I’ve been very blessed to work with clients at all levels of growth. And to tell you the truth, when I first started, I didn’t know what I was looking at. I knew I could help business owners turn chaos into structured freedom, but I didn’t understand where they were in their entrepreneurial journey.
Fortunately, my strategy skills, simplistic process power, and pragmatic approach kept me in the game.
But now, I’m a little wiser, and I wanted to share with you the entrepreneurial journey that I have observed over the years. And a few tips on getting to the next phase faster.
Early Stage Solopreneur | The 0 – 100k In Revenue Phase
What it looks like… If you are a solopreneur getting started, you are excited! At least some days. You are also a little scared, sometimes a little tired. You are eager to learn, and you are strapped for cash. You tune into every free resource you can and take great joy in every victory.
Everything is personal to you, and you take everything personally. If you are past this stage, you look back on it with great pride and fondness. If you are living it, our advice is to enjoy it. You got nothing to lose, which makes the Early Stage Solopreneur phase so exciting.
The challenges you face… you have nothing, and you are learning about everything. You are learning about billing. You are learning about your ideal client. You are setting up a website. You are putting together your services and programs. Every time you get something in place and you sell yourself; you have to implement something new.
You know you can help, and you are learning on the fly. Every dollar and every hour is precious and reinvested into the vision for your company. The pace of Early Stage Solopreneur is a challenge.
How to speed up the transition to The Solo-Plateau Stage… The most significant challenge that you ignore is you get sucked into none revenue-producing work! Yep, you are probably spending too much time on your logo, your content, your messaging, and your brand. Not that these things don’t matter, they do. However, you don’t have the research and experience required to put together a great brand yet. You need clients, you need sales, and you need experience. Once you’ve helped enough people, you can work on the brand.
You will sprint from 0 to 100k plus when you do this one thing above all else.
You talk to people. You tell people about your idea. You ask other people questions. You spend your time networking, and you spend your time selling. To make this transition it will be by changing your mindset.
Take advantage of our free Facebook group Structured Freedom for Impact Driven Coaches with plenty of resources and videos for the new solopreneur.
Solo Plateau | The 100k – 250k In Revenue Phase
What it looks like… The name says it all. You’ve created something “sort of” sustainable, profitable, and manageable. You are financially secure and the stresses of “am I good enough” have started to fade.
But growth isn’t as quick as it once was. Your time is consumed by client work and delivery leaving you little time for anything else. It’s fun, but the thrill of the challenge isn’t there. Your programs work, clients are happy, but they are buying you. They are buying your time, not necessarily your company. It all seems a little repetitive.
The challenges you face… The biggest challenge you are facing during the solo plateau is sacrifice. You have to take a step back to take a step forward. You have to build a team around you. This can be part-time help, contractors, other agencies, and/or freelancers.
To manage your help, you are going to need a plan. You are going to need business processes. You are going to have to take time away from the revenue-producing activity to create structure. Your costs are going to go up. And the hard truth is… your revenue won’t go up as quickly.
How to speed up the transition to The Sustainable Growth Phase… get help from people who have already done it. Take some people out to lunch, call them on the phone, and connect the same way you did when you started your business. The only difference, your target is no longer potential clients. Your target is fellow entrepreneurs.
Ask them about what they did well. What they wish they could do over, and what advice they have for you.
We also highly suggest joining a mastermind group. Even if you don’t choose our Rise To Legendary “Hybrid-Approach” Mastermind, please search for a group that does fit your needs. Finding peers is critical to eliminating the anxiety and avoiding making the wrong decisions while you breakthrough to sustainable growth.
To learn more about our mastermind group, Visit This Page followed by completing the short application.
Additionally, watch my 90-minute Livecast, Rewire Your Business For 7-Figure Growth where I’ll reveal the 4 Core Pillars of Scaling.
Join our Facebook Community: Tribe of Legends: Scalable and Sustainable 7-Figure Growth Strategies
Sustainable Growth | The 250k – 500k In Revenue Phase
What it looks like… You are in transition and it is hard to let go. Someone else is talking to clients and it’s not exactly how you would do it. Someone else is handling billing, and you would do it differently. Someone else is handling your marketing and content repurposing, but it’s slightly off-brand.
The challenges you face… Your business is becoming its own thing. It is a collective of the people you are starting to put into place, and communication is difficult. Your business is lacking process. It is lacking consistency behind the scenes.
Miscommunication and a little bit of micromanaging are impeding your vision and directives. You need to create structure without creating a bureaucracy. During the sustainable growth phase, you need to build efficiency through people and processes. It is tough. And if you are in this phase, you might be asking yourself, “should I go back to the solo plateau?”
How to speed up the transition to the Leadership Growth Stage…Getting to sustainable growth is all about clear communication, and it starts by writing down your thoughts, so you can be a better communicator.
- What is your vision?
- What data/measurables matter to you?
- What does the right person for the right job look like?
- What issues need to be resolved?
- What processes need to be documented?
- What are your goals for the next 12 months, how are you going to get there?
If you know the answers to these questions, can communicate them clearly and are consistent in your message, you are in great shape.
If you are struggling, you need help. You need someone who can help you take the emotion out of it. Help you set priorities, and support you. Our individual coaching sessions can help coupled with our rise to a legendary program.
For more information about our Rise To Legendary Mastermind, Visit This Page followed by completing the short application.
Additionally, watch my 90-minute Livecast, Rewire Your Business For 7-Figure Growth where I’ll reveal the 4 Core Pillars of Scaling.
Join our Facebook Community: Tribe of Legends: Scalable and Sustainable 7-Figure Growth Strategies
Leadership Growth | The 500K – 1M In Revenue Phase
What it looks like… You’ve followed the playbook. Your processes are in place. Your vision is clearly defined. You feel like you are doing a good job, but you just don’t get the buy-in from your team. You ask yourself, “why can’t they be as passionate as me?” You ask, “why can’t they solve some of their own problems?”
You’ve successfully turned chaos into process, but something is missing. You want more joy in your office. You want your team to care. Most of all, you don’t want everything out of the ordinary to fall back on you. You need help at the management level, but you have no clue on how to recruit, hire, and pay for that kind of talent.
The challenges you face… You have to put your heart back into your business. Removing chaos has a way of sterilizing an environment. The structure is necessary for sustainable growth, but it can take the spontaneity out of the work. Worse, you become the answer woman for everything.
Your challenge is to find the balance between structure and freedom. You have to make sure your team has the freedom to do their jobs, without crossing well-defined lines.
How to speed up the transition to Legendary…You need to take an honest AS-IS assessment. First, start by telling yourself, “Hey, I did a good job. I’ve arrived and now I need to get better.”
Getting better starts with trusting people. Invite team members you trust to engage in the vision. Let them have strategic conversations. Let them join in the company process. You can never expect any team member to take ownership unless they have some ownership of the strategic direction of the company.
For more information about our Rise To Legendary Mastermind, Visit This Page followed by completing the short application.
Additionally, watch my 90-minute Livecast, Rewire Your Business For 7-Figure Growth where I’ll reveal the 4 Core Pillars of Scaling.
Join our Facebook Community: Tribe of Legends: Scalable and Sustainable 7-Figure Growth Strategies
Or, you may be more interested in a Full Leadership VIP Day to take a look at your entire business from marketing to sales to finance to operations. Hit Reply to send me a direct email if you are interested in having a conversation.
Legendary | The 1M+ In Revenue Phase
What it looks like… You’ve sacrificed a lot to get here. You’ve got the right team around you. You have programs that people love, and your feeling really good about the business. So, why are you still working long hours? Why is it still so hard to walk away, to take a vacation?
The challenges you face… You’ve put so much into the business that the work has defined you. Now that your business has taken on a life of it’s own you’re realizing that your entire identity is wrapped up in the business. And although you have ideas for other passion projects, other business ventures, or learning new skills that can create additional streams of income outside of your existing business, all you’ve known for so long is this one thing. The biggest challenge is shifting from being a personal brand where everyone still wants YOU to a company brand that allows you to walk away from your business for extended periods of time while your team runs the ship like a well-oiled machine.
How to build a legacy… the transition to Legendary Growth You have to put some time back into yourself. You have to find the balance for your mind, body, and business. If you aren’t balanced, your business won’t be balanced.
You may be interested in a Full Leadership VIP Day to take a look at your entire business from marketing to sales to finance to operations. Since you have a team in place you may also be looking for support on how to better lead, coach, mentor, and train your team. Send me a direct email at info@structuredfreedom.com if you are interested in having a conversation about either a Leadership VIP Day or how we can work with you and your entire team.
I’d love to help.
Select one of the options above based on your phase of business.
Let’s see if it’s in alignment and a good fit for us to help you 2x – 4x your business while reducing the hours you are spending working in your business each week.
Megan