Over the last few weeks, I have had numerous conversations with individuals about transitioning from being a solopreneur to becoming a full-fledged business owner. The common theme is that crossing this bridge is not about doing more work but embracing the scarier work that comes with it. Fortunately, there are tactical steps to help you navigate this transition successfully.
The Misconception of More Work
Many people get stuck at “solopreneur” because they can’t figure out how to step into being a true business owner when they’re already out of hours in the day and days in the week to do more work. However, the truth is that growing your business is not about more work; though it is often about scarier work.
Many find the transition daunting because it involves stepping into unfamiliar territory. It can feel like you’re moving away from doing the thing you love that made you launch your business in the first place – and move into doing new things you might not enjoy or think you are good at doing. Embracing the scary work means stepping out of our comfort zone and growing as business owners.
Steps to Cross the Bridge from Solopreneur to Business Owner
Becoming a business owner is often referred to as going on a journey, but I prefer the metaphor of crossing a bridge. But crossing this bridge is not a stroll over a pretty stone bridge, across a gentle creek, with gardens on both ends. The journey from solopreneur to business owner happens on a bridge more like the bridge from Indiana Jones, engulfed in flames with someone trying to cut it down while you’re still on it.
I have watched many people retreat from this challenge and settle for what they think they can achieve instead of striving for what they truly want. Instead of withdrawing, there are ways to safely cross the bridge to being a true business owner.
Step 1: Develop Massive Clarity on What You Are Building
The first step to crossing the bridge from solopreneur to business owner is to get massively clear on every aspect of your business. This clarity goes beyond just setting revenue goals. The dollar amount you want to make is just the beginning of setting your intentions, not the end.
Becoming massively clear on your goals involves envisioning the type of business you want, how you want to spend your days, the team you want to build, and the resources you have at your disposal. Massive clarity is the foundation for creating an effective action plan.
Think of it like building a new construction project. Constructing a building requires massive clarity down to the square inch. I remember McDonald’s built a new location right around the corner from our high school. It seemed like it happened in literally a week. While it was probably longer than a week, the construction team finished extremely quickly because McDonald’s has an exact plan for everything they do, whether building a Big Mac or building a new location.
When you have a clear action plan of what you have now and where you want to go, you can implement those actions efficiently and without fear of doing something unknown. Building that very first McDonald’s location was probably scary; building the 40,275th McDonald’s was just another project for a team that had clarity on what they were doing every step of the way.
Step 2: Thinking Strategically Instead of Tactically
Transitioning from solopreneur to business owner requires a shift in mindset from thinking tactically to thinking strategically. This means taking a deep dive to ensure all your assets are aligned and pointing in the same direction. These assets include your brand, client avatar, content, and how you deliver your offers.
Being a CEO is a thinking job, not a doing job. The job of the CEO – and the small business owner – is to cast the vision for the business and to allocate resources instead of being stuck in day-to-day tasks. While you most likely needed to do all of the daily tasks when you first started your business, you cannot cross the bridge to true business ownership if you are the one doing everything.
Your own time is your most valuable resource, and you need to get the best ROI on how you spend it. Allocating your time is not about posting three times to social media instead of two times or attending four networking events instead of two. Those decisions are still tactical.
Using the same example of McDonald’s, the CEO is different from the person working the drive-thru. That job is still an essential part of delivering their offers. The CEO of McDonald’s is to carry out the vision and the purpose “to feed and foster communities” worldwide.
Step 3: Revisiting How You See Yourself
The most transformative and scary work to get over the bridge from solopreneur to entrepreneur is revisiting how we see ourselves. Our self-identity and the labels we give ourselves determine our actions and outcomes. The way you see yourself right now has gotten you to exactly where you currently are, but to get to the other side of the bridge and cross into being an actual business owner, you must be able to see yourself on the other side.
This is the most challenging, scariest work. You can hire someone to help you with business plans, branding, websites, content creation, or sales expertise. And you can hire someone to help you with this mindset. But when it comes down to it, only you can do the mindset work, the self-reflection, and be willing to shed old labels that no longer serve you. Changing how you see yourself and being ready to present your new self to the world, that’s hard, that’s scary, that’s the different work.
The good news is that while it’s scary and different, it is still entirely possible. Think of it this way: you have created the version of yourself that you have now. So, you get to make the next iteration, too, like you have multiple times throughout your life. None of us is the person we were in high school or college. We are different from the person we were in our previous jobs.
You have evolved and changed time after time-based on your different life experiences, so step 3 is about taking this idea and adding intention to it. Instead of changing without realizing it based on things happening to you, you can grow and change with intention and make something happen for you.
When you add these three things together, meaning the clarity around what you want, the focus on thinking strategically instead of tactically, and changing how you see yourself, you can cross the bridge from solopreneur to being a true business owner without worrying that the bridge will fall beneath you. Remember, it’s not just about building a business; it’s about building a business and life that align with our dreams and aspirations. Embrace the scary work, and the rewards will be well worth it.
