I knew that would catch your attention. Of course, it takes on new meaning if we’re talking about entrepreneurs who work for a company of one.
If you’re a freelancer, one big problem you face is keeping your morale up, says Diana Schneidman, a freelance marketing writer based in Illinois. She should know.
Schneidman started freelancing in 1991 and has worked exclusively as an entrepreneur for the past 10 years. She is the author of Real Skills, Real Income, a book on how to make great money quickly as a solopreneur. It’s due to be re-released in December 2013. She recently shared some of the obstacles and benefits of being an entrepreneur with Project Otter.
It takes a lot of effort to market your services, she says. Yet at times it can feel like nothing positive is happening in return. “You have to keep your confidence up,” she says. “You have to relax. You have to stay focussed.”
But how do you do that if no new business is flowing in? Get enough sleep, she says. Her attitude is much better when she has gotten the shut eye she needs. Says she: “I get to sleep to build my business.”
Other parts of building your own business take a bit more effort.
“The biggest obstacle by far is getting clients—marketing and getting clients,” she says. Few people get really steady clients and never have to do any more marketing. And even if you have steady clients, things happen. Your client contact may leave for another job. Or budget problems hit. Sometimes clients will want to change contractors, because they think they’re getting a newer approach. Jobs will fall apart, and you’ll always be marketing. You have to find a way to market that works, she notes. “And it’s going to take a lot of whatever you find that works.”
Beware of bright shiny objects, she warns. It’s easy to get distracted by all the latest social media choices. Just because Pinterest, Instagram, and a multitude of training programs exist doesn’t mean you have to feel obligated to try them. “It’s way more than one person can do,” she says. Her advice: Find what you’re comfortable with and what works for you and really pursue that.
Schneidman’s marketing technique of choice is phoning backed by emails. When work dries up, she aims to make 50 calls a day. “Whatever you do, it’s a question of numbers,” she says. “You have to network with a lot of people, or phone a lot of people, or connect with a lot of people on LinkedIn.”
Not surprisingly, her blog’s name highlights the importance of resilience. It’s called Stand Up 8 Times, which comes from an old Japanese proverb: Fall down 7 times, stand up 8.
But being an entrepreneur isn’t just about massive amounts of marketing effort and persistence. There are benefits too. One of the upsides of being a solopreneur is that you usually have more than one client at a time, she says. “So you don’t take problems with your clients so seriously,” she adds. Contrast that with a situation where you’re in a full-time job and your boss doesn’t like you. That could get ugly fast. And the exit strategy is a lot more extreme than just dropping an annoying client who is simply one of many.
To learn more about Diana Schneidman, check out her blog on freelancing at Stand Up 8 Times.