Are You Cut Out To Be A Solopreneur?

A professional solopreneur runs a business alone, without the support of a staff. Some are independent contractors, while others operate companies on a small scale. Before you quit your job in pursuit of solo success, it's important to evaluate whether or not you have the personality and motivation to tackle the inevitable challenges.

Financial Instability

If you've worked for other people for your entire professional life, the financial instability of going it alone can be a difficult adjustment. As a professional solopreneur, the finances are entirely in your hands. You're responsible for securing work, getting clients to pay, paying taxes, buying supplies and handling business expenses. If work dries up, you may be faced with months of no income. To succeed in a business without guaranteed regular pay checks, you must be a skilled planner and budgeteer.

Large Time Investment

For a professional solopreneur, a workday is rarely limited to standard business hours. Once client work is wrapped up, there's always something else to do: tweaking marketing materials, updating social media and going after new clients, to name just a few. There's always more work to do, which can overwhelm you and make it difficult to strike a balance between personal and professional activities. On the flip side, being your own boss allows greater scheduling flexibility. If you want to take the afternoon off to go shopping, you can make up the time in the evening — or not at all. You can work remotely, operate a business from a foreign country or take extended working vacations. Independent contractors and freelancers have even greater flexibility; many can take breaks between large projects without sabotaging business.

Sales Mentality

When you run a solo business, you alone are responsible for bringing in new clients and customers. If you're uncomfortable with self-promotion, sales and marketing, the transition can be difficult. As a professional solopreneur, you must learn how to promote your business in person, online, over the phone and in print. For people whose businesses center on a passion, these efforts can feel like a distraction from the work itself.

Social Isolation

Although an office can feel confining and restricting, it also includes a social component that makes the hard times more bearable. When you become a professional solopreneur, you lose that built-in community. The sudden isolation can lead to lonelieness, particularly for people with social personalities. To succeed on your own, you must learn to be comfortable working alone or find ways to add a social component. Some independent business owners deal with the isolation by renting a co-working space, participating in networking events or sharing a storefront with other solopreneurs.

Becoming a professional solopreneur can be a rewarding and lucrative endeavor — but only if you can overcome the inherent challenges. By preparing yourself for the potential roadblocks and developing strategies to combat problems, you can achieve solo success.

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