Solopreneurs, consider NOT looking for a new way to grow your business. Instead, study your own brights spots for what works and what you enjoy, and double down on that. I’ve got examples, and answers to those doubts.
This concept is especially important for the people I work with — introverts and highly sensitive people (HSPs), like myself — because the most typical marketing advice is not made for how we naturally do things.
Example from my own solopreneur business:
I enjoy writing, and I’ve noticed a bright spot that my blog writing attracts people to my website the more I do it. Thus, something I enjoy + something that works => do more of that! I do this despite some people thinking blogging doesn’t matter anymore. (I disagree.)
So I have invested more time and money on blogging. I have invested in support to improve my effectiveness, consistency, and enjoyment of it.
In a specific example, I paid for some professional research and advice about choosing some new blog content to write, and got ideas that I wouldn’t have thought of on my own. I chose some things from the advice that felt right for me, and wrote some new pieces. Those pieces now bring in new inquiries regularly. Amazing results. The investment felt big at the time and now feels small in comparison to the results.
Basic Principles I’ve Learned:
- Take time to notice the bright spots that are already there.
- Invest more time, energy, and money there.
- Stop looking to what helps others and instead look to what helps YOU, in your situation.
This is the kind of thing I help my clients with in my SOULpreneurs Circle for introverts and HSPs and through 1:1 business coaching for introverted or sensitive solopreneurs. In other words, I help you find your own business growth methods, customized to you and your work/life balance needs, especially as an introvert or sensitive soul.
But what if I don’t have bright spots or progress yet?
The signs are there, hidden in your past experiences and in your strengths and values. I know they’re there or you wouldn’t have gotten to where you are now. Yes, even now at this stage that might feel hard.
Here’s a little self-inquiry you might try:
Why did I want to go into this business?
What do I enjoy about this kind of offering?
How you answer those questions points to your own bright spots. What you enjoy doing is a sign of a strength, and something you’ve got at least some confidence in doing. Your method of growing your business should be built on those strengths.
On the other hand, if you went into a business doing something you don’t enjoy, it might be worth a second look. If you don’t enjoy it, it will be much harder to get it going, and will end up being draining.
I welcome more questions below.
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Self-employment INsights for Introverts and HSPs.
