#40: What's stopping you from going solo?
How to get out of your own head.
My coach told me a story about going solo, and I’m going to steal it with pride (and probably get some of the facts muddled up) to illustrate my point. The TLDR is - don’t fight for your limitations. Focus on what you have, not what you have not.
Adam was on a weekend break with his family, the kind in a woodland where every amenity is catered for. Shops, restaurants, spa, pool, waterslides, crazy golf, zip wires. All that.
He was sat having a rest on one of the many loungers in between waterslide rides. The lady next to him struck up conversation, and they got talking about what she did for a living.
“I work in a spa.”
“But,” she said “I’d love to go out on my own. I’d love a nail bar. But I….”
And out came a list of reasons why she didn’t think she could.
These included a lack of premises, customers, a website, a dedicated work phone, a Facebook page ….. etc.
As far as she was concerned, she needed all these things ready and in place before … she could do someone’s nails and charge them for it.
“Start smaller than you think” Adam said.
She didn’t quite understand.
“Well, you’re saying that you need premises, lots of customers, a website, a dedicated work phone, a Facebook page and all that – and then you can start your side-business?”
“Yes.”
“What do you really need? If you had to start the business tomorrow, what would you really need?”
“Er…”
“Do you have the main equipment – I’m guessing polishes, files, a light?”
“Yes”
“Do you have a few people you know who would love you to paint their nails, and would pay you?”
“Yes”
“Could you do this either from home or go to them?”
And then an inflatable donut-sized penny dropped like family of waterslide riders into a plunge pool.
She didn’t need a website. Or premises. Or a Facebook page. Or any of the other things she thought she needed.
She already had the very basics. And from there you can grow. Serve a handful of people. Ask for a review. On Facebook, or Trustpilot. Both free.
Ask for a referral. “Who do you know who might like their nails to look like that before a big event?” Will you give them my number?”
And so it goes. Start smaller than you think. Then notch it down one more step. Start there.
The thing is, that big list of things this lady thought she needed to even do one person’s nails for them – well she put them all in the way of just doing the thing.
Those limitations, or excuses you’re making for yourself as to why you can’t possibly do the thing you want to do, well, they are just getting in the way. You’re getting in your own way.
You’re letting made up limitations and fears get in the way of you taking the most basic of steps. Then you’re fighting for them.
You’ve probably had the conversation with someone already.
“I’d really like to go out on my own but…..[insert list of limitations you’ve sat on for years].”
Well, here I am knocking on your front door and challenging that bullshit.
Stop fighting for your limitations, and look at what you do have.
What’s the barest minimum of anything you might need?
Look, I’ve been there. That’s how I know.
When I started out in 2020, I did start small. Out of necessity. I could have got into the whole “I need a website” blah blah (in fact it took a few months to start playing that particular fiddle, and thankfully I managed to sit on it for another 2 years building my business without it).
What I didn’t have:
- Guaranteed income
- A fancy garden office
- 10k LinkedIn followers
- Ready and waiting customers
- A podcast channel, lighting, and microphones
- Any real knowledge of running a B2C business
- People telling me “you should go out on your own”
What I did have:
- Time
- Writing ability
- A six-year old laptop
- A five-year old phone
- Enough savings for a few months[1]
- A bit of gumption, but not a lot of conviction.
- 2,000 LinkedIn followers I’d built up over 13 years
- 25 years’ knowledge of what a decent CV looked like
- A small spare room I’d already turned into an office for work (you don’t need one of these, I was fortunate).
I tried not to let the things in the first list get in my way.
The easiest and quickest way I found to sell my knowledge was on PeoplePerHour. Simples. And I used it for as long as I needed to until people came to me through LinkedIn.
But for you the channels might be different.
It might be that you know loads of people on Facebook that you can message, or write a post to.
It might be putting a card up in the local supermarket.
What’s the smallest thing you can do?
The biggest thing you can do is stop fighting for your limitations and consider what you have already.
Now I can’t stop thinking of the lyrics to the song Gay Bar without replacing them with Nail Bar. FFS.
Sorry for that ear worm.
Phil
[1] Savings. Again I was fortunate. But you don’t have to have these. I know plenty of people who started doing what I do as a side hustle using only their knowledge and a laptop. Whether or not it turned into a full time endeavour is irrelevant. They got started and didn’t need tonnes of equipment. Then, with each new client you take on, direct a decent percentage of that new income into a savings pot until you have enough o cover your mortgage for as many months as you think is reasonable.
In the socials…
For once, a post I didn’t write. Instead it’s the post on CV writing I should have written.
Here’s one about dreaming big - and taking steps to achieve it.
And here’s one about the goal behind the goal. What’s yours?
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