I’ve been running an online business for 10 years.
In the last few years, I’ve spent more than $51,500 on business coaches. Most of their advice is terrible. I wasted thousands of dollars so now you don’t have to.
Here are my only 6 rules for solopreneurs.
Sell painkillers, not vitamins
Nice-to-haves don’t sell well.
If you want to make money as a solopreneur, you need to ethically turn what you do into a pain killer.
Vitamin = I’ll help you be healthier when you’re ready.
Painkiller = I’ll help you lose 20 pounds in 30 days, so you can attract the love of your life.
No pain, no gain (for you or the customer).
Be specific with how you help people
Vague offers don’t convert.
Every Tom, D*ck, and Harry promises “better habits,” “better life,” or “better at love.” 20 years ago this worked. But now we’ve seen so many irresistible offers that deliver zero results, we don’t trust vague anymore.
Specific results with specific timeframes are the only offers that convert.
Example: “I’ll help you start writing on online. We go live in 48 hours. By the end of 28 days you’ll have 28 essays and 50 email subscribers by using my Timmy Boy content operating system.”
Plan to be in business for 5 years
Last week a lady wanted to join my annual program for a week.
The promise is to add an extra $20K a month to what she’s doing. She wanted us to do that in a week for $200. Her problem was she wanted to start a business in a week for $200. But that’s illogical.
I told her we couldn’t help her and she left pissed off.
If you want to be a solopreneur it won’t happen in one week or even one month. Anyone telling you that is full of the brown stuff.
Business is a long-term game.
Aim for 5 years, and if you do it in 12 months, then you’re smarter than most and should treat yourself to lunch at Red Lobster.
Build an offer stack
If you only sell one thing you’ll bore people. I call it offer fatigue.
You post on social media, build an email list, then sell one product/service. You always sell the same thing at the same time every month for roughly the same price. What happens is you become boring.
You’re like a Marvel superhero — predictable.
When people always know what you’re going to do next they tune you out. They stop paying attention. They think they know everything about you and your boring business.
The solution is to be unpredictable.
It’s to NOT always be open for business. It’s to run launches. It’s to change up your offer. It’s to constantly repackage and rename everything you do.
The other issue with single-offer solopreneurs is they try to jam every customer into a one-size-fits-all solution.
But humans are all different.
We all have different needs. Some like do-it-yourself. Some want you to hold their hand the whole way and hug them when they’re lonely.
Here’s an example of an offer stack:
- Paid newsletter
- 1–1 coaching
- Workshops
- Paid community
Build an offer stack if you want to make more money and get on the path to $1M a year.
Choose the right mentor
Most wannabe solopreneurs never make much money.
They publish on platforms like this and occasionally pick up $50-$100 in royalties. But they don’t create a full-time income.
Instead of getting outside help they refuse because they see it as an expense. A small few get through this roadblock, but then they choose one coach or guru to work with and it doesn’t work out.
So they throw a tantrum on social media & say “this person scammed me!”
Just because you tried one thing one time, doesn’t mean it’ll work. Successful solopreneurs try multiple strategies and work with multiple paid mentors until they find what works for THEM.
Everyone, including me, needs outside help. If you pay the wrong mentor that’s on you. Your job is to do your due diligence and pick one of the few mentors who actually can grow your business.
Warning:
If you’re not willing to invest in your self-education and self-improvement, then solopreneurship and online business aren’t for you.
Why?
Because you don’t know what you don’t know. And going it alone with trial and error has the same odds as winning the lottery.
The most likely outcome if you go it alone is you’ll hit a few roadblocks, become frustrated, and give up.
It’s faster to hunt in packs as a solopreneur.
Stay away from one-path gurus
Many solopreneurs listen to too many gurus.
One guru says “choose a narrow niche.” Another guru says “you are the niche.” Screw all that.
Gurus argue with each other for entertainment and “likes.” I’d rather make money than look smart by getting likes that don’t equal cash.
There is no one path to solopreneurship. Instead of trusting a guru with what will work online, I just try stuff and look at the data.
Every decision I make is data-backed. If something works, I double down on it. If it doesn’t work, I iterate until I find what does.
Being data-backed made me a millionaire. Why not you?
