A colleague of mine just had her article copied by someone without giving her any credit.
This could be so frustrating — to have your work “stolen” by someone else and used as theirs without making any reference to you as the inspiration.
As she shared her experience with us (other colleagues), a few thoughts went through my head which I now wish to share with you:
Everyone wants to live a life that’s full, meaningful, and fulfilling — whatever those words mean for you.
Just this morning, I was reading an article in the news, about a man who was diagnosed with a fatal brain tumor and had only 18 months to live.
Immediately he got this report, he made a checklist of everything he’d love to do before dying; and started doing them right away.
In less than 6 months, he had written a book, digitized all his family videotapes, and had dinners with high school buddies from the past.
Nobody likes the word boss (except bosses themselves).
The word usually triggers this picture of someone giving you countless instructions and telling you what to do.
And then, rather than let you do what they’ve asked you to do, they stand and watch over your shoulders to ensure that you’re not surfing Facebook.
Just do a Google search for “be your own boss”; and you’ll see the sheer number of articles written to help people navigate away from the corporate office environment and become their own bosses.
We all grew up learning how to be independent and figure things out on our own. As a matter of fact, it’s often seen as a sign of weakness when someone asks for help.
Over time, we get so used to this subconscious training of self-sufficiency that we forget how to reach out and ask for support — even when we desperately need it.
As a result, things get way out of control before we consider talking about them & getting help.
1. Finding & retaining customers
Without clients, you’re not in business.
Several solopreneurs struggle to consistently find new customers. And, even when we do get the clients, we struggle even more to retain them
One major reason we struggle to consistently fill our client roster is our approach to marketing & sales.
We often treat marketing as a dreaded chore; and many small business owners omit it altogether – depending only on referrals.