When your only companion is the television

Ah the glamorous life of the solopreneur. The freedom to lead a webinar in your skivvies. To roll out of bed when you’re good and ready. To pick your nose freely. To talk to your plants just to hear yourself. To procrastinate the day away while simultaneously beating yourself up for procrastinating. To work the next 36 hours straight through to make up for the procrastinating and feel like a gerbil on a wheel.

Running your own business is not for the feint of heart. It’s demanding, energizing, exhausting, thrilling, exasperating and deeply satisfying – and that’s when it goes well.

It’s parenting and if anyone tells you otherwise, they’re cuckoo. You feed your business relentlessly to ensure the pipeline is filled, then you check the nappy to make sure things are flowing appropriately. Don’t forget to burp it regularly to get paid. Then it’s time to tickle potential clients to make them smile. Do it again. And again. And again.

People who go into business because they see it as the most effective way to share their gifts are the most likely to succeed because they’re in it for personal expression, not for buckaroos. These folks will take the poop with the giggles and keep going.

For the courageous solopreneurs or solopreneurs-to-be, a few suggestions to help on your solo journey:

Fill your fridge. Carrots, grape tomatoes, sugar snap peas, grapes, clementines…you get the idea. It’s easy to snack on chips and other junk, but that’ll make you lethargic. Healthy food will boost your energy and help you focus.
Schedule meetings. Use outlook, google calendar or a paper calendar. Set meetings for yourself to work on specific projects and set an alarm for starting and stopping.
Work. Sit down and write. Or cold call. Or do whatever it is you do. Your gift is ready to be shared so keep on sharing it. Don’t wait until it’s perfect because it never will be. The imperfection is what makes me want to buy it, hire you, refer you. It’s the imperfection and steady evolution that makes the audience feel safe; they can relate to that almost-perfect experience more than they can to the precious coldness of perfection.
Get up. Place your printer or garbage across the room so you need to walk around. They say every 20 minutes, but follow your gut. Set a timer for these breaks if you need (most people do). Walk away, look away, stretch, breathe, smile.
Get out. Make breakfast or coffee dates. Talk to someone for an hour, in person, outside of your living room. It can be quite isolating doing that creative and meaningful work, alone. (Lunch can be used for networking, but for fun, do breakfast so your time at home can be uninterrupted. That’s when most people get their best work done.)
TED.com On days when you don’t interact with other human beings in person, take a lunch break and watch a TED talk or two. They’re free, no more than 18 minutes, packed with creative content, and will take you on a trip out of your figurative and literal cube.
Drink. It may look like Vodka, but this is cold water. Constant hydration is a huge energy booster and junk food deterrent. And just plain healthy.
Nap. Yes! You can and you should if you want to! 30 minutes, even an hour. Restorative and fun. That’s all good.
Believe in You. You have a gift to share, we all do, and there is an audience waiting for it. Just waiting for you to share it. The business challenge is to figure out how to present your gift to your audience and then connect with them. It is NOT to alter your gift to meet someone else’s idea of what your gift should be.
Rejoice! Revel in the fact that you’re following your dream, you smart risk taker, you!

I’m so proud of you.