?????? EUREKA – I HAVE FOUND IT
Craig Allan (The Black Knight?)
Changing lives through expert Coaching, one goal at a time. Improving leadership & accelerating business performance, for small/medium businesses. LinkedIn Consulting/Training. Avid bushcrafter. Wildlife & nature nerd.
Yes, after almost 4 years of business ownership, I can confidently say that I really have found the secret to SOLOPRENEURSHIP. (is that even a word?) ????
I wrote about the subject of TIME V INCOME for sole traders last year.
I was asking other sole traders how they coped with the boom-and-bust nature of being a solopreneur.
My income at the time was all over the place, and it was all down to the structure of my work and my processes (or lack thereof).
I knew that I could comfortably manage up to 4 retained clients at any one time, without compromising my service levels.
The issue was that while I had 4 clients, I had no time to dedicate to marketing, to fill my pipeline, which meant I had a great income until the client contracts expired, typically after 3 or 6 months.
Then, nothing. No income. No new clients. No pipeline.
It was a very stressful way to work.
Surprisingly, all I received from my network was, “we experience exactly the same issues”.
No-one had any practical advice on how they had resolved the issue.
I presume because no-one had.
?
EUREKA!
Well, I have resolved it!
My “eureka” moment came for me in January this year when I was planning the year ahead.
I immediately started to pivot Different Mindset? and boy, am I glad I did!
No more boom-and-bust, and I am altogether more relaxed about my business.
What did I do?
Simple!
?? I changed my market.
?? I changed my service.
?? I changed my desire for retained clients.
Today, I only work on a 1-2-1 basis for Coaching.
ALL THE 2s
2 meetings of 2 hours, every 2 weeks.
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That’s it!
Together we create and build a plan to ensure you reach your goals.
The process works perfectly because it gives you time to work towards your plan between meetings.
Now, I could, if I wanted, comfortably manage up to 32 clients with bi-weekly meetings. (Although I don’t have plans to go above 10 for now. And at present, I am accommodating clients with out of normal working hours meetings).
All Coaching is delivered remotely, which allows me to keep client costs to a minimum. (￡250 per session - ￡500/month)
What made me change my business model so dramatically?
The answer to that is one you already know…. I started to work ON instead of IN my business.
It’s still work in progress, but I no longer have the sleepless nights. The stress. The worry about where my next client is coming from.
And I’m much happier with my lot.
I hope my experience will help other solopreneurs in their businesses and would welcome any thoughts or questions.
And if you own a small business and want to see what’s possible when you have the right Coach, let’s talk.
Thanks for visiting and please let me have your thoughts and experience on SOLOPRENEURSHIP below. ??
And if you like the things I write about, please give a hard punch on that ?? and consider connecting with me or following me, because I have so much more to share.
Have a wonderful week!
Craig
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? My name is Craig and I’m the Coach you need
? I am also The Black Knight
? I Coach leaders just like you
? Transforming small and medium businesses
? Follow and Connect with me -?https://lnkd.in/e7uYgCSY
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1 年Sounds like a much-improved plan, Craig Allan (The Black Knight). Good to hear!