I have coached hundreds of solo business owners. Although each took a different road in terms of business model, services, and target market, I have found common skills and characteristics that all share.
These seven characteristics are critical to your solopreneur success:
Responsibility There are many benefits to owning and operating your own business, and freedom is certainly one of those perks. With freedom comes responsibility. There is no one telling you that you must work between from 8 to 5, but you are responsible for meeting obligations made to your clients. However you choose to do that is fine, but you must have the drive and determination to get it done without anyone standing over you.
Expertise It should go without saying, but I 'll say it anyway - you should have the skills needed in the business you are pursuing. Many of the solo business owners I work with do not have a degree in their area of expertise, but they used their educational background and past work experience to carve out a niche for …show more content…
This is especially important because a great deal of your communication may be via the internet. Without the benefit of face to face contact, you will have to be able to maximize each communication and build rapport with your client through an electronic medium. Are you able to write brief email communications that clearly delineate key points? Is your communication free of local jargon that might be lost on someone from another country or even another industry? You do not want to make a client angry or worse lose an opportunity because of a miscommunication. You also have to be comfortable with the process of communication. You will need to clearly spell out the scope of work to ensure that you and your client are on the same page. If a problem arises in the middle of the project, you will need the ability to be direct and honest with your client in order to resolve the
These seven characteristics are critical to your solopreneur success:
Responsibility There are many benefits to owning and operating your own business, and freedom is certainly one of those perks. With freedom comes responsibility. There is no one telling you that you must work between from 8 to 5, but you are responsible for meeting obligations made to your clients. However you choose to do that is fine, but you must have the drive and determination to get it done without anyone standing over you.
Expertise It should go without saying, but I 'll say it anyway - you should have the skills needed in the business you are pursuing. Many of the solo business owners I work with do not have a degree in their area of expertise, but they used their educational background and past work experience to carve out a niche for …show more content…
This is especially important because a great deal of your communication may be via the internet. Without the benefit of face to face contact, you will have to be able to maximize each communication and build rapport with your client through an electronic medium. Are you able to write brief email communications that clearly delineate key points? Is your communication free of local jargon that might be lost on someone from another country or even another industry? You do not want to make a client angry or worse lose an opportunity because of a miscommunication. You also have to be comfortable with the process of communication. You will need to clearly spell out the scope of work to ensure that you and your client are on the same page. If a problem arises in the middle of the project, you will need the ability to be direct and honest with your client in order to resolve the