Sounds like a bold title, doesn’t it? Is this just catchy copy or is it truly possible that there are just seven essential actions solopreneurs master for breakthrough success?


The truth is many of these top small business pros worked very hard to get where they are today. Their success didn’t happen overnight. The honest ones will tell you that they struggled and made mistakes along the way. Some big mistakes. Costly mistakes. I sure have. More than once … and in multiple industries.


These are all talented people that have the entrepreneurial DNA, but before they achieved their breakthrough success, they had certain patterns or habits that kept them just on the other side of success. They fought through frustration, confusion, procrastination, small results and some degree of self-doubt … all at a cost of tremendous effort, personal pride, loss of money and cashing in a few favors with the people that supported them most.


Does this sound like your current situation?


If so, we want to help you.


My Small Biz Break partner, Maria, and I are hosting a live webinar on Tuesday March 1^st at 2:00 PM EST / 11:00 AM PST titled, “Discover the 7 Essentials for Going from Cruise Control to Crushing It in Your Business”. In this no-cost webinar, we’ll talk about the seven key actions that successful entrepreneurs mastered for breakthrough success.


You’ll discover the primary secrets of:

1. How to change your thinking to achieve bigger results

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

3. How to attract more of the right customers

4. How to avoid multiple false starts

5. How to replace your busy work with results producing action

6. How to rally others to your cause to achieve greater success faster

… and …

7. How you can capitalize on your current achievements for greater future success


We don’t believe in taking up your time with fluff and only talking about theories. We are committed to introducing you to new ideas so you can see new possibilities. We will discuss why they’re important and we back that with practical, how-to steps so you can start taking action right away.


The first action you need to take is to register for this event. At the bottom of our Small Biz Break Events page, you will see a registration form. When you sign in your name and email address, not only will you reserve one of the limited spots to:


1. Our live 60-minute free webinar on Tuesday, March 1^st

… but for a limited number of take-action entrepreneurs who register early, we will give a complementary bonus  …

2. A one-on-one 30-minute private strategy session. We are only offering this for a limited number of people, so take action now before the other action-oriented entrepreneurs beat you to it!


We’re excited to get the opportunity to help your business reach its full potential!


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

One of the best perks that comes with being an solopreneur is the ability to pick the people that work with you. If you’ve ever worked as an employee, chances are you’ve crossed paths with a person … that certain special someone that pushed your buttons, testing the limits of your ability to remain professional.


As a solopreneur, you won’t have employees, however, you can choose your vendors and your joint venture partners. The trick to finding the right matches is to not get hung up on skills and focus on the PEEPs.


Personality
Do the people you connect with share a similar personality? Yes, you can choose to work with people different than you are, but a greater sense of harmony and collaboration will come from surrounding yourself with people that you enjoy being around.


Energy
Small businesses thrive on remaining agile. Creating a work environment (even if it is a virtual extension of your home office) of people putting out as much electricity as you will keep you more pumped than chugging a bottle of 5150 energy drink. When you want to set a new idea in motion or take advantage of a new opportunity, you want to stay focused on accomplishing your goals and not on pushing the people on your team to get excited.


Ethics
Trust is key to any great relationship. If you ask a vendor or a joint venture partner to complete a project by a specific deadline, you need to be able to trust them.


Passion
You are passionate about your cause. Your joint venture partners must have a similar passion since they are focused on the same target market. Your vendors may have a different passion, but at minimum, they should be equally passionate about helping you succeed.


Take advantage of this excellent perk. Surround yourself with the people that are going to energize you and bring an equal amount of zeal to accomplish your goals.


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide
Small Biz Break

No, I’m not talking about a funny, little bald-headed hunter who gets frustrated hunting wabbits. I am referring to another, more wascally FUD that can trip up the most talented solopreneur … if you aren’t alert.


F.U.D.

Fear

Uncertainty

Doubt


Usually, FUD is a sales and marketing (and politics) ploy to play on your emotions to get you to buy … and buy now! Some common FUD catchphrases are, “Buy now before it’s gone …”, “Get yours today before the price goes up …” or “Leading experts agree that if you don’t use product xx, you will not …”


Separate from making you aware of the common FUD tactics, today’s post is not about protecting yourself against sneaky salespeople and their wily ways.


There is a more sinister strain of FUD … the self-induced FUD that a struggling solopreneur can fall prey to.


How do you know when the FUD has a hold of you?


You start feeling frustrated more frequently. Desperation and fear set in. Instead of taking action, you stall … second-guessing your instincts. You become more and more uncertain about your business. You allow negativity to cloud your perceptions and beliefs about your business and your customers. You begin to doubt your actions. They start feeling like they are just a hopeless struggle.


If you don’t free yourself from the FUD, you give in … and then you give up.


How can you avoid this self-induced FUD of a struggling solopreneur? Here are the top 6 steps:

1. Start a business that is an extension of you.
Do what you love, right? Yes, … and do what you’re good at, and have experience doing, and helps you achieve your financial and personal goals. The more excited you are about your business, the more emotional fortitude and justifiable optimism you will have for dealing with the unavoidable struggles and frustrations associated with any small business. When you hit an obstacle, do you see the opportunity or a reason to give up?


2. Have a clear vision.
Who are you? What is it that you do? Who benefits the most from what you do? What is it about your service that beats the competition? Know who you are. Know what you do well. Stick to it.


3. Set goals.
If the shortest distance between two points is a straight line, the quickest way to get from Point A to Point B is to have clearly defined goals that are in line with your vision and that you are committed to accomplishing by a specific date. This method clears the clutter of offers, options, wayward opportunities and other daily distractions that can tempt you to wander off course.


4. Get organized.
The only disorganized, successful entrepreneurs I know have a talented team of organized people to develop and manage a support structure for them. However, you are a solopreneur, and there is no team in solopreneur. Disorganization leads to distraction. Distraction leads to wasted time. Wasted time leads to a loss of focus and a declining business. A declining business leads to FUD.


5. Create systems.
Businesses big and small run more efficiently when they have systems in place. Henry Ford mastered the concept of the assembly line for mass production of automobiles. You are a solo manufacturing facility. Creating systems for marketing, responding to prospects and customers, fulfilling orders and providing customer service will allow you to increase your throughput while minimizing the possibility of derailing important details.


6. Be patient.
One quality that sets successful people apart from struggling wannabes is the ability to make the difficult appear simple. This takes time. Typically, businesses don’t boom overnight. And for those that are on a meteoric rise, is this the first attempt?


Don’t set yourself up for failure and by believing you will be stashing away stacks of cash in a short period of time. If you do, great! Congratulations. However, this isn’t the norm, so don’t plan for it. If you were to get insight into the story behind some of your industry’s successful leaders, you would see they invested long, hard hours, months, and years before they saw any kind of return.


If you feel the FUD moving in and need some help getting it under control, send me the distress signal by writing to thesologuide@gmail.com.


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide
Small Biz Break

Molly just woke up. She is sitting at her desk thinking to herself, I have to:

1. Write a blog.
2. Post on networking sites
3. Post on FB Fan page
4. Make 20 sales calls
5. Answer prospect emails
6. Come up with a new marketing campaign idea
7. Update website- add that new testimonial

Her face is getting flustered and her energy is disappearing by the second. 


Molly is a mirror image of “all of us” when running our own businesses. We all have our days of feeling frustrated and overwhelmed, but we can do certain things to make our days happier and simpler.


Here is one technique you can use.


Make a “to do list”.
Write down all the “essential” things you need to get done. I’m using the word essential because prioritizing is of high importance here. We only have 24 hours in a day and you shouldn’t be working all 24 hours of the day either. Remember sleep, friends, family, a game of tennis, a good movie, eating and whatever you like to do need to find their way into your days as well.  


Block your day based upon your “to do list”.
Break your day into blocks in which you will do certain things on your “to do list”. This can be done in blocks of three or four. For example:  Today I need to write a blog, answer some forum questions, make a few calls, market, update my profile on a few networks, and do some random tasks.  


Since, I write best in the morning between 8:30 AM to 10:30 AM, I’m going to write my blog and answer forum questions.


- 10:30 AM and 12 PM, I’m going to make my phone calls to prospects. 

- 12 PM and 1 PM, I grab a bite to eat.

- 1 PM to 3 PM, I’m going to market my business depending on my current marketing campaign.

- 3 PM to 5 PM, I’m going to update my profile on a few networks and do random tasks which are less important. 


What you will quickly find by blocking times of your day based on your “to do list” is that you will get more done and stay on task throughout the day.


Don’t keep your “to-do list” in your head or on a post-it note that you can lose in all of the other paperwork on your desk. Go to the Small Biz Break site and register for access to the Solutions Center. Inside the Solutions Center, you can download a free form, “Task Management Worksheet”, to help keep you focused and get the most out of your day.


All the Best,


Doug Dolan
The Solopreneur’s Guide
Small Biz Break