December is distracting Christmas is less than three weeks away. After more than 25 years as a solopreneur, I can say with authority that December can be a tough time for solopreneurs to stay productive. (Unless Christmas is your busy season, when deadlines are a big motivation for powering through the seasonal chaos and staying […]
Thanksgiving Gratitude List
Reflect on your present blessings, of which every man has plenty; not on your past misfortunes, of which all men have some. – Charles Dickens Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday — and not just because of the food. I think we can all benefit from an annual reminder to be grateful for the blessings in […]
Managing Customer Expectations as a Small Business
How small businesses can manage customer expectations Learning how to set and manage customer expectations is a big part of running a successful business. As we’ve learned from Amazon — who have changed our shipping expectations from 5 days to a few hours — customers can be trained to want more. While this works if […]
Confronting outdated beliefs
Last year after I finished work on a huge project (writing and publishing Solopreneur Success: How to Plan, Create and Run a One-Person Business) and a couple of smaller projects (filing income taxes and fixing my website). I knew I was tired and needed some time off. As I planned a three-day weekend without work, […]
Core Values are your foundation
What is the foundation of your business? Personally I think that the foundation is the least-exciting part of a building. Who wants to think about the foundation when you could be buying furniture and choosing paint colors? Yet without a solid foundation, the rest of the building can collapse. We saw this happen last year […]
Silence Your Inner Critic
Being successfully self-employed means learning how to deal with your inner critic.
Coping with Failure
Failure is a part of solopreneur life. Your website breaks. You create a course and nobody buys it. You secure a meeting to pitch your product and forget what you want to say. The list goes on and on. The truth is that solopreneurs are human and, to be successful, we need to learn how […]
Create new beliefs in your business
Do you celebrate Columbus Day? October 10 is Columbus Day. This holiday commemorates the landing of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1942. The first Columbus Day celebration took place in New York in 1792, to commemorate the 300th anniversary of this event. Since then, Italian and Catholic communities have organized annual events to honor […]
How to Create Healthy Habits After Covid
On September 20, 2022, President Joe Biden told 60 Minutes that “We still have a problem with COVID. We’re still doing a lot of work on it. But the pandemic is over.” So I guess it’s time to re-evaluate some of the less-than-healthy coping mechanisms that most of the country used to survive this stressful […]
Are you a perfectionist?
I think all solopreneurs struggle with perfectionism in some area of their business. This might be choosing the right words for a blog post or obsessing over the perfect font for a website. Most of these issues are not critical for success and suck up a lot of time. Do you really think that that […]
Back to Basics
I began homeschooling my children when they were in second and fifth grades. Both were excellent students and I was eager to shepherd them along in their learning journey. So I was shocked that neither of them had a good foundation in math and struggled with basic arithmetic. We went back to basics and spent […]
Are you on the wrong bus?
This week I’ve been pondering this quote by Seth Godin: “I know it wasn’t easy to get on the bus. I know you got a seat. I know it’s getting dark outside. But you’re on the wrong bus, and staying on the wrong bus won’t make it the right bus.” I was literally guilty of […]
Don’t Give Up on 2022
There are many ways to look at your business after Labor Day. You may be heading into your busy season and stressing about fulfilling upcoming orders. Conversely, your busy season may be over and it’s time for recharging. You may savor the back-to-school energy and view September as a new beginning. Or you might feel […]
Why entrepreneurs should skip the quick fix
Have you been lured into purchasing a product or service that promises to be a quick fix? It might be purchasing Instagram followers, dropping a dress-size, or writing a best selling business book in a weekend. While the offers are enticing, the reality is that quick fixes are a marketing tatic and usually do not […]
How to Be More Confident in Your Business
Do you inspire confidence in your clients? Recently I enjoyed a staycation and participated in several online quilting classes. For me, an experienced quilter, it was a joyous experience and a chance to learn from expert teachers. My fellow students and I sewed and chatted via Zoom, and then shared our projects at the end […]
How entrepreneurs can overcome negative self-talk
We are solidly into the last half of 2022 with all of its associated stressors. Our goals may not be coming to fruition. Our focus may be compromised by vacation plans. And our bodies might not look as good as we’d like in our swimsuits. These situations can provide motivation for change or be a […]
Accountability for Solopreneurs
Accountability: Taking Responsibility for Success and Failure Accountability is holding yourself responsible for your actions, regardless of whether you succeed or fail. This can be problematic for solo business owners, because we are responsible for all facets of our business. We need to fully embrace our successes and not credit luck. We also need to […]
How to reduce decision fatigue
Estimates show that adults make about 35,000 decisions every day. If you account for sleep, that works out to approximately 2,000 decisions per hour or one decision every two seconds. These decisions range from major (should I start a business?) to minor (what pair of shoes should I wear?) to inconsequential (should I have a […]
Continuous Improvement
We’re more than half-way through the year and I wonder if you’ve followed through with your New Year’s resolutions. Did the changes stick or are you waiting for January 1 to try again? Thankfully there is another option. Look at what you’re doing now and apply the principles of Kaizen to make tiny, consistent progress […]
15 Ways to Regain Your Creativity
Creative blocks are not just for writers Writers aren’t the only people whose creativity gets blocked. It can (and does) happen to everyone who does creative work — including artists, chefs, designers, and coders. Being creative requires that some foundational needs are met first. According to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, these are physiological needs (food, […]
11 Ways to Stay Productive During the Summer
I was really hoping that Summer 2022 would be a welcome respite after spending 2021 dealing with covid-19, racial justice, political posturing, and financial uncertainty. However our challenges are not over. According to the American Institute of Stress, current sources of stress are: The rise in prices of everyday items due to inflation (e.g., gas […]
How to get motivated when you don’t feel like working
I would love to say that life always goes smoothly and every workday is productive. But that is not true (at least not for me). Your workday may be derailed by your response to a Supreme Court ruling or blindsided by medical issues in your family (both happened to me last week). Ten Ways to […]
Warning signs of entrepreneur stress
Even though I’m a big proponent of self-care, there are times when I take better care of my dog than I do of myself. I love my dachshund dearly and am very attuned to her needs. For instance, she loves her daily walks and I only skip them in inclement weather. She has a couple […]
How to take a vacation if you run a home-based business
What are your summer vacation plans? I’ve always loved this time of year. Summers feel like a reward for the year’s hard work and a good excuse for some downtime (even if you aren’t a student). Even though it’s been nine years since my youngest was in school, I still feel like I’ve earned the […]
How entrepreneurs can increase productivity with relaxation and recovery
How does relaxation increase productivity? Entrepreneurs can increase productivity by adopting the same principles of rest and recovery that are used to train aging elite athletes. If you do a quick Google search, you’ll see running a business compared to running a marathon. But is that really accurate? Most entrepreneurs are in business for the […]
Feeling overwhelmed with your solo business?
This weekend we celebrated Memorial Day in the United States. This holiday honors all military members who have died in while serving in our military. Memorial Day also marks the unofficial start of summer with all of its joys and stressors. Summer can feel particularly overwhelming if you’ve got school-age children who are on summer […]
A solopreneur declutters
Decluttering my home and office I’ve been doing some serious decluttering. One of the big challenges of working from home, at least for me, is keeping our space tidy. My office tends to be a dumping ground for half-finished projects and other clutter that doesn’t have an assigned space in our home. I also find […]
Don’t Compare Your Business to Anyone Else
We’re in the midst of graduation season. This is the time when we teach kids how to compare themselves to other students based on numbers that may (or may not) be related to their future success. These include grade point averages, SAT scores, athletic achievements, and class standings. Depending on the student, these comparisons may […]
Harness the Power of Routines to Create Habits and Improve Productivity
Learn how to create routines and habits that will stick and help you to be more productive.
Resources to learn entrepreneur skills
Importance of training for entrepreneurs I am a solo entrepreneur who has been able to DIY (Do It Yourself) most parts of my business. That’s been possible because I invested in software systems with helplines, as well as education programs that provide tutorials. This combination has made it possible for me to build my own […]
Choose your next right thing
After two years of dealing with covid, I feel like the world is starting to reopen. This month I was able to cross the Canada-U.S. border without having to show proof of vaccination or a negative covid test. And this past week, during a lull in mask mandates, I was able to travel on a […]
Why Entrepreneurs Should Celebrate Earth Day
Earth Day reminds entrepreneurs that we’re connected to nature. This week we celebrate Earth Day and it made me ponder how disconnected entrepreneurs can be from our environment. In my home on Long Island, New York, early Spring is beautiful. Tulip stems are fully formed. Shrubs are coming back to life and sprouting leaves. And […]
Why small business owners need a vacation
Female entrepreneurs will discover 7 benefits of going on vacation. Not only will you be more relaxed, it encourages you to develop systems that help your business run without you. In addition, the change in location can cause a change in perspective and generate some great ideas.
How to step out of your comfort zone
Stepping outside of our comfort zone is a crucial skill for female entrepreneurs. This article describes three recent instances when I went outside my comfort zone, how I felt, and what happened as a result.
Create a Self-Care Toolkit
I was hopeful that the covid-19 epidemic was in our rear-view mirror and our collective stress levels would decline. I didn’t predict that Putin would invade Ukraine or that inflation would surge. When you add in tax time, some crazy weather, and “regular stress” (in my case computer issues and a sick dog), it is […]
How to deal with information overload
Information Overload is a Big Challenge for Solopreneurs Because solopreneurs are jack-of-all-trades, we are more vulnerable to information overload than most. We’re not just keeping up with information in our area of specialty. We’re also trying to optimize our social media profiles, figure out Facebook advertising, keep our accounting up-to-date, and make sure nobody hacks […]
How to choose the right type of meditation for entrepreneurs
What is the right type of meditation for entrepreneurs? If you do a Google search for the “best meditation method” you will come up with more than 20 types of meditation. So how do you choose what will work for you, especially if you’re a busy entrepreneur? 9 ways to choose the right type of […]
How entrepreneurs can stay focused during hard times
Whether it’s political turmoil, a covid pandemic, or a natural disaster – current events can make it tough for entrepreneurs to stay on task. Solo entrepreneurs have additional challenges because there’s no boss demanding we turn off the 24/7 television news channel or quit checking comments in our Facebook feed. To be successful, it’s essential […]
What is the weak link in your business?
It’s wonderful to be positive and expect everything to go well. But then there are unforeseen circumstances – an illness, unseasonable weather, or a tech malfunction – that stress your home or business. Suddenly that weak link cries out for attention. Weak links are nothing new. The term “weak link” was first used by Thomas […]
Simple systems to improve your entrepreneurial skills
Like many of my fellow entrepreneurs, I spent most of this week focused on accounting and taxes. I would love to say that my bookkeeping was up-to-date and all I needed were a couple of printouts. Nope. I had much more to do than I anticipated – most of which could have been avoided if […]
How to Write a Business Book
My most recent book — Solopreneur Success: How to Plan, Create and Run a One-Person Business — has been available on Amazon for over a year now. Writing this book started as a quickie pandemic project that I estimated would take a few weeks. Like most projects I’ve tackled in my self-employment journey, it took […]
5 Solutions to Solopreneur Stress
Solopreneur stress hits hard Solopreneur stress sneaks up when you least expect it. Like on Tuesday. It’s been four years since I started the Solopreneur Academy. I still remember how things went awry with my first Master Class. I had planned the morning to be a calm, serene time so I’d be centered for my […]
Solopreneur Lessons from Groundhog Day
Lessons from Groundhog Day Today’s Groundhog Day celebration got me thinking about life as a solopreneur. Is there anything we can learn from watching a rodent predict how much winter is left? It turns out, there is! 1. Experts have different opinions. Groundhog Day teaches us that there is no right answer. America’s most famous […]
19 Ways to Conquer the February Blahs
Diagnosis: Winter Blues A few years ago at this time of year, I noticed that I was uncharacteristically feeling … well … blah. I wasn’t exactly depressed. I was just unenthusiastic about everything. I’m usually very self-motivated and I could barely drag my body across the hall to my home office. How did I become […]
How to Choose a Business Coach
You’re likely familiar with athletic coaches. Athletes hire coaches to help with nutrition, speed, conditioning, and mindset. Working with a coach can help an athlete improve their technique, reduce injuries, stay motivated, and more quickly reach their goals and potential. What does a business coach do? Hiring a business coach can help move your business […]
Set Realistic Goals
‘Tis the season for New Year’s resolutions. According to a recent Finder survey, more than 141 million adult Americans — or 55.31% of all American adults — will promise themselves that they’ll do something different in the new year. The most common resolutions are related to health, self-improvement and money. (Source) Most New Year’s Resolutions […]
Consistency Counts
Consistency can be a big challenge for solo business owners because there’s nobody telling us what to do. It is easy to take a haphazard approach to running a business – whether that’s how you dress on Zoom calls, when (or if) you publish a newsletter, or how often you backup your computer. While the […]
Lessons from 2021
Another year has passed and I’m continuing my tradition of sharing what I’ve learned. Ask for help. The last two years have been incredibly difficult for solo business owners. Stressors include worries about our health, more isolation due to covid, additional people working in our homes (children, partners, roommates), changes in spending patterns, financial insecurity, […]
Rethinking Traditions
Traditions are a big part of life — especially at this time of year. Whether it’s attending worship services, decorating your Christmas tree,or trying to figure out new locations for your Elf on the Shelf — these celebrations are markers in our lives. Thanks to the covid pandemic, we are nowin our second year of […]
2022 Reading List
I’m excited to announce the 2022 Book Club selections for the Solopreneur Academy — just in time for your Christmas list. These books are among my favorites and very helpful to female solo business owners. You can see the calendar of Book Club selections on the Solopreneur Academy website. 2022 Books for Solo Business Owners […]
E-myth Revisited: A Must-Read for Entrepreneurs
Learn how to reduce chaos in your business by creating operating procedures. This information is particularly helpful for entrepreneurs and solopreneurs. This article includes suggestions based on the book The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael Gerber.
How to Cope with Anxiety as an Entrepreneur
If you have anxiety, you are not alone. Several years ago, I attended a family reunion and reconnected with cousins that I hadn’t seen for thirty years. I was shocked to learn that anxiety – something that I’ve struggled with throughout my life – was rampant throughout my family tree. According to the Anxiety and […]
Resilience and covid-19 business recovery
What is resilience? Psychological resilience your ability to adapt in the face of adversity, tragedy, trauma and/or everyday stress. Resilience does not mean that you face adversity or illness without pain or distress. Instead, resilience means that you “bounce back” and rebuild your life despite your feelings of grief, anger and disappointment. I remember this […]
Video Marketing for Entrepreneurs
This article contains lessons learned by a home-based entrepreneur when she began appearing on video.
The Importance of Accessible Education
One of the big takeaways from covid-19 shutdowns was the importance of in-school instruction. Even when remote learning was an option, student education suffered due to isolation, technical issues, the inability to concentrate due to background noise, and a lack of connection with their teachers. A study conducted by Mckinsey showed that the impact of […]
Don’t give up on 2021
There are 122 days left in 2021. If you’re like me, you expected Fall 2021 to be very different than Fall 2020. I thought that covid would be in the rear view mirror and life would be back to (new) normal. I was wrong. Instead of life returning to normal, we are on a scary, […]
How to Create a Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing is the creation and distribution of information that builds relationships with customers and prospects, without having an obvious sales message. Examples include articles, checklists, research reports, videos, webinars, and white papers. To receive your content, prospects must give you some kind of contact information (generally an email address or a phone number) that […]
What Entrepreneurs Can Learn from Homestead Rescue
Unfortunately the Memorial Day weekend on Long Island was a total bust due to heavy rains and cold temperatures. Since it felt like March, I reverted to my winter TV watching habits and caught up on Homestead Rescue. In this show, now in its seventh season on the Discovery Channel, the Raney family (dad Marty, […]
Am I a solopreneur, entrepreneur, employee, or independent contractor?
How do you describe your business? Knowing the right terms will help you speak confidently about your business. Understanding the difference between being an employee and an independent contractor will determine how you are compensated for your work and also how you pay your taxes. It can also keep you from getting into trouble with […]
Business lessons from covid vaccine sites
Thursday represented the one-year anniversary of shutdown due to covid-19. I was lucky enough to celebrate by getting the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine. It was a wonderful feeling – despite the sore arm and some other symptoms – to know that I was back on the path to normal living. I am excited […]
Coping with Sadness
This was a sad weekend. In addition to being disappointed about the impeachment verdict, I’m dealing with behavioral challenges with my rescue dogs and a tough miscommunication with a family member. Add that to the covid pandemic (it’s been almost a year since I left my home for anything but essentials), a website breach, and […]
2021 Reading List
I’m excited to announce the 2021 Book Club selections for the Solopreneur Academy — just in time for your Christmas list. These books are among my favorites and very helpful to female solo business owners. You can see the calendar of Book Club selections on the Solopreneur Academy website. 2021 Books for Solo Business Owners […]
Lessons from 2020
At the end of each year, I reflect on the lessons that I have learned. Typically they are business-related. However 2020 has been unlike previous years and my views have been heavily influenced by political and public health issues. Here’s what I’ve learned: Elections have consequences. Until 2016, I took principled government for granted. I […]
Coping with Change
As we begin the final month of 2020, it’s obvious how much our world has changed over the past year. It was inconceivable that 13 million Americans would contract covid and we would lose more than 250,000 American lives to this virus. At this time in 2019, few of us knew the terms PPE or […]
10 things entrepreneurs can learn from elections
Today is voting day in the United States. Many of you know that I emigrated from Canada to the United States. It took me many years to become a citizen and earn my vote in this country’s future. On November 4, 2008, I voted for the first time. This year was my first time voting […]
Three Strategies to Stay Focused
Staying focused during covid has been an ongoing challenge for most of us. We now have more than 8 million Americans who’ve contracted covid, with more than 220,000 deaths and 60,000 people per day being diagnosed. The impact on small businesses and the economy is horrible. Projections show that things will get worse before they […]
Entrepreneurs Need to Celebrate Success
Love it or hate it, most companies are big on celebrations. It might be praise from your boss when you complete a project. Or a cake for your birthday, pizza for a sales kickoff meeting, and a catered lunch for the holidays. If you’re lucky, you’ll be selected as Employee of the Month and have […]
Consider the Opportunity Costs
In mid-August, I fell down some stairs and badly sprained my ankle. Thankfully I didn’t need surgery, however the doctors were adamant that I shouldn’t put weight on my foot for three weeks. Truthfully those three unexpected weeks on the couch were pretty miserable. I was angry (like most accidents, this could have been prevented) […]
Are you paddling upstream?
The last week has been tough for me. I’d planned a vacation week to work on home improvements. The first day, I ended up with heat exhaustion after distributing a load of topsoil over my lawn. It took a week – seven long days – for the nausea and dizziness to subside. To make things […]
SWOT Analysis Planning Tool for Solopreneurs
Is it time for some post-covid planning? The past six months have been very difficult for most of us. My guess is that you — and your business — are in very different places than when we celebrated the new decade on January 1, 2020. In addition to far too many lives lost from the […]
Staycation: The Real Story
How was my staycation? Last week I wrote about plans for my staycation. Covid has limited my ability to travel and I wanted to prove that staycations are a good alternative. My staycation followed my birthday and I worked hard to make it really special. The plan was to write this blog post and share […]
Plan a Staycation
I had a big birthday on Saturday. My original plan was to spend the week in Las Vegas with my husband. The trip was to be a combo of a conference and some well-deserved R&R. As you can guess, thanks to covid, neither the conference nor the vacation is happening. Even my second choice – […]
Coping with Covid
Mental Health Impact of Covid As we move into our sixth month battling covid, I think we’re all feeling the impact of the pandemic. There is huge concern for our mental and physical health, as well as for our economic future. These fears have escalated as government assistance is reduced, at the same time schools […]
How to Survive the Covid Slump
Every solopreneur that I know is struggling right now, including many of my fellow introverts! In New York, five months of sheltering-in-place has taken its toll on our physical and mental health. While most things are open in New York, I’m still just leaving the house for necessities. I really, really don’t want to contract […]
Homeschooling during the Coronavirus
With the pandemic raging and uncertainty about the safety of schools, many of my friends are opting to home school. Since I home schooled my son from 5th Grade through high school and my daughter from 2nd Grade through high school, I wanted to offer some seasoned home school advice to make this time easier […]
13 Ways Solopreneurs Can Stay Mentally Healthy During the Coronavirus
Greetings from a former Covid epicenter! I live on Long Island, New York. At the beginning of April, Long Island had less than 1 percent of the U.S. population and more than 9 percent of the known cases of covid. Suffolk County, where I live, has a population of less than 1.5 million and has […]
20 Best Business Books for Female Solopreneurs
I am privileged to run a Book Club for female solo business owners who are members of the Solopreneur Academy community. Each month, we discuss a book of particular interest to female business owners. Here are some of our favorites. (Videos are available for Solopreneur Academy members.) 1. Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven […]
Business planning after covid-19
Like many of you, I started 2020 very excited and with big goals. It was a new decade and time for a Super-Dee-Duper year (to quote Barney the children’s dinosaur). Clearly that didn’t turn out as expected! To date, more than 115,000 people in the U.S. have died from covid-19. We’ve endured business shutdowns, sheltering-in-place, […]
Black Lives Matter
I am a white woman in my late 50s. I have never been afraid of the police. I have never experienced terror that my 25-year-old son would be killed by police just for the color of his skin. I have never considered that I could be killed for bird-watching, jogging or passing a counterfeit $20 […]
Stop Self-Sabotage
What is self-sabotage? Self-sabotage refers to any thoughts or behavior that undermines your best interests or keeps you from achieving your goals. These thoughts or actions seem to be a direct contradiction to what you really want. For instance: Even though you want to write a chapter for your book, you spend the day watching […]
Conquering Imposter Syndrome
What is Imposter Syndrome? Imposter Syndrome is the fear of being exposed as a fraud – despite external evidence of your accomplishments. You do not feel worthy of success due to your skills, knowledge and expertise. Instead, you credit your success to luck, personal connections, or a mistake. Do you have Imposter Syndrome? In The Secret […]
Don’t Quit.
This has been a tough few weeks for everybody. My county in Long Island, New York has more than 5,000 cases of the coronavirus. While the current focus is on staying healthy, most of us are also stressed over changed schedules, lost income, extra people in the home, and the economic impact of the shelter-in-place […]
Tips for Working from Home During the Coronavirus
In this blog post, I share some tips and tricks to help you work from home during the Coronavirus – especially if you have children or spouses home 24/7. I’m an expert on working from home I believe I am an expert on working from home. I have run a home-based business for more than […]
Dealing with Coronavirus as a Solopreneur
I’m a person who likes structure. I like to plan, to know what’s happening during a given day (or month), and to work toward goals. As a result, I don’t do well when a potential pandemic messes with my plans – and I suspect other solopreneurs are feeling equally anxious! Challenges Created by the Coronavirus […]
9 Best Business Reality TV Shows for Entrepreneurs
Discover 6 best business reality TV shows for female entrepreneurs and what you will learn that can help grow your business.
How do you deal with stress as an entrepreneur
10 ways entrepreneurs can deal with stress It’s been another horrendous week in the United States. There have been many discussions among my fellow entrepreneurs about how we can run our businesses — and deal with the stress of mass shootings, domestic terrorism, hatred toward minorities, and nasty political advertisements. While these events aren’t not […]