Not All of Inner Circle Thumbs Up
Although all the members of my inner circle are not thumbs up about it, I am venturing forward none the less. It’s an idea that I have waited years to implement as a solopreneur. My dream has been to have an organization as well as a magic show based on that organization. So this begs the question that since when making important decisions I have a round table of confidants, does this mean I’m not a solopreneur?
Becoming a Solopreneur Can be a Good Decision
I think truly being a solopreneur in the ultimate sense of doing entrepreneurial activity with absolutely no input from others might technically be possible, but I believe it’s not the smart way to go. If you are an introvert or are seeking solitude for whatever reason when doing business, putting on the hat of being solopreneur can be a good decision.
Managing Online Freelancers
Though, I feel that it is unrealistic to think that you can do it all on your own. Hey, if you’re into being a multitasking phenomenon more power to you, but in the end you’ll make more money if you don’t do all the work yourself and rather manage online freelancers. The suggestion is to have online freelancers do most of the work and then you tweak the results to make it client ready.
Midtown Studio
That’s what I do and it has been working out really well. Yet, despite relying on others is a part of my business model, I still consider myself to be a solopreneur. The flip side of this approach is the methodology I used when having my incorporated company for 12 years in a media studio in the heart of Midtown Manhattan, NY. Although we always made money, I found the approach a bit overwhelming.
Managing People Live
I had, what for me, was a lot of folks in person doing what needed to be done. At any given time in the studio I’d have live 7 or so individual freelancers. One of the reasons that I shut down the organization was because managing people was not what I wanted to do. Though I should mention that the people who worked with me were awesome!
Cyber Delegation
When I discovered online freelancers this became a good solution for me, because I could delegate the work via the internet and then the next time I’d hear from the person who I emailed tasks to do, it usually was for the reason of a job well done.
Use Yourself as Your Initial Guinea Pig
If you don’t have a background of being a manager (either virtually or in person), the secret I’ve discovered to being a solopreneur on the web is to first do the work yourself that you are eventually going to assign to online freelancers.
Making an Income
Make notes regarding your workflow and process then divy up the tasks. You can create step by step documents for each of your freelancers which you email to them. It goes without saying you should be certain that the cost of doing business (freelancers, apps, etc.) is less than what you charge clients. You should have a decent margin.
And Finally…
So what is the answer to the question “Is being a solopreneur really possible?” In my abridged definition I would have to say “yes.” What about you? Are you an ArtisticPreneur and Solopreneur? What’s you definition of a solopreneur? We’d love to hear from you!