Welcome to another Boss Free blog post! It’s me, Nauma.
There’s so much pressure to reach certain milestones in your business to prove yourself worthy. There are 3 milestones that practically every solopreneur (business owners who work alone with no employees) wants to achieve.
👉 The $10K per month milestone, which says my business is beyond real and it's working.
👉 The $100K per year milestone that puts an official stamp on your business.
👉 And the holy grail milestone - the big M. Hitting 1 million is a remarkable achievement.
It doesn’t matter if you’re a freelancer or one-woman business, working solo has unique challenges. Trying to clarify where you want to go, not having enough time in the day, unable to grow because there’s only so much you can do alone, and prioritizing the wrong tasks and then wondering why you’re not making any money (that one hits hard).
And to be honest, I feel like I’ve experienced them all at once.
Now, for most solopreneurs, one of the big challenges is getting to their first six-figure year. So we’re going to use the six-figure milestone because that’s where most of you want to be early on in your business.
I won’t go through the details of breaking this goal down from yearly to monthly, and monthly to daily, because I’ve already created the $100K Workbook, which many of you already have. With all the important questions effortlessly covered, you can start heading onto a new path of growth. I want to focus more on the success principles that you can practice to make six-figures a reality. It’s one thing to have a goal and a plan, it’s another to actually take the actions toward achieve it.
Success as a solopreneur often hinges on your ability to get focused and stay focused. You need a strategy and success principles that will push you in the right direction.
Here are 7 tips that will help you position yourself to crush your six-figure goal.
💡Tip 1: Get Super Clear on the Goal
Now's the perfect time to begin laying the groundwork for your business growth plan! You need 3 things:
(1) You need a goal
(2) You need a plan to achieve the goal, and
(3) You need a daily business routine to help you work the plan and CRUSH the goal.
To make strategizing and planning your business year easier, you should find business tools and resources that can kickstart your growth. There are many smart tools out there that help you plan your business, better manage your money and time, and automate areas of your business.
I've known many first-time solopreneurs who jump into paying for an app or business tool without a coherent plan in place for how they will utilize it to grow their revenue. The costs associated with jumping from one tool to the next can be crippling for an early stage business. Choose a tool that you believe will not only motivate you, but actually guide you to take determined action toward a specific goal. Choose based on what you want to achieve, whether it's financial or something else. Refer to it often and utilize it consistently.
💡Tip 2: Lock in Your Magic Number
There’s a lot more to think about when you have a six-figure goal. Like… is it six-figures before or after expenses? What about taxes and health insurance? Is it revenue or profit? Is it your personal take home salary or is it for the business as a whole?
Six figures can be any number between 100,000 to 999,999. You’ll want to lock in a number that covers your living expenses, business expenses, business investments, taxes, and all the extras that make your lifestyle a comfortable one and makes sense in this phase of your business growth.
Once you lock in your number, put a big dollar sign in front of it and create a monthly sales plan around it.
💡Tip 3: Make a Win-Win Plan
Craft a success plan that uses win-win strategies. Your plan should show how you’ll boost productivity, collaborate with other solopreneurs, and make yourself a happier, more engaged business owner. Don't forget to highlight the networking opportunities and connections you'll forge. It's a power move for yourself and a boost for your company!
💡 Tip 4: Start on the Right Foot
If you're stepping into a new business venture, don't hesitate to get help and guidance. Just because you’re running your business solo, doesn’t mean you have to figure it all out alone. Create good habits right from the start. Learn how to truly manage your business and set up your strategies, systems, and processes so that your business can be viable. Don’t procrastinate on setting things up right. You’ll thank yourself later.
For example, let’s say you have a product business with 130 different variations, but you skip over assigning SKUS to these variations because it's a tedious process. Now imagine having to fix this huge mess you’ve created and add SKU numbers to all 130 products at a time when your business is more active and you’re busier than ever. That perceived tedious task, which could have made daily business easier all along, will now cost you.
💡Tip 5: Go All In
Make the most of your effort, whether it's to grow your social media following or your sales. Emphasize the one thing that will help you reach your goal by putting the majority of your attention and effort there. Plus, when you hop on the BMBG train (Beast Mode Business Growth!), you'll enjoy access to a success system and rock-solid growth strategy, so you can stay in the zone!
💡Tip 6: Showcase Your Success
Highlight your outstanding days and achievements. Your performance shouldn't waver when working solo. You can share your success story. These real-life examples can be your compelling proof that you can do this! Dropping my success story for some inspo here just in case… ;) I would love to hear yours.
💡 Tip 7: Demonstrate Business-Ready Skills
Highlight your business-ready skills, such as strong communication, adaptability, time management, and self-motivation. Prove that you've got what it takes to excel in a solo work environment. Take note of instances working for an employer where these skills have already contributed to your success and apply those skills to your business.
I hope these tips help you throughout the year to build a business that is bringing in consistent sales to reach that six-figure mark. I’m here to help.
As always...
Stay fabulous!
Nauma
Wanauma Graham is a “do what you love” enthusiast and author of Totally Unstoppable. She’s the founder and creative behind BossFreeMedia.com, a personal development and business productivity brand for women entrepreneurs looking to start and run a business that's centered on purpose. Her digital products shop, known as "The Shop for Women Solopreneurs", offering planner inserts, templates, courses, and guides is gaining popularity. Connect with her: facebook.com/wanaumagraham
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