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What is “Solo-preneuring”?

May 17, 2017 by Cathy Stucker

Want to know  how you can be a Solo-preneur? Get the paperback book for $17.95 or the Kindle version for $7.99.

Most people believe that you have only two choices: you can be an employee of someone else, or you can start a business and have others working for you.

As an employee, you have to perform up to the expectations of others: your bosses. That means working the hours they set, doing the work they give you, in the way they tell you to do it. In exchange, you get the security of a regular paycheck and benefits. Of course, we’ve all seen in the last several years that there is nothing secure about anyone’s paycheck.

Entrepreneurs work on their terms, but that doesn’t mean they have it easy. Launching a business requires a commitment of time and money, and may take all of both that the entrepreneur can scrape together. Often, the entrepreneur has not gone from slave to master, but has merely traded one master (the boss) for another (the business).

That brings us to an alternative: the Solo-preneur. The Solo-preneur chooses the work he wants to do. She decides how much or how little to work. He is not faced with the pressures of having to make a payroll, nor is he faced with the prospect of dragging himself to an office, day after day, to do the same old job. Most importantly, the Solo-preneur controls her own destiny. No one person can decide that the Solo-preneur will lose her livelihood. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Working Smarter Tagged With: home based business, make money, solo-preneuring

Why Doing It Yourself Can Cost More

February 23, 2017 by Cathy Stucker

Should you hire a professional or do it yourself? The answer may not be as clear as you think.

I recently heard someone say that they would not pay $150 an hour or more for professional services. They claimed that all the information you need to do the work yourself is available online, so there is no reason to pay such “outrageous” fees.

We are not talking about do-it-yourself brain surgery here. The fact is that there are many professional fields where the average person could probably do the work themselves, rather than pay rates of $100, $200 or more per hour. So why pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to someone else for work you could do yourself?

Believe it or not, paying the professional may save you money. Here’s why. [Read more…]

Filed Under: Running Your Business, Working Smarter

Top 7 Rules of Outsourcing

July 26, 2016 by Cathy Stucker

outsourcingFirst off, why should you outsource some tasks? You may not be a webmaster, graphic artist, coder, publicist, etc. You are an author, coach, consultant or other professional. And so isn’t the best use of your time to focus on marketing and growing your business and let others “sweat the small stuff”? (Okay, some of that stuff is not so small, but it is still fine to let someone else (someone more qualified for that task) do it.)

What then, is the best way to ensure a successful outsourcing outcome each and every time? Having a system in place for outsourcing – a set of rules to guide you, to minimize problems and streamline the process: [Read more…]

Filed Under: Working Smarter Tagged With: freelancers, hiring, outsourcing

Do You Work Too Much?

May 5, 2016 by Cathy Stucker

WORK LESS EARN MOREStarting a business can mean putting in lots of hours, working nights and weekends, and making sacrifices to get your business off the ground. But at some point, that needs to stop. What is the point of having your own business if the business ends up owning you?

You may think that you can’t step away from your business, even for a day. You are wrong. If your business is that dependent on you, you are not really an entrepreneur. You are not building a business, you just built yourself a very demanding job.

It is time to get yourself off the treadmill and take control of your business and your life.
[Read more…]

Filed Under: Working Smarter Tagged With: delegation, outsourcing

Why Aren’t You Doing This?

December 28, 2015 by Cathy Stucker

why-notRecently, a client told me that she is worried her husband will lose his job. Although her business is profitable, they depend on both incomes and couldn’t get by on her current income alone.

As we talked about what actions she could take to prepare for this possibility, she mentioned a few things she believes she could easily do to dramatically increase her income if her husband is laid off. This caused me to ask, “Why aren’t you doing those things now?” She didn’t have an answer at first, and finally said, “Well, I guess because I don’t have to do them. We make enough money right now.”

It is easy to get comfortable with where you are, and not make improvements until an outside force pushes us into it. That doesn’t mean that you have to do anything and everything to chase the almighty dollar, but if there are things you can do to make yourself and your family more financially secure, shouldn’t you at least consider doing them? Maybe some of them aren’t right or will overwhelm you, but even if there are just a few things you can do that will increase your income without messing up your life, shouldn’t you do them?

Pay special attention to things you can do that will generate recurring income. If there is something you can do once and get paid again and again, why not start there? Examples might include publishing a book or ebook, setting up a membership site, or licensing something you created.

Don’t wait for a crisis to strike before you step up and start doing the things you should be doing now.

Filed Under: Growing Your Business, Working Smarter Tagged With: profitability, recurring income

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