There's a Better Way to Get There Than Solo
Solopreneurs are becoming their own worst enemy, clinging to the label for the wrong reasons.
Ask one why they fly solo and you'll get reasonable answers.
🟢The freedom of making all the choices and doing things your way
🟢 You get to keep all of the reward (profit and recognition)
🟢 You don’t have to manage anyone
Nothing wrong with any of those things. But they're just the 'in-the-moment' view. They hold up when things are going well, or in that first breath of fresh air after going out on your own.
But ask again when the honeymoon is over.
When the freedom of making all those choices has become the requirement to make every decision and figure it all out on their own - including the parts they don't enjoy or excel at. (And nobody's giving them feedback on how they're doing it, either. Joe Gannon just wrote about that blind spot.
And keeping all the reward wasn't very enjoyable during the times when there was no reward.
And "not managing anybody" turned out to be a myth. You're still managing clients, vendors, contractors, deadlines. You just do it without any help.
But those aren't just solopreneur problems. Those are entrepreneur problems that come with owning any business.
I've watched this play out so many times with solos... the pattern is tight.
My point is the reasons solopreneurs give for staying solo are really just realities of entrepreneurship in general. The solo label doesn't bring the benefits they are after. It actually forces constraints.
The Cost of Being in Every Lane
Your time is worth the value of what you spend it on.
When you're responsible for everything, you will be the one doing the lowest-value work, because somebody has to.
And the most valuable lanes in the business, sales, marketing, operations, are also yours, including the ones that aren't your strengths. So even with you doing it, some of the most valuable work in the business runs at a fraction of its worth.
Both issues are lowering the value of your time.
What You Actually Want
When you say you want to stay solo, what you're really saying is you a) don't think your dream requires a big bulky business, and b) want something simpler to manage.
That's more than fair.
But being responsible for everything is the opposite of simple.
The usual move is hiring down. Hiring a VA for task help. That covers some lesser-value work, as it should. But those hires can't own a high-value lane. So the high-value activities that fall outside your strengths are still neglected, or worse, you try to offload them to an underqualified person in an attempt to address the pain.
The situation doesn't change, the thinking still falls on you, and the business is still capped.
The Better Answer
The better solution would be a senior counterpart: someone strong exactly where you're not, who owns one or two valuable lanes and the thinking included.
And for those who want to stand on ‘managing nobody’: a senior counterpart doesn’t need someone standing over them. When you hire right instead of hiring down, you get to lead rather than hand-hold.
Jodie Cook shared a similar angle in her article about the “two-person dream team” in Forbes.
Imagine having someone who could take over those parts of the business and run them as well as you run your craft.
Now you're addressing both of the issues and increasing the value of your time:
Less of your time on low-value work, and the valuable lanes finally producing what they're capable of.
You got into business to do more of the work you love. Staying solo is what's keeping you from it. Pairing with a counterpart is how you get back to it.
Solos: it’s time to open up to duopreneurship.