for free marketing and online advertising. In addition, you can use paid marketing tools such as PPC campaigns, affiliate marketing, social advertisements, etc.
Here are some of the must-have digital marketing that you should reinvest in:
Bad times come without any warning. Business deals are often unpredictable and fluctuate as per certain external factors. One moment you are rolling in cash, while the next thing you face is a huge loss in some project.
This is why it is crucial to have a backup plane and cash reserve to save your business from getting extinct. The easiest way to handle money problems is to always save a little amount from the you make and reinvest the capital into potential projects. And also never invest all your money in one project. As they say, "never put all your eggs in one basket."
As a solopreneur, your job is not to stack clients. But, to maintain your success, you need to retain the long-term clients because it is quality over quantity for you.
Many people ask "how to be a successful solopreneur," and to that I say "CARE ABOUT YOUR CUSTOMER."
With limited time on your hands, you cannot deal with too many people or solve their problems, and it will only lead to more complications. So, as you grow and adapt to technologies, do not lose your long-term clients to grow the customer list.
If anything goes wrong, you will lose them all.
You are your boss and have no pressure of dealing with employees or office politics. Therefore, you can leverage your time to pursue your passion and bring more innovation into your business model.
However, you will still be stuck with many business-related chores such as sales, administrative work, or updating your website because you are alone. Instead of wasting your time on such tasks, you can spend it on more profitable, revenue-generating tasks.
You may ask how?
By simply integrating a Client Relationship Management (CRM) software or other automated tools. It will take your burden off your shoulders by managing contacts, increasing productivity, scheduling meetings, etc.
While you are confident in turning your passion into your profession and creating a solo business empire, you may get stuck at several stages. From market research to surviving and growing in the competition, you will need guidance from someone who has expertise in your niche.
Do not feel shy to get help from a business coach or mentor. They can be your family, friends, fellow solopreneurs, business partners, or even online gurus that can provide useful business insights and strategies.
The steering wheel for your business remains in your hands, and your mentor will act as the navigator to keep you on the right track that leads to success.
What are you waiting for?
Now that you know you have the potential to create a business out of your interests and passions start right away. Initially, as a solopreneur, your journey will not be a bed of roses, but in the end, if you manage to attain success, it will all be worth it.
Also, understand that in the beginning, people — even some of the closest relations, will not believe in you or assume that you are not serious with your profession. So you will have to keep moving and keep growing and now you should have an excellent understanding of how to be a successful solopreneur.
Ronald Osborne is an experienced business coach. With over ten years of experience, an MBA specializing in Finance, and several multimillion-dollar contracts. Ronald has been able to help large telecommunication companies, law firms, trade businesses, and everyday business owners improve their business and take it to the next level.