A quarterly tribute to the power of one. Here’s an inspirational quote to help you reflect on the past quarter and take it with you in the New Year. Download it as a beautiful background for your computer or a poster to hang up. Let it be a constant reminder in the New Year that you are braver than you believe, stronger than you feel, and smarter than you think.
This is part four of our four-part series on quitting your job. We saved the best for last. Is being your own boss the right move for you? Let’s explore the options. Since it’s year-end, it can be food for thought for the New Year.
In our 4-part series, we have explored:
Let’s cover the plights and pleasures of solopreneurship with this illustration (in bold type).
Sam loved yoga; she had been studying it for years. She gave 1:1 instruction to her friends via Zoom. They thought she was a brilliant instructor and encouraged her to become an online instructor. Sam was unhappy at work; she wanted to be her own boss. She decided to hang out her virtual shingle as an online yoga instructor. She became a solopreneur because she heard many amazing stories about one-person businesses.
Of the different types of businesses, solopreneurs are most likely to fail. It isn’t easy to run a business on your own, hold responsibility for every task, and complete enough work to pay your bills and grow the business. Competition is fierce running a business as an individual for three reasons:
1) you need no expertise
2) the cost of entry can be non-existent
3) virtually anyone can claim to be a business owner
When Sam ran out of friends and family willing to pay $150/hour for a yoga session, she began to struggle. Without a network, she found it difficult to find paying customers. She started experiencing the typical challenges of running a small business.
The WordPress site she put together on her own started getting hacked. She tried building her presence on social media but failed. Sam was a free spirit. She went into business because she didn’t like being bogged down by the mundane. Sam really didn’t have a business, marketing, or financial plan. All Sam wanted was to make money doing something she loved. Sam was frustrated because her endeavor wasn’t working.
Where did Sam come up with the arbitrary $150/hour payment? Did she come up with that number because she needed to pay her bills, or was it a fair price that the market would bear? Did she research what her competitors charged?
Sam’s first love is yoga. But she’s attempting to be a web designer, accountant, marketer, social media manager, and everything else. It’s a recipe for disaster and burnout.
Sam was desperate for money, so she started dropping prices, hoping it would bring in revenue. As she started researching her competitors, she started pricing her services drastically lower than her competitors. In a few weeks, her competitors started dropping their prices as well.
This is one of the dangers when people start a company with no business acumen. This sets up everyone involved to fail. Let’s look at some of the fallacies:
Sam dropped her prices because she was desperate; nothing clouds the judgment quite as fast as desperation. Sam devalued herself, her services, and her community. In a race to keep up with her, her competitors also lowered their prices. All these “business owners” put themselves in a no-win scenario called The Race to the Bottom.
Sam started to run out of money, so she found a day job. She could learn to run a business and succeed at her online endeavor without the added pressure of lack of funds.
She started by asking herself why she was interested in yoga. Sam was in her 50s when she started having back trouble. She found her niche and her community, and it opened new opportunities. Sam used her passion for yoga to help women looking for a natural remedy for back and joint pain. She changed her business from a 1:1 service to offering yoga instruction (a product) on a learning platform. She learned to connect with her community through email, a newsletter, and a weekly podcast.
As she earned money, she invested it back into her business. She found contractors to help her grow her business. She worked on what she loved, creating more yoga videos per her customers’ requests. Sam hired contractors to help with other aspects of her business as needed.
According to Harvard Business Review, the purpose of a business is “to make a profit so that the business can do something more or better. A good business is a community with a purpose.” Does solopreneurship fit that definition of a business?
You cannot grow by being an island to yourself. It doesn’t work in your personal life and will not work as a business owner. When running a business, involvement in your community is imperative. In other words, finding your tribe, finding out how you fit in, and finding a way to help that community thrive is the basis of a business.
Let’s look at the digitally native brand Warby and Parker. This eyeglass brand was born and raised online. However, they expanded as far as they could online. When they asked their community what was missing, they answered brick-and-mortar stores. This year, to serve their community, they have opened 200 stores.
If we look at Sam’s story, this type of expansion is available for her. There are many opportunities open for her:
Sam could open a brick-and-mortar yoga studio or a chain of studios. The possibilities are endless. Open your mind to new opportunities.
You may think, “Hey, you’re raining on my solopreneur parade.” This is The Savvy Solo; we love nothing more than to see the solo community succeed. However, to be savvy, you must know when it’s best to stand on your own or seek assistance.
While running your solo business, have you ever had…
Congratulations, you’re an entrepreneur. If you ever had someone assist you with a task while you continued to work on your business, that’s entrepreneurship.
The definition of entrepreneur is creating a new business or organizing limited resources to capitalize on a business opportunity. There’s a fine line between solo- and entrepreneurship; solopreneurs would probably be described as a Lifestyle Entrepreneur.
How to succeed as a solopreneur
Lastly, eat your elephant one bite at a time. Make a New Year’s resolution to work on your business in just 10 minutes a day. Ten minutes can be the difference between learning, thriving, and earning more. Or you can do nothing and continue to struggle and make more sacrifices to survive on your shrinking paycheck. The next move is yours.
You are already living the sweet life of a Savvy Solo. How can it possibly get better? Add these three unconventional tips to your routines. You’ll soon find the better it gets, the better it gets.
When reading articles about the joys of solo living, the first comment is usually, “I’m the ruler of my domain. I can do what I want when I want!” However, being a ruler doesn’t absolve you of responsibility. There is no power in living a life of reckless abandon.
Dr. Jordan Peterson speaks about learning how to negotiate with yourself as both employer and employee. We must learn balance. As a ruler, you can lead by denial, bulldozing, gaslighting, and shaming. It will lead to a life of suffering and powerlessness. Or you can be a leader that lives to serve.
Be kind, loving, and accepting of all aspects of yourself. Lead by putting yourself first. Give yourself every opportunity to grow and reach your full potential. As a leader, you are responsible for creating a spirit of collaboration and resolving conflict within yourself. How? The Universe gave you the perfect partner – your conscious.
What is the conscious? It’s the whisper, the gentle nudge that encourages you to move forward.
Maggie wasn’t unhappy with the company she worked for, but her job made her miserable. She saw a company posting for a new job. The thought, “Apply for that job,” went through her mind for a brief second.
“Are you crazy?” she resisted. “I hate applying for jobs, and I hate it even more, when I have to interview. Why should I go through this effort for a lateral move? No, I won’t do it!” was her knee-jerk reaction. By now, she knew the consequences of not acting on those gentle impulses.
So, she applied for the new role while rolling her eyes at every new step. Did Maggie get the job? No. The manager was so impressed with Maggie that she created a new role. Maggie earned a promotion, more creative freedom, and a raise.
Don’t worry if you don’t listen to the “whisper,” it will get louder. As the Universe serves you, learn to serve yourself. Before you serve, love, and lead others, you must first master these traits in yourself.
Quote: Mastering others is strength. Mastering yourself is power. Lao Tzu
Quote: Dance like nobody’s watching; love like you’ve never been hurt.
Sing like nobody’s listening; live like it’s heaven on earth.” -Mark Twain.
Parker always disliked the side of her that people described as “mousy.” She took extreme measures to eradicate this character from her personality. To the outside world, she appeared fierce and fearless. On the inside, she was still terrified of everything.
In a last-ditch effort, she prayed to have “One Year of No Fear.” Boy, was that a dumb request. For one year, she went through hell as the Universe threw one terrifying situation after another at her.
Parker was stressed to the point her hair started to fall out, and she developed the onset of high blood pressure. A friend told her, “Parker, you have to do something to bring this under control because this type of prolonged stress kills.”
During this year, Parker listened to many spiritual teachers and their practices. She kept the methods that worked for her; the ones that didn’t, she ignored. In month 8, everything crystalized.
She finally understood how to use these new spiritual practices to navigate the difficult (and joyful) times. In one terrifying year, Parker earned the spiritual maturity she could not achieve in the past three decades.
When Parker looked at the past year, she realized she was never in danger. She created fear in her mind by catastrophizing every moment in graphic detail.
There is a tremendous spiritual lesson attached to solo living. The space you’ve decided to live in is a spiritual contract between you and the Universe. In other words, your home is a school, playground, or staging area.
The Universe sends you lessons, and you work on them. You fail, and you try again. If you pass, you get a more complex lesson. Everything you encounter has one purpose – to help you grow spiritually. It shows you that
Most of all, solo living teaches you to trust yourself. Your home is a safe place where there is no failure, judgment, or punishment except what you impose on yourself.
Ask yourself, “What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail?” Then get to it.
Have you considered doing nothing? Sometimes doing nothing is the most productive thing you can do. You must find periods in your life to unplug and do nothing.
Some are so addicted to thinking they cannot conceive of doing nothing. Let’s put a name to the addiction to thinking. It’s worry.
Albert Einstein said, “You cannot solve a problem with the same mind that created it.” Worrying will not solve a problem; it has no useful function.
Many studies show that prolonged worry keeps you in the fight or flight mode produces cortisol. These levels of stress can put your health at risk.
Here are a few sites that have articles about the importance of doing nothing:
The best part of solo living can be slow living. Finding time to do nothing can change your outlook on life, literally. Take the opportunity to work meditation into your schedule a few minutes a day and add a minute or two every week.
Watch: How to break free from worry – Eckhart Tolle
Do you feel a little lost and need help to start your journey? Need a little inspiration? Listening to uplifting podcasts is a great way to motivate yourself. Podcasts that are by women, for women, can help you decide which road to take when you get stuck at that fork in the road. They can push you forward and get you moving. Many excellent podcasts are available; here are 5 podcasts to get you started.
This is a great time to start a new habit you can take into the New Year. We won’t say something silly or cliché like, “This will change your life forever.” The only one who can change your life is you by taking steps in the direction you want to go. Listening to podcasts can help you change your mindset and inspire you to take a brave step in a new direction.
Do you have a favorite podcast that you find uplifting? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below.
Battles are raging, and rumors are flying about where we stand on Black Friday Sales. Brick-and-mortar stores are banking on online sales. Retail stores are looking at sales growth between 6% – 8%, which is slashed in half from last year. Some die-hard fans were out at 4:00 a.m. at the Mall of America to snag early-bird deals. For the most part, very few people were facing long lines or problems finding parking.
Black Friday online sales are forecasted at $9B , a barely noteworthy 1% over last years sales. Consumers are struggling and making deals with the devil (buy now, pay later and credit cards) to get through the holiday season. Inflation is definitely the Grinch that stole Christmas in 2022, as shoppers are literally choosing between Christmas gifts or putting food on the table.
Right now, consumers are holding on to their cash for dear life and hoping for better deals on Cyber Monday or price cuts closer to Christmas day.
The average American consumes 3,000 calories during a Thanksgiving mealIt’s the most wonderful time of the year. From Halloween to New Year’s Day is a rollercoaster of flavors for our tummies. We think, “I deserve to splurge. I’ll think about the diet next year.”
According to USA Today, the average American consumes 3,000 calories during a Thanksgiving meal. There is no need to eat like a bear preparing to hibernate for the winter. Unlike the bear, your food won’t run away, and there will be plenty of leftovers for tomorrow.
Practice healthy habits now that you can take with you into the New Year. Moderation is key. It’s unbelievably simple to create a healthy routine.
Believe it or not, SuperAger is not an IQ thing; it’s about how well you retain memories. SuperAgers are people over the age of 80 that have superior memories. That’s right, they can remember facts with the best of 20-year-olds.
Let’s face it, when you spend an hour looking for your keys, only to find they are in the freezer, you worry that Alzheimer’s is coming your way. Am I right? I’m not gonna kid ya; there’s a lot of geek-speak in this article, but there is one easy activity that can help us stave off dementia. Learn. Learn something new every day.
If you’re going to be a Savvy Solo who ages in place, you need to keep your mind sharp. Read, cook, go for a walk, socialize, and try something new every day. Sitting in a room by yourself, watching re-runs of Barney Miller, is not activity. Do not think because you’re 80+ you have experienced all life has to offer. You don’t have to look very hard to find new surprises every day.
It wouldn’t be right if we didn’t celebrate the Family of One at the Savvy Solo.
Picture it: A black and white picture of an old man with a bowl of soup staring out his window. A gray, depressing, dismal picture of loneliness, isolation, and despair. Get real!
Thanksgiving is a time of being with family and friends. Says who? As we say at The Savvy Solo, “That’s someone else’s truth. Is it yours?” Everyone is entitled to celebrate in a manner that’s best for them without feeling shame or judgment by others.
Personally, I spent Thanksgiving with a family member. However, for Christmas, I’m taking vacation the last week of the year, and I’m already planning a plethora of activities that I will do as a Savvy Solo – I can’t wait.
I don’t let others dictate what my life should or shouldn’t be, and neither should you. Don’t let societal pressure decide who you should be and how you should live. If you understand this quote, you know being alone is right for you.
“I enjoy being alone; my soul is at peace in the silence.”
If by chance, you were supposed to be with family and friends, but you found yourself alone, you have two choices:
In any circumstance, you always have freedom of choice. Happy holiday.
A scoop of taters: Amazon is dethroned in shoppers’ search for Black Friday deals.
Taters with a side of dressing: How to beat impulse buys and scams that can blow your holiday budget.
All the fixins: If you still feel the need to shop to you drop, get ready for Cyber Monday.