Invincible Solopreneurs - Make a living doing more of what you love

In this podcast episode, I share another peek at my Invincible Solopreneurs workshop ( Build a Lifestyle Business to Escape Your 9-5 Job ), which I hosted on February 26th. I will offer this workshop again in August this year. I talk about two really amazing things that are possible when you build your lifestyle business: * Design your ideal life first, then build a business around it. * Identify...

In this podcast episode, I share a sneak peek at my recent Invincible Solopreneurs workshop ( Build a Lifestyle Business to Escape Your 9-5 Job ) that I hosted on Feb 26th. I describe the easiest business to start when you're an employee. It's what I did to launch my first business way back in 1998, and I was able to support my family in about a month. There are ways to evolve your business from e...

In this episode, I share an overview of the presentation materials to give you a sense of the 2-hour workshop I’ll be hosting on Feb 26th. So, make sure to play the audio , since I’m not including 2 hours of text material in this newsletter article. " Build a Lifestyle Business to Escape Your 9-5 Job " Scroll below to find the coupon code for my early-bird discount to get 50% off . There are limit...

It’s time! I’m opening the doors to my new Invincible Solopreneurs community for people who upgrade to the premium newsletter subscription or purchase a lifetime membership (i.e., pay once and stay as long as you want). I wouldn’t be where I am today with my business without finding supportive entrepreneurial peers who have helped me during my journey. Solopreneurship can feel lonely at times, and...

My guest for this episode is Nate Davis . He’s a top real estate agent in my county and also a real estate investor and coach. Nate is an old friend whom I met through our local CrossFit gym. He has a fascinating story about his career path, personal development, and reinvention. As a solopreneur, I always recommend you diversify your income streams. So, I think you’ll be interested in what Nate h...

Planning a new business can already feel a bit scary . It’s even more overwhelming if you tell yourself that you need to come up with a multimillion-dollar business idea. Or, even worse, a billion-dollar idea. True story: I experienced that last bit of stress when I met with a potential investor to discuss a startup I was planning back in 2011. I still think it would be a cool product and business...

It is so hard to open a new restaurant when you need to find a physical location to rent, hire staff, acquire licenses, get inspected, etc. It takes a long time to set up a new retail store, which is almost as complicated. It’s challenging to launch a tech startup when you have to hire employees, find office space, and secure funding. However, it’s pretty cheap and easy to test a location-independ...

During my lifetime, I’ve had thousands of business ideas. I’m not exaggerating. I ran small businesses to earn extra money when I was a kid. I’ve been buying books on business and entrepreneurship since I was a teenager. Even then, in the back of my mind, I knew I would never be happy working for someone else. However, I spent most of my career doing precisely that: working for someone else. For o...

Working for yourself has many incredible benefits (e.g., freedom, flexibility, control over your calendar). But there is another beautiful side effect of solopreneurship . I discovered it a few years after leaving the corporate world in Silicon Valley and working for myself. I'm finally allowed to grow older and have gray hair. No more worrying about looking "too old" for the job, being the victim...

Are you thinking about starting your first business ? It can feel overwhelming, and it's too easy to focus on the wrong things. In this article and podcast episode, I talk about: * Ten things to forget about. * Ten things to obsess about. * Ten things you must do. I talk with many folks interested in quitting their 9-5 jobs and launching their own business. They look for helpful information online...

I hosted another live fireside chat via Zoom last month. In this podcast episode, I share some of the questions and answers we discussed. I started with a conversation about the power of writing and publishing. It’s not just good for your career as an employee. It’s also powerful for solopreneurs to connect with their ideal audience and clients/customers. As usual, people sent me questions ahead o...

Many years ago, I was miserable. When I was still an executive working for a corporation in Silicon Valley, my life was not my own . My long days comprised 2-4 hours on the freeway for my daily commute, running from meeting to meeting, and going where my calendar told me to go next. It started with early-morning standup calls, and it ended with late-night calls with teams around the globe. I left...

When should you talk openly about the business you’re building, and when should you keep quiet about it? Several entrepreneurs promote the benefits of talking about your business while “ building in public .” This differs greatly from the traditional “ stealth startup ” model that most of us have seen and experienced. When I ran my solo design agency during the Dot Com Boom, many of the early-stag...

"My father could have been a great comedian, but he didn't believe that that was possible for him, and so he made a conservative choice. Instead he got a safe job as an accountant. All of that fell apart when my dad lost his job and the family fell on hard times. I learned many great lessons from my father, not the least of which was that you can fail at what you don't want, so you might as well t...

One of my author friends recently announced: “Well, it finally happened. I’m making more money from my books than I do in my day job. I guess it’s time to quit and go all in on my writing!” Ok, I’ll admit that I felt a brief twinge of jealousy before congratulating them. Writing fiction for a living was — and probably still is — my vision of an ideal job and lifestyle. I wanted the independence, f...

Can you give me a little feedback? I’ve been planning an upcoming 2-hour workshop for all of you who are interested in solopreneurship. The focus will be on transitioning from a 9-5 job to launching your solopreneur business quickly, easily, and inexpensively. My goal is to show you how you can define, design, and test a business concept in just a few weeks. I want you to generate revenue as soon...

Losing your job can feel like the end of the world. That’s especially true in a tight job market like the one we are experiencing right now. Several thousand people in tech have been laid off in the last few months, and more layoffs are coming. I’ve been through it before, and I can tell you it’s a frightening feeling. It’s downright terrifying if you’ve been living at the edge of your income with...

You wouldn’t think that a late frost could kill your business . But, if you’re a small farmer, that’s precisely what can happen. I grew up in the Midwest, so I know how much the weather can make or break a harvest, and farmers often walk a thin line of profitability.  After 30 years of living in cities, my wife and I finally made our way back to a rural lifestyle. We now live in an area that is kn...

Why do I love so-called “ lifestyle businesses” ? Why do I think they’re a brilliant choice for people who are ready to leave the 9-5 world but feel overwhelmed by the idea of building a large company with investors, employees, and a lot of complexity? Well, let me take you on a walk with me down memory lane to illustrate how quickly you can start a simple business like this to replace the income...

Are you ready to take the leap into entrepreneurship? * How are you feeling about your job right now? * Are you still committed to starting your own business? * Is now the time to make a move and do it? It's challenging to think about all of this with a million thoughts buzzing around in your head. You may have a good gut feeling about your eagerness to start something new. Your passion and excite...

Making a living from learned skills is certainly possible. Billions of people do it every day. But that doesn't mean it's easy.  Obviously, working as an employee is how most people leverage their skills to get paid. But, you can also package up your skills, knowledge, and experience and build a business from what you do as a professional.  In some ways, this is the easiest business to create. You...