The Successful Solopreneur is an exclusive column by Christina M. DeBusk, small business and health & wellness writer. DeBusk pens this column to provide other solopreneurs the tools (and encouragement) needed to successfully build and grow their own one-person businesses. In addition to regularly contributing to Businessing Magazine, DeBusk has also been published by Country Living, Woman’s Day, and many other publications, with more than 4,500 content-related projects completed to-date.
Whenever someone asks what I do for a living and I tell them that I work from home as a freelance writer, the response is generally somewhere along the lines of: “Wow! That must be nice to work from home. I wish I could do that!” While I agree that there are a lot of perks to having a home based business—such as no long commute and always being around to collect deliveries ve … [Read more...]
As a writer and speaker who specializes in personal development and health and wellness content, I’ve spent a lot of time reading the words of wisdom offered by one of the most well-known motivational speakers ever: Tony Robbins. In fact, I just finished one of his earliest books, Awaken the Giant Within, a few months ago, which happens to be right around the same time my h … [Read more...]
No one starts a business just to fail. Yet, if you look at data provided by the Bureau of Labor Statistics regarding new business survival rates, you quickly realize that your probability of staying open continues to decline over time, with the sharpest drops occurring within the first three years. What are some of the reasons that all-too-many new businesses fail, … [Read more...]
When I meet other solopreneurs, I love hearing about how they got into business. Especially when it wasn’t something they planned to do, but more an action they felt compelled to take based on their life experiences. That’s how it was for me. If you told me 10 years ago that I would be in business for myself today, I would’ve laughed one of those deep belly laughs that ended … [Read more...]
There are almost 25 million ‘nonemployer establishments’—a.k.a. businesses with no paid employees—operating in the United States today according to the Census Bureau. Though I became one of them seven years ago, I remember when I started like it was yesterday. I had no real experience running a business. Sure, I’d helped various family members at their companies for years, wo … [Read more...]
Working as a solopreneur often means working alone. In fact, since I have no employees, it’s not uncommon for me to go days (sometimes weeks) without actually speaking to anyone other than family and friends. I’ve completed entire projects with clients I’ve never met on the phone or by video, conversing primarily via email or on project management sites. Though this makes it … [Read more...]
In my pre-solopreneur life, I attended trainings regularly. Since I was in law enforcement positions at the time, this was a must to stay current on legal changes that impacted the way I did my job. I also went through what I remember as an intense training period when I first started writing. I literally spent 16 hours a day, sitting in front of a little netbook (my neck … [Read more...]
For solopreneurs, authoring a book is like having a business card on steroids. Not only does it get your name in front of more people who would be most interested in your service or products, but it also gives you a higher level of credibility because it establishes you as an expert in your field. While some people stress over the actual writing of the book, it was the … [Read more...]
“I want to go into business to fail” said no solopreneur ever. In fact, it is the hope for great success that keeps many of us going day in and day out, even when it feels like things just aren’t going our way. While sometimes success is achieved, in part, by luck—such as by being in the right place at the right time—the reality is that having certain traits is by and large a … [Read more...]
One of the biggest obstacles I’ve faced as a solopreneur is marketing. Because I didn’t know much about business ownership before deciding to write for a living, I had only envisioned days sitting at my computer, doling out article after article. It never even entered my mind that I’d have to spend a decent amount of my time also getting people to hire me. However, I quickly … [Read more...]
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