Solve Your Own Problems, Build Your Brand. Try This.
The internet gives us solopreneurs a lot of advice - like a lottttt.
And while much of it contradicts itself - leaving us all scratching our heads…
Two things remain true about building a profitable solo business:
You need to sell something
You need to promote yourself and the thing you sell
”Provide Value,” they say.
But how?
You see, In order to provide value, you must first know the problem you aim to solve. This goes for the content you make, and the things that you sell.
The Problem: Not knowing what problem to solve
(soo meta right?.. )
The Solution: Look backward to go forward
The Benefit: Solving your own problems turns into new offers and marketing material for your brand
Today, I am going to show you how solving your own problems is the ticket to building a great solo business.
My First Attempts Sucked… This is Why
When I began to post content online the goal was to build an audience and have that fuel my business.
But without realizing it…
I was doing (at least) a few things wrong that would ultimately leave me,
→ Deflated
→ Burnt-out
→ Bitter
→ Questioning my own existence as a self-employed solo biz owner
Some of the major problems were…
I Was Focused on the Wrong Goal-Post
I was too focused on convincing the world that I knew what I was talking about (to make up for my own insecurity and imposter feelings), that I didn’t realize I was screwing myself out of the opportunity to build trust with the very people I was desperate to help.
When promoting yourself online, demonstrating your skills/expertise and building trust are key elements to establishing an engaged audience.
However…
I felt as though I had to prove my expertise in order to gain trust.
And although that may be true to an extent,
There are ways to build trust while you actively work on building your own expertise and the perceived authority that comes with it.
Looking back, I now realize that this was one of the major hangups that kept me from finding the growth and engagement that I was so eager to obtain.
And with that, I can now see very clearly that a lot of people struggle in the same department.
The Result = Feeling Scattered
I Was Way Too Broad on Who I Aimed to Reach
At the beginning of your social media and content creation journey, you’re happy to get attention from anybody - anyone who’s willing to listen and hopefully follow/subscribe.
And although seeing positive feedback in the form of engagement feels nice, the more important question to ask is: Who am I trying to reach using my content as a means of connection?
In the beginning, I didn’t care who it was;
I was purely chasing likes and views.
And because I didn’t prioritize the type of person that I wanted to reach, I didn’t have any clue as to what content I should be making.
The byproduct we all face at some point is a lack of direction in which platforms to use, what type of content to post, and what topics to focus on as your main core topics.
Take it from me - the more broad you allow yourself to be,
the more scattered you will inevitably feel.
As a brief contradiction to this point…
This whole principle goes out the window if you are either highly established already online or just making content for fun. If either of these is the case, then do whatever the heck you please.
The Result = Dire Confusion
I Pretended to Know More Than I Did
I’ve mentioned in the past that for better or worse, I really adopted the ‘fake it til you make it’ approach when first jumping into solopreneurship.
In some ways, it’s brave and noble,
while in many ways, it’s brave and dumb.
I was fully aware of what I was doing with this because it had worked for me in the past with getting new freelance clients. And yes, I did a great job for every client, with testimonials to prove it.
I figured the same bold approach would work. But…
When it comes to marketing yourself via posting content online the “faking it” thing doesn’t work.
People can see right through this BS online.
The Result = Imposter Syndrome Overload
Granted, there’s a difference between intentionally presenting yourself in a specific manner and outright lying. But…
After a few months with literally no traction, I realized I was missing the mark. It wasn’t the algorithm’s fault, it was mine…
What I should’ve done is look backward to move forward…
And when I finally did so, my perspective began to shift, and everything became easier.
The Trick: Revisit the ‘You’ From 1 Year Ago
As long as you haven't given up on your solo business journey, there's no doubt that you've learned a handful of things.
I encourage you to take the time to look back at the skills you've developed along your journey. It's highly likely that you've learned a lot of important lessons and valuable skills simply by sticking to your plan and improving each day.
You don't have to ‘try to learn’ in order to learn.
You just have to aim to improve and not give up on yourself.
Doing this guarantees that each day you will build new skills and insights.
“The most powerful leadership tool you have is your own personal example.” – John Wooden
This was my big "aha" moment a couple of years ago.
The moment I realized,
"It doesn't matter how far along I am in my journey! There are people out there today struggling with things that I too struggled with and found or created a solution for. I can provide value to literally anyone who is even one day 'behind' me in their journey.”
Begin to use this trick for yourself, and you’ll immediately begin to…
Turn Your Progress Into Content & Solutions
Not only does looking backward help you decide what content to create, but it will also reveal potential areas for you to build a product or service that you could offer to those who are currently struggling with things that you once struggled with as well.
For instance, I went through a challenging phase last year in my solo business journey as I struggled to enjoy freelancing knowing that it's not what I wanted to build a long-term business on.
During that time of doubt, I was really interested in the creator biz model.
However, I did not understand the differences between working as a freelancer and working as a creator. I began to study this and started to recognize the distinct pros and cons between the two paths, and that neither is right or wrong… It's all based on the individual.
Because of this, I put together a free quiz as a lead magnet that would help others who might struggle with what type of one-person business they want to start or evolve into.
Not only was I able to create something that I knew would be valuable for people, but it has also served as one of the top-performing email list-building tactics that I have employed thus far.
Although pivoting here and there, I have now built checklists, quizzes, online courses, and digital tools based on what I used to struggle with.
🔑What I did was package my own solutions in a way that becomes solutions for others.
If you can save your audience time, stress, or money, you will easily be able to build an engaged following where many will become customers.
This is the win/win scenario for all involved.
Now Ask Yourself…
With everything you’ve learned along your journey about yourself, your niche, business, sales, etc...
Begin to conduct a Q&A with yourself using the following prompts:
What tool do you wish existed that doesn’t yet?
Who did you look to for advice? What was the challenge in finding them?
What did you use to procrastinate on? Why? How did you get over this?
Do you have a custom workflow, system, or database you swear by?
What were the first roadblocks you had when getting started in biz? How did you get over this?
Do you have a unique solution that you’ve found that saves you time, energy, or money in your biz?
What questions or headaches did you have that took you too long to find an answer to? Why did it take so long?
What helps you make the daily decisions that your biz requires you to make? Do you have a process?
Hopefully, your gears are turning. ⚙️
Soon you will have a list of problems and the solutions you’ve come up with that have worked for you.
Remember… If you’ve struggled with a problem in the past, it’s incredibly likely that there are others wrestling with that same exact hurdle right now.
You’ve learned a lot. You’ve conquered many things. Big or small… A problem is still a problem.
The best solo businesses are built by normal people, conquering real problems, and providing their solution to those in need.
This happens in the form of content and offers.
Until next time ❤️✌️🙂
Ev
