Launching a Solopreneur or Consulting Business

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the careers and daily lives of millions of people. While it hurt many industries and resulted in furloughs, layoffs, and job loss, it also served as a catalyst for many solopreneurs. 

 During the recent economic downturn, many people realized the value of creativity, flexibility, and self-sufficiency that entrepreneurship offers. While it may be intimidating to leave corporate America to start your own business, many solopreneurs took the leap in 2020 and launched their own businesses.   Below are a few tips for launching your own business during an economic downturn. 

Inspirational Businesses Started During Economic Challenges

The COVID-19 pandemic is not the first (won’t be the last for sure!) time we’ve faced an economic crisis. But right now is not the time to shelve your dreams for entrepreneurship, it is quite the opposite. Many highly successful businesses began during recessions and economic downturns including:

Microsoft 

Microsoft was created by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975 right after the 1973-1975 recession officially ended. Of course, this would be a time when most people would say it’s absolutely nuts to try to start a business, but within 10 years Microsoft Corporation grew exponentially, earning both founders billions of dollars. 

Airbnb

Airbnb is a short-term rental application that allows “hosts” to post their rental properties and renters to make reservations. It’s become a huge part of the vacation experience, as the rentals offer a more “homelike” feel than hotels.  

Brian Chesky and Joe Gebbia started the business during the 2007-2009 recession. This huge app started as an air mattress rental in the living room of their San Francisco home. During the recession, many people could not afford hotels, and they turned to Airbnb for affordable short-term rentals. On the other hand, property owners were able to generate another stream of income during the tough times. Airbnb experienced significant growth to make it the popular app it is today, but the timing of its creation certainly played a key role in its adoption. 

 Slack 

Slack, the work messaging app, was also created in 2009, during the 2007-2009 recession. As workplace communication has increasingly gone digital, Slack has experienced continuous growth. Not only was Slack created during an economic crisis, but it’s also experienced a huge increase in demand during the current pandemic due to the surge of remote work. 

 As you can see, some of the most successful businesses we know today began during economic downturns. 

Reasons to Launch Your Own Business

There’s no doubt about it, launching your own business and venturing into solopreneurship is intimidating. Starting a business can seem like a daunting task and a big risk, but it can change your life for the better. Here are some of the top reasons to consider starting a business:

• Flexibility. With corporate jobs, you are locked into the company schedule. When discussing changing careers, Tyler Perry talks about how the traditional jobs he worked would not provide him the flexibility to perform in plays. Flexibility was a major motivation for him to leave and pursue solopreneurship. 
• Focus & Passion. If you feel internally drawn and pulled to do something else, it may be time to listen. Entrepreneurship allows you to marry passion and career for greater fulfillment. 
• Financial gain. Starting a business opens up the possibility of earning far more money than you can by working for someone else. This may not always be the case, but solopreneurship presents an opportunity for financial freedom and greater earnings. 

Should I Quit My Job?

One of the biggest fears that hold people back from starting a business is taking the leap to quit their current job. Fortunately, you don’t have to instantly quit your corporate job to pursue starting your own business. To ensure financial stability, you can continue to work your corporate job. Consider taking on fewer responsibilities or fewer hours to free up time to pursue a business venture.

In the beginning, doing both might be the best. There are many pros and cons to discuss on this aspect; the financial runway you have is a key factor in answering this question for yourself. If you start your business as a side hustle, you are able to still bring in consistent income while starting a business. Eventually, though, the time will come when you must make a choice. If possible, continue at your job as you build your business and momentum, but be ready to make the leap when the time comes. 

 However, during the economic downturn, you may not always have an option to keep your job. Some people pursue entrepreneurship after facing furlough or layoffs. In that case, you should determine if you are able to jump 100% to starting your business right away or if you need to secure another job for financial stability as you do so. 

 Tips for Becoming a Solopreneur / Entrepreneur

The road to starting a business can be a rocky, yet highly rewarding, one. Many of the businesses we know were started by solopreneurs or entrepreneur pairs. Over time, they’ve grown into the huge success stories they are today.  Here are some tips for getting started:

Marry Passion with Productivity 

One of the best parts about starting your own business is the ability to choose everything about your business. The first choice you have to make is what your business will be about. For the best shot at happiness and success, follow your heart. Yes, business is about making money, but you should also do something you enjoy (that’s why you’re starting your business, after all!). Find a way to combine your passions and interests with a sound business concept. 

Create a Budget

One of the biggest mistakes solopreneurs make is pouring too much money into their business right off the bat. Yes, eventually you’ll need to market your business and develop new products, but in the beginning, you need a clear budget to get started. Start saving as you outline your budget. Depending on the nature of your business, you may need to source a capital investment, and defining your budget is one way to find this out early on. 

Leverage Tools

Automate the operations you can, like billing or project management. There are useful tools available, but keep the budget in mind and stay disciplined. When deciding if a tool is worth it, consider the time it would cost you to manually do the task vs what you pay for the tool. An important caveat in this is to not get caught up in SOS “‘shiny object syndrome”. While it is important to have some software and other tools to streamline administrative tasks, keep in mind that you don’t need massive systems to get started. It can also be tempting to spend so much time and money on “getting things ready” that it delays your service or product offering. A useful approach is to get a “minimally viable product” MVP out there, test it with customers, get the feedback and refine it before scaling or investing a ton of your time and money. Never take the “build it and they will come” approach. That method has tanked thousands of early stage businesses. Stay lean, nimble, test, adjust, adapt and grow. For a great read on the topic, you may wish to grab the book, “The Lean Startup” by Eric Reis.

Here also are a couple of my favorite tools. 

• Cloze. This project management tool integrates with email, has a killer follow up tool and integrates what often seems like a million mental post-it notes into one central place. You can share access with your whole team and split up tasks into manageable steps.
• 17 Hats . You can simplify invoicing, proposals, contracts, scheduling, and have a core CRM system all in one. It can be ideal for the early-stage entrepreneur . 

 Naturally, LinkedIn is often one of the most important tools available to you and will help leverage many aspects of your budding business. If you are interested in tips on how to get started with social selling, here is an article on that topic: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/social-selling-7-step-framework-iris-culp-m-ed-sphr-shrm-scp/

Outsource

In an attempt to save money and maintain control over their business, too many solopreneurs try to wear all the hats. To be ultimately successful, you cannot do it all for long, as the business grows. If you try to do this, YOU will be the one standing in your own way of growth. You are one person and no matter how talented you are, you can only sustain trying to do everything for so long. Understandably, you won’t have the capital right away to hire many or any full-time employees. Outsourcing certain tasks can help alleviate some of the pressure while still meeting your budget. 

Final Note: 

Starting your own business and venturing into entrepreneur or solopreneur life is an exciting option. Forming a business or starting consulting may seem like a big jump, but many successful companies began during economic downturns. Don’t kill the idea simply because it doesn’t SEEM like ideal perfect timing. There is no perfect time, but there are great ideas that serve an audience. Addressing and serving a need is what matters in starting a business. 

I have assisted many technical experts launch their own solopreneur businesses. If it makes sense for you to connect with me for a conversation on the topic, I am reachable at https://tinyurl.com/6amktb7c or at [email protected]. I may or may not be a fit for your business, and that’s completely up to you. I have a network of others that I can reach out to and refer if I am not the right person. Best to you on the journey – you’ve got this! Let me know how the journey goes:)!