⏱ 5 min reading
Almost seven years back, Michelle Schroeder-Gardner began her blog: Making Sense of Cents, to share her experience of taking care of her student debts and considering herself accountable. The last thing she would ever expect was it transforming into a million-dollar business.
Be that as it may, in 2017 her business acquired $979,000, and the next year it earned $1.5 million, without recruiting employees. She’s a piece of a growing wave of business owners who run solo organizations that pull in more than one million dollars in revenues per year.
In the United Stated we find the perfect example of the rise in success among solo business owners. Right now, the non-employed businesses are making more than in the past – almost 36,000 out of the nearly 25 million “one-person” organizations are making a turnover of 7 figures or higher. Researcher Elaine Pofeldt reached out to these business owners and compiled her findings in her book: “The Million-Dollar, One-Person Business”. While this book is not a blueprint for success, it does reveal various techniques that come up time and time again in the stories of her research subjects. These tips might just help you make the business of your dreams a million dollar one.
1. Find a niche you are in love with
Tom Corley, an accountant, has 10 customers who run one-person organizations with 7-figure incomes. He says that nine of those 10 customers built their organizations in one of a kind niches—but don’t be scared. You really don’t need to think of an idea that nobody has ever thought of before to be successful.
Pofeldt’s research found that million-dollar solo organizations regularly fall into six classes:
- Real estate
- Personal services firms offering expertise
- Professional services and creative businesses
- Informational content creation
- Manufacturing
- E-commerce
Inside those classes—or outside of them—you will most likely discover a business that would profit by your one of a kind point of view. Schroeder-Gardner wasn’t the first individual to a blog that revolved around paying back her debt, however her story resonated with enough readers that she now had the ability to gain a loyal group of readers and a very successful business. “Uncovering an idea that you will enjoy thinking about every day—whether that is when you are writing copy for your website or answering a customer’s question about it—is the secret,” writes Pofeldt in her book.
2. Outsource and automate
It can be almost impossible for a “solopreneur” to achieve all things required to maintain a flourishing business, and attempting to do everything can quickly lead to burnout. As indicated by Pofeldt, “What will help you break into the seven figures is to expand your capacity beyond what one person can do, “outsourcing, automation, mobile technology, or a combination of all three to build, operate and grow their businesses.”
Fortunately, there are numerous instruments available to assist you with achieving this, and many are reasonably priced for organizations on a budget. Websites like Fiverr, Upwork, Guru, and Microworkers allow you to outsource a wide assortment of certain tasks; some entrepreneurs hire virtual assistants who can juggle various tasks or manage projects, schedules or even other freelancers.
3. Develop passive business
Schroeder-Gardner says that “affiliate marketing” provided her with financial- and lifestyle freedom. “I am able to place links to products that I like on my blog, and that helps me to earn money down the line, without having to work every single hour of the day,” she explains. “Instead, I can make income while I’m asleep, on vacation, out sailing, and so on.”
Together with her affiliate income, she created an extra service that helps other website-entrepreneurs to profit from their affiliate income.
According to Schroeder-Gardner, entrepreneurs may achieve similar results by creating a product to sell. She says, “By selling a product instead of a one-time sale (such as a one-time service that you personally provide), you can earn money by repeatedly selling that product to multiple people, instead of just one person.”
4. Find investors
More than 62% of entrepreneurs that start small businesses use their private savings in order to kickstart their business. While starting your business without any debt is a great advantage, in the long run, small business will have to rely on a wide variety of financing sources in order to secure that growth chances. Examples range from savings, loans from friends and family, crowdfunding, business plan competitions, and lines of credit.
Even an interest free credit card could be helpful to start up their business, if used wisely. Pofeldt cautions that she encountered several cases in which the person used a credit card to start their business with. When the business failed, they were personally liable for the debt they were left with.
Luckily, the true cost of starting a business has been going down lately and the balance on your savings account can get you much further than you would expect. Pofeldt writes, “You may need less financing than you think.”
5. Keep working
Corley says the one characteristic of all 10 of his clients share with each other is a fierce work ethic – but that’s not all. Hey says: “the rich work harder, not because they have a better work ethic. They work harder because they like, love or are very passionate about what they do for a living.”
Everyone can come up with a good idea, and only take that idea to success.
While numerous business people put in many hours to begin and develop their organizations, some have day occupations and can’t bear to jump in full time. Rosemarie Groner started her million-dollar solo business working only 10 hours every week while raising a family and running an in-home daycare. She used a basic productivity hack to ensure she remained on target, and kept on working around 20 hours every week, leaving her a lot of time to spend with her family.
Barely any entrepreneurs—including those that Pofeldt profiled—have become an overnight success. However, they keep at it, knowing that their endeavors will pay off over the long haul. In the end most learn they must choose the option to work more efficiently, as there are limited hours in the day. But they keep at it, believing that their efforts will pay off in the long run. Eventually most learn they have no choice but to work smarter, not harder, as there are only so many hours in the day.
“Unlike in a traditional job, where your pay may be closely tied to the hours you put in,” Pofeldt writes, “your own business income stems from how smart and selective you are about how you spend your time.”
