Have you watched the show “Ludo Bites America” on the Sundance Channel? This reality show focuses on famous French Chef, Ludo Lefebvre, and his wife, Krissy, as they travel the US to set up pop-up restaurants by combining Ludo’s 5-star talents with local favorites. This helps inspire restaurant owners to shake things up and live outside of their comfort zone, while giving their customers a new taste on some of their local favorite dishes.

On a recent episode, Ludo and Krissy travel to North Omaha in search of local Americana cuisine. They stop in at Big Mama’s Kitchen. As a former owner of an award-winning fine dining establishment, I have a particular interest in the creativity of the culinary arts. As a business owner and marketer, I am always on the lookout for evolving ideas that are transforming the way people connect with their target audience.

In this episode, we get to know Big Mama, somewhat a local celebrity for her food and her charitable contributions. Intro the Lefebvres, a couple of no particular importance to Big Mama other than being paying customers. Ludo and Krissy propose their pop-up restaurant idea to Big Mama. She says she has to think about allowing them to invade her kitchen. As a former restaurateur, I can tell you, owners … especially owner / chefs … are very protective of their space and their customers. Couple this with the fact that Ludo proposes serving French infused soul food at Big Mama’s Kitchen when she finds French cuisine boring, and you’ve got the necessary drama for reality show success.

I recommend you check out the episode. It is entertaining. Plus, the culinary creations look incredible. However, as s solopreneur, you can learn so much more than what “a la minute” means in the culinary world.

Here are 5 key small business points to take away from this episode.

1. Put your assumptions aside.

2. Step outside your comfort zone.

3. It takes evolution to stay ahead of the competition and keep your customers interested.

4. Who can you partner with to introduce you to a new audience? And when it’s possible, partner with a recognizable, influential person or business.

5. Don’t assume social media won’t work for you.

All the Best,

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

Does the title of this post turn you off? When you attend a live networking event, isn’t it all about you and your goals? How can you “succeed” if you aren’t taking care of your needs?

My kids and I had the honor of participating in a recent charity event for Fish for Life, a terrific NPO whose tagline is “spreading the love one boat at a time”. Fish for Life takes special needs children and young adults fishing from the Dana Point harbor in southern California. In addition to learning about fishing, these special anglers participate in a communal experience of watching dolphin, learning about some of the different sea life they catch and feeling honored by Fish for Life’s special red carpet introductions and awards.

When you seek out various live networking events in your area, have you considered giving of your time as a volunteer for a charity event? You can still achieve your goals of connecting with other possible partners and customers while benefiting a worthy cause.

Here are just 2 networking benefits you can gain from participating in a charity event:

1. Meeting new people in a relaxed setting.
Have you attended live networking events where it feels as if all those attending have their guard up because they don’t want to be “sold”, all they want to do is sell to you? In these settings, many attendees (you included) gear up with the goal of knowing the people they need to meet. When you participate in a charitable event, not only do you get the good will, but you have the opportunity to bond with other local movers and shakers who share a similar passion and want to get to know you because you bond over something other than business … in the beginning.

No, I am not suggesting that you give of your time for charity events just to network and see what business opportunities can benefit you. Quite the opposite. If you participate with this mindset, you will flag yourself as selfish, turning off those that are at the event. You need to go with a giving heart and not worry about your business in the beginning. However, when you work these events, the conversation naturally turns to questions of “So what do you do?” … and the doors start opening.

2. Experience how you can make a difference.
While making a living is an important reward, seeing how your skills can positively impact those in need is a priceless payoff. This is especially helpful if you seem to have lost some of the luster for loving your business. Giving of your time for a charitable cause can help you regain focus on what’s most important … getting from giving your best to others. The same holds true for your service of your customers. If you go in with a passion for positively affecting the lives of those that you serve, your rewards will be far greater than if you simple want to get to the green in their pockets.

BTW – My SmallBizMedia.TV partner, Maria, and I are very honored to be a part of helping Fish for Life grow. If you have a passion for helping those with special needs, or simply want to help, check out Fish for Life’s Facebook fan page. Simply by liking the page, you are helping to grow its exposure to help others with special needs.

All the Best,

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

One of the hottest trends today in entertainment is the explosion of 3D … 3D movies, 3D TVs, and 3D video games. Separate from stats like:

• 70,000 3D TVs sold each month in 2010 (CEA 2010)
• $1.1 billion in movie screenings came from 3D films (MPAA 2010)
• John Chambers, CEO of Cisco is quoted as saying that 3D is the next biggest thing to happen to video …

Separate from those fab facts, there are numerous other stats and the constant advertising about it. But, I don’t need these quotes and stats to tell me that 3D can reach out to grab cash out of my wallet because I have two kids, Colin 8 and Isabelle soon to be 10. Whenever a new movie comes out, they immediately ask, “Is it in 3D?”

So what does this have to do with being a solopreneur?

Let me answer that question with another question (I am Irish. I’m told it is a hereditary trait.).

How are you marketing the benefits of your business? Not the features and facts, but the transformational benefits?

See my kids are not only the consumers … they are sales people for 3D technology because they’re constantly selling me on why they nneeeeedd 3D. They could care less about the stats that I listed above. They could care less how much extra it costs to produce a movie in 3D, how the technology works, the expensive projection equipment and the flimsy glasses needed to have the images pop off the screen. None of this matters to them.

Could you imagine if the film industry, the makers of video games, the manufacturers of TVs tried to include this in their advertising, what a waste it would be when marketing the technology to viewers and video game players?

My kids only care that when they’re watching a preview of an upcoming 3D movie, they can experience the transformation of being in the moment as compared to a 2D flic. They can sense the water rushing out of the screen to splash on their faces, and the arrows whizzing past their heads as they duck in their seats.

When you create your marketing collateral and your sale language, know who your ideal customer is and what is important to them regarding the transformational benefits they will experience if they choose to work with you.

You need to market and sell the transformation not the science behind the technology (unless that’s specifically what your target audience is interested in) … an experience that the customer simply can’t get easily on their own, but they want! Otherwise, you’re just schlepping a goofy pair of glasses.

All the Best,

Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

You don’t have to be struggling as a solopreneur pursuing a dream as a country artist to learn a lesson or two from the original Man in Black.


Whether you’re teaching people about the latest in social media strategies or transforming people’s lives as a small business coach, there are lessons for you to learn from Johnny Cash’s life story if you want to successful expand into new markets.


Especially if you’ve had some success and then saw a drop off in business. Chances are that you’ve been a little frustrated thinking up new products and services for your ideal customers, only to come to the conclusion that maybe you should start talking to a new group of prospects.


If you aren’t familiar with Johnny Cash, the country legend, let me run down a couple of quick facts about his career:

1. He had hits on both the country and pop charts. Few artists at that time had the same cross-over appeal.
2. Worked with and admired by some of the other top people in the business (and not just in country music) … from the King, to Jerry Lee Lewis, to Willie Nelson, Roy Orbison, U2, Ray Charles, Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan and many more
3. This is the man that penned and performed “I Walk the Line”, “Ring of Fire” and “A Boy Name Sue”.
4. He had his own TV show, appeared on many other shows and in movies.
5. In 1980, he was the youngest living person ever inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame at the time.

Sounds like a great resume full of experience and credibility. Not bad for a guy who started working in cotton fields at the age of 5. Who wouldn’t want the same claims within their industry?


However, soon after being inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame, Columbia Records released him from his contract. Following that, he had a short, unsuccessful stint with Mercury Records.


Suddenly, this man that had accumulated such momentum, such fame, was struggling to get any attention. It would have been easy for him to disappear.


But instead of walking away on the industry that turned its back on him, Johnny decided to take his passion and his talents to a new market that new very little of him.


Don’t kid yourself, just because he had the fame doesn’t mean that a new market was ready to accept him. The industry that made him rich and famous and had inducted him into their hall of fame threw him out.


Since he couldn’t rely on his own name and his previous fame, he had to borrow someone else’s credibility.


This is when Johnny made the jump to work with Rick Ruben and American Recordings … a big stretch considering that Rick’s label focused on rap and hard rock. Not exactly friendly territory for a guy considered by many as a country music has-been.


His first album with American had him singing cover songs of other contemporary artists, ultimately winning Cash a Grammy. This was an excellent way for Johnny to get introduced to a fan base that knew little of him. By getting the rap and hard rock cred by Rick Ruben and by belting out favorite tunes from other artists, suddenly a whole new market took notice of him.


From there, his career went to a whole new high.


So what’s all this have to do with you, solopreneur?


If you find that you are having a hard time breaking into a new market, take a look at the people that hold influence over your desired target audience and see what you can do to leverage their credibility. This works whether you’re an establish pro or a start-up.


You have to find the benefit that you can bring those people of influence. Obviously, they aren’t going to lend their credibility to anyone. However, if you have a special talent … a product or a service … that can be of benefit to them, give it away. The payoff in credibility and instant visibility to a group of ideal customers can have you singing all the way to the bank.


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide

I’m excited to let you in on a New Year’s resolution that I’ve been working on for the past two weeks. It’s the start of a new coaching program my Small Biz Break partner, Maria, and I are putting together. I apologize that I haven’t had a post up here in that time, but this resolution is a priority.


It isn’t that we are focused on us and not you, quite the opposite. We are passionate about helping you grow your business. One of our resolutions is to provide you with a greater service.


Since our desire is to put together the best program for you that will give you the greatest transformation in your business that you seek, we are asking for your feedback. No sense in putting together a program that doesn’t solve your biggest problem, right?


Based upon the status of your business today and what holds you back from achieving the level of success you desire, which of the following programs sound like what you want or need:


1. Thinking Like the You of Tomorrow
How to change your thinking to achieve bigger results


2. Discovering Your Shortest Path to Success
How to avoid procrastination, a lack of confidence and burn out while keeping focused on specific actions to achieve your desired success


3. Finding Your Market’s Sweet Spot
How to attract more of the right customers


4. Creating Your Blueprint for Success
How to avoid multiple false starts


5. Going from Ordinary to Extraordinary Through Massive Action
How to replace your busy work with results producing action


6. Why Do it On Your Own When Others Want to Do It for You
How to rally others to your cause to achieve greater success faster


7. The 4 Rs for Perpetual Success
How you can use your success to create greater success


You can vote for one program title or multiple titles in the comments (and any other comments you may have on the help you want).


Thank you in advance for your participation.


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide