3 Radical Thoughts To Increase Solopreneur Impact & Revenue
(Upgrade my Contribution, Upgrade Myself, Receive Support--lots)
This week:
-3 thoughts in text below, or listen to the video for more story and context.
-Don’t miss the PDF ‘Solopreneur Free and Low-Cost Supports’ that comes with a couple workbook practices folks have found helpful. Download at bottom of the page.
-Next newsletter I have more to say about women, entrepreneurship & support (or lack thereof). Plus: I am launching a new feature that will eventually be paid but will be available to free subscribers, for now.
OK, on with the post!
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Yes to Goals for 2025. But there’s more to the story. . .
Where I live in the Northern Hemisphere, the light is returning, and things are starting to stir, underground. Spring is in sight, it’s tax season, and the minds of micro- entrepreneurs turn to business goals.
Usually, we are encouraged to make goals or intentions that relate to revenues, profits, number of clients/customers, or new projects of some sort.
I certainly have a list of projects I’ve jumped into since Lunar New Year, and some financial direction to support myself, my team, and my unfolding streams of business.
But as I thought about it a little more: ‘financial’ or ‘project’ goals does not do justice to some really central components of how I nurture the container that holds my work, aka my ‘business’.
I’m naming these, because in my experience they don’t get talked about, enough. I imagine that without addressing these pieces directly, reaching any sort of biz goal is going to contain unnecessary struggle. And what I want for all of us is less exhaustion, more ease.
Listen to the video, or read below.
1) Upgrade my contribution.
How can I improve my already high-quality service to clients this year? What upgrades can I make, what subtle adjustments; what value can I add? (and make sure I am adjusting prices as appropriate).
This is not about doing ‘more’, oh no. It might be about weeding out old services or aspects of my work that no longer align for me, to make room for fresh, more impactful ones. It might be surveying my current clients to see how I can go deeper in my offerings, and adjusting accordingly. It might be streamlining a system that’s a bit clunky and creating unnecessary barriers for new clients.
But the idea is to focus on upgrading my contribution, so that when I am thinking about ‘growing’ my business, it is in the context of deepening into the work that brings me joy.
And it’s not ‘woo-woo’ in any way: this is also a matter of best marketing practice. A lot of my best clients come from word of mouth, which in turn comes from being really, really good at delivering a service.
2) The ‘Me’ Upgrade.
Long experience tells me that if I commit to upgrading my work or biz: guaranteed, I will need to grow something about myself to be resourced enough to make it so.
E.g. my capacity, vitality, resilience, attention, consciousness, self-awareness, ability to harness and transmute my emotions, skills to cope and mitigate risk, etc.
So the next piece I reflect on is: what new awarenesses, what personal health or mental/emotional capacities do I need to pay attention to, in order to achieve (1)? In what ways might I be holding myself back? What’s my biggest anxiety? What am I most excited about? What old habits are ready to slough off? What new ways am I embracing? How will I resource myself? How will I manage the precious currencies of my time, attention and energy?
For me this is usually an ongoing inquiry. So as circumstances arise, I keep following the thread and discovering new insights.
(3) Receiving support.
What supports do I need to put in place, to resource myself for the upgrades I desire? What can I access in my own being, healing practices, family, community, friend group, health practitioners, business network, or through online platforms?
Why It Matters
Asking how I can upgrade my contribution, how I will evolve personally to show up fully for that upgrade, and what resources I need to generate to receive support. . . shifts the perspective in interesting ways.
It helps to bust that favourite dysfunctional North American myth of the cowboy entrepreneur who maxes out their productivity and reaches the year’s financial goals by the end of Quarter 3, working through the pain with no help from anyone and hating everyone including myself (oh and burning out by end of Quarter 4). . . or if I didn’t manage to do all that, the old story of anxiety and ‘shoulda done more’ that arises.
And over time, this approach builds my capacity to focus on the part of my work that brings me joy—my best contributions—and then co-create with my community and the Infinite Creativity that is available, to move my business forward, with grace and wholeness. This way becomes the default. New goals and projects feel very different.
Below the button is a little resource to remind us about low cost resources for the nuts-and-bolts things, and offer some practices to cut through the anxiety and get creative in how we ask for help.
Speaking of support. . .this newsletter is reader supported. Please share, like, comment or subscribe (if you haven’t already).
