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.
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, … [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 … [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...]
As a solopreneur, you wear many hats. You’re both employer and employee, which also means that you are bookkeeper and accountant, appointment scheduler and marketer, customer service representative and tax preparer. And that’s just a few of your roles. At the end of the day (the incredibly long and sometimes extremely tiresome day), it’s not uncommon to have very little … [Read more...]
I’ll be honest. I never had any intention of working for myself. Nope. Not ever. However, as often happens in life, one day about six and a half years ago now, I found myself in a position where I began working as a freelance writer. Though I still have my days where I question why I traded in my badge and gun for a computer, pens, and paper, if I had my chance to go back … [Read more...]
When I think of Johnson & Johnson, one of the first images that comes to mind is a newborn baby being cradled while lying in a kitchen sink partially full of lukewarm, sudsy water. As a lightly colored wash cloth is wiped across the baby’s smooth-as-silk skin, the parent bather is smiling, safe in the knowledge that the products will not irritate the little one’s eyes or … [Read more...]
One of the things I miss most about working for someone else is time off with pay. When you’re able to go on a much needed vacation, enjoy a national holiday with family and friends, or simply take a sick day when you’re not feeling up to par—all without having to sacrifice your income to do it—it just feels different. It feels better. However, this doesn’t mean that you … [Read more...]
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