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On episode 10 of The Solopreneur Hour, we talked about the 8 Steps to Becoming a Solopreneur. I thought it would be good for you guys to see what it was like for someone to be going through the process, live, and see what we can learn.
The subject at hand is Jessica Shaanan, who currently works for her father’s design firm, but is quickly becoming unemployable. We chat about her career, and where she is on the timeline with the 8 Steps to becoming a Solopreneur.
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Let’s walk through each of the eight steps, how Jessica is using each and how you can too.
1. Find your passion.
Everyone has a passion, something they want to do to leave their mark on the world. For Jessica it’s health and wellness, from healthy eating to personal well-being.
Healthy eating is something she’s studying right now at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition; she’ll be a certified coach when she’s finished. She’s also building an Isagenix business through IsaLab. Well-being is a far broader spectrum, but for her it includes having a daily spiritual/grounding practice as well as being a certified yogini. She’s exploring how her varied interests in this area will become a part of her brand.
2. Immerse yourself in the culture.
For Jessica this has meant going to various conferences, both for her current work and for her future business. From Yoga Journal conferences to medical conferences, attending events like these expose her to new ideas, new people and new ways of being.
For other solopreneurs immersing yourself in a culture will also means going to events and learning everything you can both in the online and the offline world about your interest and your focus.
3. Seek knowledge.
This one goes hand in hand with number 2. By immersing yourself in a culture you will be gaining tons and tons of knowledge. Jessica has done this by reading the Sexy Six, earning her coaching certification and learning from people around her. This is also where something called “proof of concept” comes into play. Look for others who are doing what you are doing: how have they been successful? What do they bring to the world that you can learn from?
4. Make a decision and take action.
You’ll never have all the knowledge, you’ll never have everything perfectly mapped out so jump in and make a decision to take action once you’ve worked through the previous three steps. Jessica has done this by joining IsaLab and taking coaching courses. She realized she has a lot of various passions and interests, but by taking action she’ll put the pieces together along the way.
How you decide to do this will look different based on your business idea, but at the end of the day the bottom line remains the same: make a decision and take action.
5. Surround yourself with leaders.
Find people who are doing what you want to do and connect with them, both online and in person. Take their courses, read their books, follow them on Twitter, join their Facebook groups, etc. And when possible, attend events and get to know them in the flesh. If you have more time than money, offer your time to someone you want to learn from and make yourself available to them. Soon you will be invaluable to that person.
Jessica has surrounded herself with leaders, even from other field, but people who are still leaders in other areas. She’s listened to them and is applying their strategies to her own path.
6. Take more action.
This is where many of us stop. We think by joining groups, going to events and taking classes we’re doing enough. But there is always more action to take.
Jessica has started the branding process and is creating her avatar, a vital step for any solopreneur. If you want to find your avatar you need to think of and create one specific person you will be serving with your business. Mentally create this person for yourself, they are your ideal client. What is their name, their gender, their age, their income level, education level, hobbies, personal life, etc.
7. Show gratitude.
Every day say thank you for what you have. You have to be grateful for where you are in order to move forward. You can thank the people in your life with your words and your actions. Jessica took a woman to lunch because she was interested in how this woman has created a successful business in the health industry, and Jessica thanked her by paying at the end of their lunch and thanking her via email the next day. You can do the same thing.
8. Give back.
All of us can give back in some way, and it’s important to do in every stage of our business whether we’re just starting out or we’ve achieved financial freedom and time freedom. We get what we give in life so help others however you can starting today, it’s a vital part of becoming a successful solopreneur.
Please join me in thanking Jessica for being on the show; it was great to highlight her journey and show everyone how to take each of the eight steps and apply them to your everyday life. Thank you for being here and for listening in, we’ll see you next time!
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Episode Resources
IsaLab
Life After 8 Weeks
Episode 10 of The Solopreneur Hour
Jessica Shanaan on Twitter
Proudly Unemployable, the Facebook group
SoloLab: A Unique Mastermind
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