💭 The Big Idea  

Solopreneurship, or simply running a business at its core, is all about selling. You have to be selling from the beginning. Whether you sell products, services or other goods, you have to be selling. As a solopreneur, you are a salesman first and foremost.

The most important reasons why you should sell from day 1:

1. Ensure what you are offering is actually a value proposition that customers want to buy (testing your minimum viable product/service)

2. Understand what the biggest problems of your ideal customer are

3. Develop sales, communication and closure skills. Closing, in particular, is HARD.

So how did I start selling from day one?

1. LinkedIn

   • I put myself out there on LinkedIn by posting useful and resonating content daily.

   • This built trust between my potential clients and me.

   • I displayed my skills in writing and proved I was consistently showing up. Remember, if you show up consistently, you outlast 99% of the other players in the game.

2. Prospecting clients: read how I do it here.

   • I started reaching out to potential clients and people I would like to work with within the first 24-48h of starting. One of my current clients was literally the first person I messaged after announcing my newsletter on LinkedIn.

   • After every proposal rejection, I always ensure I reflect on and improve my pitch and offer.

     • This allows me to ensure my next pitch and offer is even better. It’s a continuous learning process.

   • I leaned into my networks and friends to see if I could land any gigs to develop skills and learn what it’s like working with a real customer and get a testimonial.

     • Ended up landing a Twitter ghostwriting gig in Month 1, made £375 and received a testimonial. Check it out here.

3. Promote my services on every occasion

   • This wasn’t included since day one because I wanted to build LinkedIn first.

     • But on reflection, I wish I had started sooner. It’s crucial, and I feel like it was the one thing I truly missed out on in terms of consistency across the board.

   • I have thus built self-promotion into my LinkedIn strategy by posting about my services once a week, and you may have noticed the ‘💼 Work with me’ section below (introduced since newsletter #5).

Since Month 1, I have pivoted from ghostwriting to copywriting newsletters for healthcare-based organisations and companies. But it’s all about getting out there; the first client is always the hardest to secure.

🚙 My Solopreneur Journey: 

Short one today - it’s been a busy week between medical school placements, a fractured thumb, meetings and more. Exam next week, and then I can start with the planned rebranding! Lots of exciting news to come! Stay tuned!