Should I Quit My Job: Part 4 of 4 – Exploring Solopreneurs, Entrepreneurs & Digitally Native Brands

by IAmSavvy | Dec 18, 2022 | Finance

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:

• Sticking with an undesirable job vs. jumping on the Great Resignation bandwagon
• Nontraditional employment like gig work, freelancers, and side-hustles
• The Solo Ager and the consequences of not having a retirement plan

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 is going into business for herself; she wants to be the boss; she needs to use her passion to earn money
  • She is not the boss, her customers are, and if she can’t please them, she’s out of business
  • Sam’s first objective is to serve her community, not pay her bills
  • Sam cannot serve her community if she doesn’t know who they are

• You cannot run a business without a plan
  • 41% of businesses do not have a plan
  • Businesses with a plan grow 30% faster than ones that don’t
  • A plan gives you a path to follow when times get tough. It can stop you from making emotional decisions.

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:

• Create and sell books about yoga or meditation
• Selling yoga equipment and clothing
• Selling yoga print-on-demand items
• Meditation courses and webinars

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…

• A plumber work on a leaky pipe
• Someone do your taxes
• A tech fix your computer
• A relative write an article for your website

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

• Treat your business like a business if you expect to get paid
• Have a plan and know your end goal
• Know your community and how you will serve it
• Bring your problem-solving skills and patience
• Delegate tasks as soon as you can afford to
• Automate as much of your business as possible
• Never rely on just a service – find an evergreen product you can promote that compliments your service

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.

Student Loan Relief Program – Getting Prepared

by IAmSavvy | Oct 9, 2022 | Finance

There are 92.8 million Americans caught in the $1.75 trillion debt crisis. I’m addressing the small group who have been paying student loans for 20 years. More than likely, you’ve seen the Student Loan Debt Relief program bulletins. You’ve probably deleted them.

Why? You’ve tried several times to get from under the crushing debt of student loans. You’ve applied to income-driven repayment plans to lower your monthly payments. Comically, you’re told at your current income; your monthly payment will increase. Here’s more shocking news:

Of the two million borrowers paying on student loans, only 32 borrowers have qualified for loan cancellation.

There are so many scams out there it is hard to know who to trust. You don’t think there is a way out at this point, so you’ve stopped trying.

Imagine if you could wipe out your 20-year student loan debt in a matter of weeks

I hope it has your interest. If you’ve been suffering under the weight of your student loan debt, you have nothing to lose by trying. Go to Student Aid.gov and find out what you need to do to apply. Here are some interesting facts from their FAQ:

• Up to $20,000 in debt relief – if you have ever received a Pell Grant

• • As long as you received at least one Pell Grant of any amount, you qualify for $20,000 in debt relief
• Up to $10,000 in debt relief – if you have not received a Pell Grant
• Defaulted loans are eligible for debt relief
• Easy process
  • A short form – you don’t even have to log in to a site
• Fast debt relief
  • Qualified borrowers can expect debt relief in weeks.

Let the possibility sink in

You’re probably laughing and rolling your eyes. What would it feel like if you had $20,000 less debt by the end of the year? Would it feel like a victory? That alone should give you incentive to take a look.

Of course, there are those that are opposed to the debt relief program. We don’t know the outcome. Let’s have faith that it will go through as promised. The Student Loan Relief application will (tentatively) be released Monday, October 17, 2022. Be ready.

Gig Work – A game that is moving in the wrong direction

by IAmSavvy | Aug 21, 2022 | Finance

CAUTION: This may be an uncomfortable conversation that may trigger some of you. It may make you defensive. This article isn’t to stand in judgment of anyone. It is an eye-opening account of where gig work is headed in this nation, and what you need to do to build a sustainable income that grows.

The Party Line: Be Your Own Boss! Work On Your Own Schedule! You’re In Control!

Notice they never promise you’ll make enough to cover your bills.

Jada became very disillusioned with Corporate America. She was in so much pain that she didn’t care about the consequences. She just decided that she wanted out – NOW, and she quit her job. She did not have a plan, so she thought she could make quick cash working for a rideshare company.

Surprisingly, signing up with this company wasn’t as easy as she thought. Of course, she didn’t have to provide a resume, but she had to complete an application and a background check, her car had to pass an inspection, and it was a two-week process to get through onboarding.

Are You Really Your Own Boss?

Jada thought to herself, “Funny, for a company that says, I’m my own boss, there sure are a lot of rules I have to follow. The company “randomly” asked her to pull over, take a selfie and send it to the company to prove it was her that was driving.

She was “randomly” selected so many times she wondered if she was randomly selected or racially profiled. The company would freeze her account until she sent the image. She heard stories of accounts being frozen or deactivated if they refused too many rides.

Where Jada lives, the current rate is $0.96 per mile, and the average trip is 5.41 miles. So, Jada earned an average of $5.19 per ride. She is at the mercy of the client to give her a tip to make a difference. Ask yourself, would you give someone a $5 – $10 tip for a service that cost 5 bucks? Another fun fact, rideshare companies don’t pay for the miles it takes to get to the client. Jada can drive 12 miles, without getting paid, to pick up a fare traveling less than six miles. Nice!

Jada learned there was no security in this role. If she put all her eggs in one basket financially, she could wake up to find her account deactivated. She wasn’t the boss; the company that owned the rideshare platform was in control.

Jada found that gig work was just as frustrating as the hourly wages she left behind. Jada was working on someone else’s platform. She didn’t own it, and the owner reserves the right to change the rules (to their advantage) anytime they see fit.

Are You Picking Your Own Hours? What happened to work-life balance?

Here at The Savvy Solo, we have interviewed some drivers that work at Uber. In our city, they congregate at the airports because that’s where they get the best fares. The drivers that had larger vehicles commanded more wages. If they were lucky, they could make $200 before noon, and they were done with their day. With Uber, if you don’t have a car (or want a larger vehicle to make more money), you can rent one. We met other drivers with compact cars that made money, but they worked 16 – 18 hours a day picking up fares. So, where is the work-life balance?

Apps like Instawork allow you to pick up shifts doing hospitality, food service, or warehouse work. It’s difficult to get the premium shifts you want, so you could be forced to take what’s left over, or you may get nothing at all.

Isolation – The irony of autonomy

When there’s something weird, and it don’t look good. Who you gonna call? NOBODY! If you thought you were fighting a faceless corporation, try to argue for your rights with an email or automated system. There are no unions, and there are no systems of checks and balances. So, your choices are to deal with it or leave.

Please remember we are describing one gig work category involving physical labor and little work experience. Because there are more laborers than jobs, companies are lowering their wage and raising the requirements to exclude more workers. This dynamic is beginning to spread through all forms of gig work.

Freelancers

This type of work does offer some advantages. You can sign up with multiple platforms. You can have multiple income streams. Your expertise can command higher pay, and you can find contract work that lasts for months or years.

With Uber, god bless em’; they will let you keep the whole $0.96 per mile you make. Platforms like Upwork take 5% – 20% of what you make. Is it fair? Probably not, but I rather make $480 than $5.19 any day.

Are you setting your own pay rates?

Let’s research white paper writers on Upwork. This is a premium writing style that demands expertise, it’s a costly undertaking. At the minimum, the charge to create a white paper is $3,000 because it takes 4 – 6 weeks to create a white paper. White papers entail gathering info from the client, research, interviews, first drafts, approvals, etc. You cannot deliver a compelling white paper in a week. That is an unreasonable demand that is probably expected by the company.

Researching white paper writers on Upwork, I found Galina, who charges $1,000 to create white papers. She claims she has 12 years’ experience. There’s no way she should charge so little for such massive work. This is the unfortunate side effect of gig work. It pits worker against worker. Out of desperation, one worker sets a rate far below the value just to get the job. Now, everyone is in a mad race to the bottom dollar.

Are you in control?

What you are paying for is the Upwork branding, their trustworthiness, and traffic that allows you to connect with businesses that need a particular service. Here is the rub with freelance work, you have to put yourself out there. Like any business marketing yourself and getting your name out there is your responsibility.

You have to market and brand yourself. You need to go beyond passively slapping your picture and rates on a platform. Building relationships, networking, repeat business, and referrals are your life. It’s why people that use platforms like Upwork or Shopify never see a dime. No one is going to hire you if they don’t know you exist.

On the other hand, you work for your client. You believe you can work whenever you want, eh? Well, your client begs to differ. You are on their timetable. You must meet deadlines, and create impeccable work. No matter how demanding your client is, your attitude must remain professional.

Because one crabby, unreasonable client can ruin your reputation.

Receiving a low rating will make it difficult, but not impossible to get more work. So, try to keep a level head. While your clients interview you, you must interview them. Or like with a salaried position, you’ll end up working long hours for unreasonable pay.

Does gig work offer the freedom and autonomy you were looking for, or did Corporate America just build a better mouse trap?

Here is an article titled, “The Uberization Of Work: Pros And Cons Of The Gig Economy” that is a must-read. It’s pre-pandemic, but it still brings up valid points.

Gig work means a corporation doesn’t have to hold any responsibility for its employees. They don’t have to provide health insurance, 401Ks, unemployment benefits, or taxes. If you think about it, it must be like Christmas time for big business.

It’s only a matter of time before they look at full-time employees and say, “Why do I need you? I can replace you with an employee that will do twice the work, for half the pay, and I don’t have to pay them benefits.” That’s company ethics. As you see, it’s already in the works as Google has replaced half their staff with gig workers. Everyone loses. Well, not everyone, the house (company) always wins because it’s their game.

Side Hustles

This is an inspiring story that describes the exception, not the norm. The title is a bit deceiving; it’s just a hook to get you to read the story. Here are the important points that aren’t found in the title.

• She began her online business in June 2020.
• By working on her business, every day, she earned a following and a large company found her and asked her to work for a client
• While she was building 100 videos, she hustled every day on Tik Tok
• Her first launch was in November 2020 – she earned $15,000
• In October 2021, 15 months later, she made $100,000 in a single day

This is a step in the right direction. A side hustle is a fancy name for a second job. However, since this is a job of your own choosing, we hope you are picking something you like to do. Remember, this story is the exception, not the norm. Social media can speed your path, but it takes hard work and risk to make a side hustle profitable.

If you’re doing it right, there are many benefits. It’s your creative path. You can show your expertise and build something you are proud to share with the world and make money. That is the true spirit of entrepreneurship. You get paid if you share your knowledge and solve someone else’s problems. Everyone wins.

Here are some tips.

• Create a website. Own your process. Do not put your info on a platform you do not control.
• Social media can help get you started but do not leave your business in the hands of someone that can take away your income with a single change of an algorithm.
• Build an email list. Your email list is yours; Google can’t take it away from you.

Sometimes, we work gig work because we feel the most valuable thing we own is that which is outside of ourselves. For example, Jada picked Uber because she felt the only thing valuable about her was her car, so she chose Uber.

The biggest takeaway from this story is how Anna made $100,000. She made it by teaching. Post-pandemic, teaching is one of the most profitable online ventures you can invest in.

We’ll, talk about it in Part IV of this series – Self-Employed, Solopreneurs, and Entrepreneurs.