45 | How to become a successful solopreneur

Speaker: 00:00:00

Hello and welcome to Women in

the Coaching Arena podcast.

2

: 00:00:04

I'm so glad you are here.

3

: 00:00:06

I'm Jo Lott, a business mentor

and ICF accredited coach

4

: 00:00:10

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

and I help coaches to

5

: 00:00:11

build brilliant businesses.

6

: 00:00:14

I know that when you prepare to enter

the arena, there is fear, self doubt,

7

: 00:00:19

comparison, anxiety, uncertainty.

8

: 00:00:23

You can tend to armor up and

protect yourself from vulnerability.

9

: 00:00:29

In this podcast, I'll be sharing

honest, not hype, practical and

10

: 00:00:32

emotional tools to support you to make

the difference that you are here for.

11

: 00:00:37

Dare greatly.

12

: 00:00:38

You belong in this arena.

13

: 00:00:41

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone)-1:

Hello, welcome to episode 45

14

: 00:00:43

of women in the coaching arena.

15

: 00:00:45

I am so glad you are here.

16

: 00:00:47

Today, I'm going to talk about how

to be a successful solopreneur.

17

: 00:00:51

Because most aspiring

entrepreneurs or solopreneurs

18

: 00:00:55

get stuck in that planning phase.

19

: 00:00:58

They dream big, but often fail to act.

20

: 00:01:01

And I see this time and time again, which

is why I'm so excited to do this episode.

21

: 00:01:06

To build your empire, you

must take that first step.

22

: 00:01:10

Today.

23

: 00:01:11

I will talk about how to

shift from dreaming to doing.

24

: 00:01:15

I'm going to outline 10

steps as your roadmap.

25

: 00:01:19

And this will be the

blueprint to your success.

26

: 00:01:22

So let's break it down step by step.

27

: 00:01:24

Whether you are a new or established

entrepreneur or solopreneur these

28

: 00:01:30

steps are relevant regardless.

29

: 00:01:32

So I hope they bring you huge clarity.

30

: 00:01:36

So step one, identify your strengths.

31

: 00:01:39

So firstly, we need to understand your

strengths, what you are naturally good at.

32

: 00:01:43

And this insight is crucial

for finding your niche.

33

: 00:01:46

I like to take my clients

through a full life reflection.

34

: 00:01:51

That often brings up niches that

they had never even considered.

35

: 00:01:54

I love the fact that you are unique.

36

: 00:01:57

You are the only one person who

has experienced all the different

37

: 00:02:01

things that you have experienced.

38

: 00:02:03

And those lessons are usually

the key to your niche.

39

: 00:02:07

And that leads me perfectly into

40

: 00:02:09

step two, which is embrace an obsession.

41

: 00:02:13

You need to find something that

drives you, that you are motivated by.

42

: 00:02:19

This obsession will be your fuel in

your business and it is required.

43

: 00:02:23

I do not think you can build a business

unless you are obsessed by that business.

44

: 00:02:30

Especially those first two

years when yes, it's hard.

45

: 00:02:33

There is so much to do.

46

: 00:02:34

There is so much to build.

47

: 00:02:36

You do need to be obsessed to keep

going, to take action and to do the

48

: 00:02:40

things required to build your business.

49

: 00:02:43

Leading perfectly into step

three, which is master your craft.

50

: 00:02:47

So now it's time to combine

your skills and your obsession.

51

: 00:02:52

Mastery comes from consistent practice.

52

: 00:02:54

People often want it to be easier than it

is, especially with regards to marketing.

53

: 00:03:00

It's like, just tell me exactly

what to say, but the thing is you

54

: 00:03:03

need to learn this skill because

you need to say it every single

55

: 00:03:07

day and in several different ways.

56

: 00:03:09

So it can't always be

a cut and paste script.

57

: 00:03:13

You need to learn to love

and practice marketing.

58

: 00:03:17

It's a bit like coaching.

59

: 00:03:18

You need to realize it is multifaceted

and there is a lot to learn and

60

: 00:03:22

just like coaching is something

that you practice time and time

61

: 00:03:27

and time again, to get good at.

62

: 00:03:30

And there is no such thing as done.

63

: 00:03:32

It's a lifelong skill.

64

: 00:03:33

Just like any other skill that we master.

65

: 00:03:36

The same goes for your actual craft.

66

: 00:03:39

So your actual coaching

or your delivery method.

67

: 00:03:42

Again, it never stops.

68

: 00:03:44

I'm refining my program massively

at the moment and it's been

69

: 00:03:48

running for two and a half years.

70

: 00:03:50

And I'm learning every single day,

how to make it better, continue to

71

: 00:03:54

refine again and again, and again.

72

: 00:03:57

So continue to reflect, refine, get

feedback, think about what else,

73

: 00:04:02

where are people getting stuck?

74

: 00:04:03

How can I make that better?

75

: 00:04:05

Really think about how you

can make your products.

76

: 00:04:08

In other words, your coaching service,

the best that it could possibly be.

77

: 00:04:12

Step four is share your journey.

78

: 00:04:15

So do share those learnings publicly.

79

: 00:04:17

If you are in the middle of your

coach training, share about that,

80

: 00:04:20

share what you learned today.

81

: 00:04:22

Share how you found the journey so far.

82

: 00:04:24

Publicly sharing your journey

will build authenticity and

83

: 00:04:28

connects you with your audience.

84

: 00:04:30

No one wants a perfectly done person.

85

: 00:04:33

Everyone wants to see your

journey and then they cannot

86

: 00:04:36

help, but want to support you.

87

: 00:04:38

So show as much of that journey as you

possibly can, while you are building it.

88

: 00:04:44

Step five is attract your tribe.

89

: 00:04:47

So by sharing your story, you

will start to attract people

90

: 00:04:50

who resonate with your message.

91

: 00:04:52

And this is how you build your community.

92

: 00:04:54

It certainly happened for me.

93

: 00:04:56

And I was helping loads and loads of

coaches who were contacting me saying.

94

: 00:05:01

I see you're a career coach.

95

: 00:05:02

I see you out there.

96

: 00:05:03

You're doing all these things.

97

: 00:05:04

Do you mind sharing how you're doing that?

98

: 00:05:07

So then I started to share

how I was doing that.

99

: 00:05:10

And that's who I attracted in.

100

: 00:05:12

So often people create a niche,

but really you need to also just

101

: 00:05:18

start noticing who's coming to you.

102

: 00:05:20

And I know loads of other

people have had the same.

103

: 00:05:23

My friend Fay Wallis who had talked

about a lot was running a general

104

: 00:05:27

career coaching business, but then

she realized nearly everyone were HR

105

: 00:05:31

professionals wanting to change career.

106

: 00:05:33

So she eventually niched into that.

107

: 00:05:36

So it's about constantly noticing

who are you attracting, and that

108

: 00:05:39

will help you to continue to refine

your niche, your audience, your

109

: 00:05:43

tribe, so you become a niche of one.

110

: 00:05:47

Step six is to solve problems.

111

: 00:05:49

Listen to your audience or your

network, identify their challenges and

112

: 00:05:54

think about how you can solve them.

113

: 00:05:57

It surprises me all the time,

how little we realize that

114

: 00:06:02

people pay to fix problems.

115

: 00:06:03

They don't pay for coaching or such.

116

: 00:06:06

They pay to.

117

: 00:06:08

Have a better relationship

with their husband.

118

: 00:06:10

They pay to get that next promotion.

119

: 00:06:13

Or to get to that next

level in their business.

120

: 00:06:16

That is what we are paying for.

121

: 00:06:18

So I think the more we can realize and

hone in on particular problems, those

122

: 00:06:23

exact challenges that people need solving.

123

: 00:06:26

The more money you will

make in your business.

124

: 00:06:29

Leading me perfectly into step seven.

125

: 00:06:32

So this is to package your solutions.

126

: 00:06:34

So develop services that provide

solutions to those problems.

127

: 00:06:38

It can be a complete solution.

128

: 00:06:41

For example, my program will help you

to build your whole coaching business.

129

: 00:06:45

But it could be a micro problem as part

of that, like I could niche into helping

130

: 00:06:50

people niche, or I could niche into email

marketing or I could niche into sales.

131

: 00:06:56

So it depends on what you want

to do as to which part of the

132

: 00:07:01

problem you want to solve.

133

: 00:07:02

Do you want to take them on that

big transformation from having no

134

: 00:07:06

idea where to begin to Having that

fully fledged thriving business.

135

: 00:07:12

Or do you want to have a shorter

transformation, which might

136

: 00:07:15

just be one small stage of that.

137

: 00:07:18

If for example, it's a

leadership challenge.

138

: 00:07:20

Do you want them to communicate

better or do you want to help

139

: 00:07:24

them become a better leader?

140

: 00:07:25

There are so many

different ways of doing it.

141

: 00:07:27

So really think about those solutions.

142

: 00:07:31

If you want to look back to episode

10 of this podcast, it's on how to

143

: 00:07:36

create a signature coaching program.

144

: 00:07:38

So that will help go deeper

into exactly how to package your

145

: 00:07:41

solution into something that people

understand enough to pay for.

146

: 00:07:46

Okay.

147

: 00:07:46

Step eight is to establish

your coaching practice.

148

: 00:07:49

So now you roughly know who you're helping

and how you're helping them we need to

149

: 00:07:54

set up your business .Define your rates.

150

: 00:07:57

Create a great client onboarding process.

151

: 00:07:59

Create your website.

152

: 00:08:01

Create your profiles.

153

: 00:08:03

All of those things will build

as part of your business.

154

: 00:08:07

So, this is the part where we really take

your ideas and we start bringing them

155

: 00:08:11

into a strong business and a strong brand

156

: 00:08:15

step nine is to build

strong client relationships.

157

: 00:08:18

Relationships build your business.

158

: 00:08:20

So if you aren't sure what the

purpose of marketing is, it is

159

: 00:08:23

all about building relationships.

160

: 00:08:26

So if you're thinking it's sleazy

or anything along those lines, just

161

: 00:08:30

go back to you are just building

a relationship with people.

162

: 00:08:34

You are actually trying to help

them make progress in their life.

163

: 00:08:37

We need to get rid of this chore

that most people think marketing is.

164

: 00:08:43

I am here today.

165

: 00:08:44

This is marketing.

166

: 00:08:45

This is my Friday night.

167

: 00:08:46

And I am here talking to you

because I hear from you all the

168

: 00:08:50

time that this makes a difference.

169

: 00:08:52

So this for me is an absolute joy

of building a relationship with you

170

: 00:08:57

and helping you to move forward.

171

: 00:08:58

So the more you can turn that in your

mind of building your business, helping

172

: 00:09:03

as many people as you possibly can.

173

: 00:09:06

Then you will start to

reap the rewards from that.

174

: 00:09:10

You also want to build

strong client relationships.

175

: 00:09:13

So those people want to continue to work

with you and become lifelong advocates

176

: 00:09:18

and refer other people your way.

177

: 00:09:20

I am so lucky that my word

of the year is championing.

178

: 00:09:24

And I wrote in brackets,

both me, them, and then me.

179

: 00:09:28

And that's exactly what it

feels like for my clients.

180

: 00:09:30

I will champion them like no one else and

they luckily for me champion me in return.

181

: 00:09:36

So that is what you want for your

business and for your clients,

182

: 00:09:39

because they will then feed your

business as you continue to grow.

183

: 00:09:43

So finally we have reached step 10.

184

: 00:09:45

So expand your impact through

collaboration and networking.

185

: 00:09:49

Now is the time to broaden your

reach by collaborating with other

186

: 00:09:53

people and engaging in networking.

187

: 00:09:55

Back to our earlier point of marketing.

188

: 00:09:58

It's all about building your

relationships and the more people that

189

: 00:10:01

know about your service, the better.

190

: 00:10:04

How can you borrow other people's

audiences or networks by asking

191

: 00:10:09

them if they will share your things.

192

: 00:10:10

By offering to a talk for them?

193

: 00:10:12

How can you continue to get in

front of more and more people?

194

: 00:10:16

Audience building for me has

been the biggest learning I've

195

: 00:10:20

had in the last couple of years.

196

: 00:10:22

There's no point putting stuff

out to a stagnant audience.

197

: 00:10:26

It's about how can you get more

people learning about your services.

198

: 00:10:31

That might be through paid advertising.

199

: 00:10:32

That might be through you hitting

connect on LinkedIn or trying to grow

200

: 00:10:37

your followers on Tik TOK or Instagram?

201

: 00:10:39

However you like to do it .But it's

about how can you get in front of

202

: 00:10:43

people who has your ideal client and how

can you go and speak to those people?

203

: 00:10:50

So let's look at some really inspiring

coaches who have succeeded and now build

204

: 00:10:56

huge brands based on these 10 principles.

205

: 00:10:59

Marie Forleo is an influential life

coach and motivational speaker.

206

: 00:11:04

She focuses on helping entrepreneurs

create the life they love through

207

: 00:11:07

business development and personal growth.

208

: 00:11:09

She worked for absolutely years.

209

: 00:11:12

I think it was 10 plus years

before she felt successful or

210

: 00:11:16

before she really achieved success.

211

: 00:11:18

So I love knowing those stories

because I think often we

212

: 00:11:22

want that overnight success.

213

: 00:11:23

We don't want to do the hard slog.

214

: 00:11:25

And all of the people I'll mention

now have done the hard slog, and that

215

: 00:11:29

is what it takes to be a successful

solopreneur or entrepreneur.

216

: 00:11:33

So let's look at the

biggest one I think I know.

217

: 00:11:36

Tony Robbins, obviously he has

a large organization now, but

218

: 00:11:40

he did start as a solopreneur.

219

: 00:11:42

And he is a prime example of how far

you can go in the coaching industry.

220

: 00:11:47

He is a life coach.

221

: 00:11:48

Self-help author.

222

: 00:11:51

A motivational speaker.

223

: 00:11:52

And he has done it all through showing up.

224

: 00:11:55

So big.

225

: 00:11:56

So much with the idea of service.

226

: 00:11:59

How can he make people's

life better today?

227

: 00:12:02

I think that's one of his quotes.

228

: 00:12:03

Like how can you continue to add value?

229

: 00:12:06

How can you do something to

make people happier today?

230

: 00:12:10

Mel Robbins.

231

: 00:12:11

The five second rule also

started as a solopreneur.

232

: 00:12:15

Her approach is straightforward.

233

: 00:12:17

Action-orientated.

234

: 00:12:18

Focusing on helping people overcome

procrastination and be more courageous

235

: 00:12:22

in their personal and professional lives.

236

: 00:12:25

Brendon Burchard is my next one.

237

: 00:12:28

I love listening to his podcast.

238

: 00:12:30

If you haven't listened, I

would highly recommend it.

239

: 00:12:33

He focuses on high-performance habits

and he has high energy and focuses

240

: 00:12:37

on performance and productivity.

241

: 00:12:39

He has this great practice of every

morning thinking what's one small thing

242

: 00:12:44

I can do to surprise someone today

and I abosolutely that you love that.

243

: 00:12:49

I haven't implemented it every single

day I must admit, but I would love to do

244

: 00:12:53

it because doing good things for people

makes you happy and it makes them happy.

245

: 00:12:58

So can you imagine.

246

: 00:12:59

If you, like him.

247

: 00:13:01

Could implement that small thing.

248

: 00:13:03

What could I do to make

someone happy today?

249

: 00:13:06

And, for example, in my end of year

planning workshop for coaches, I invited

250

: 00:13:10

them to voice note someone there and then.

251

: 00:13:13

Voice note, someone that have

made a massive difference in their

252

: 00:13:15

life in 2023 and say, thank you.

253

: 00:13:17

And they absolutely loved it as did the

people that received those messages.

254

: 00:13:21

And my final example today is Gabby

Bernstein because I am on her spiritual

255

: 00:13:27

manifestation 21 day challenge right now.

256

: 00:13:30

She is combining life coaching

techniques with spiritual principles.

257

: 00:13:35

She's been going a really long time.

258

: 00:13:36

She has showed up.

259

: 00:13:38

She has borrowed a lot

of people's audiences.

260

: 00:13:41

I've heard on loads and

loads of different podcasts.

261

: 00:13:43

And that is how she

has grown her business.

262

: 00:13:47

So each one of these coaches

has a unique approach.

263

: 00:13:49

An area of expertise.

264

: 00:13:51

They all started a solo

preneurs, inspiring for us all.

265

: 00:13:55

Building their brand and

clientele from the ground up.

266

: 00:13:59

They are excellent examples

that we can use to continue to

267

: 00:14:03

grow our own personal brands.

268

: 00:14:05

Create value and create

impactful coaching programs.

269

: 00:14:10

Stepping into solopreneurship can be

daunting, but it is necessary for growth.

270

: 00:14:14

Start small create consistently

don't aim for perfection.

271

: 00:14:19

Remember start now get

perfect later because perfect.

272

: 00:14:22

Never comes.

273

: 00:14:25

So to wrap up the key to successful

solopreneurship is about taking

274

: 00:14:29

action and staying committed to

your passion, to your obsession.

275

: 00:14:33

Ask yourself what is one small step that

you can take today for your future self?

276

: 00:14:41

So thank you for listening.

277

: 00:14:43

If you enjoyed the episode, do

drop me a line and let me know.

278

: 00:14:46

I'm on LinkedIn as Joanna Lott.

279

: 00:14:48

Or Instagram as joannalottcoaching.

280

: 00:14:51

And I would love it if you would

leave me a review and rating.

281

: 00:14:55

It really helps me to get the algorithm,

getting this podcast out to more people.

282

: 00:15:02

And like I say, at the end of every

episode, trust yourself, believe

283

: 00:15:05

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

who keeps on watering the seed.

284

: 00:15:09

Microphone (Samson Q2U Microphone):

Thank you so much for listening to this

285

: 00:15:11

episode of Women in the Coaching Arena.

286

: 00:15:14

I have a mess of free resources on

my website joannalottcoaching.com.

287

: 00:15:21

That's Joanna with an A

and Lott with two T's.

288

: 00:15:24

joannalottcoaching.com.

289

: 00:15:27

And I'll also put links in the show notes.

290

: 00:15:30

Let me know if you found

this episode useful.

291

: 00:15:33

Share it with a friend and

leave me a review, and I will

292

: 00:15:36

personally thank you for that.

293

: 00:15:39

Remember to trust yourself, believe

in yourself and be the wise Gardner

294

: 00:15:43

who keeps on watering the seed.

295

: 00:15:46

Get into the arena dare, greatly and try.