The Framework of a Solopreneur

Welcome to the Empire of One newsletter—the newsletter that teaches you lessons, strategies, and mindsets for building digital businesses as a solopreneur.

This week’s issue is about teaching you a framework to build your Empire of One

Average read time: 4.5 minutes

The Rat Race

It’s becoming more common these days to see people who are fed up with their jobs, employed by someone who doesn’t appreciate their hard work.

The cost of living is increasing, while wages stay stagnant.

The rat race is becoming more frantic and it seems that the system is designed to keep us in place.

Grasping at Straws

In order to stay ahead of the curve, or even just to stay afloat, many people are getting second jobs and working harder than ever before.

Others are bouncing from job to job with minimal pay increases at each transition. Gone are the days of being employed by the same company for 40 years.

The Hamster Wheel

Working the traditional path will never help you get ahead. You will always be trading your time for money.

And so, the hamster wheel spins.

And escape seems like a distant dream.

Build Escape Velocity

Not all is lost, however.

We live in a digital age where there are more paths to success than ever before.

There are tools available to each of us that were not available previously. Ones that can help you grow a digital empire and reach millions of potential customers.

No longer do you need a big team or giant business to be successful and live a happy life.

It’s time to start building something of value that will give you the freedom you desire

It’s time to build your Empire of One.

So How Do You Do It?

In this internet age, there are many resources to build your skills and become an expert at something.

Maybe you already have some pre-existing skill?

• What do you do for work?

• What are your hobbies?

• What do you know a lot about?

Or take some time to learn something new and get really, really good at it.

Sites like: Coursera, LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, or freeCodeCamp can help you learn high-value skills to get you started.

Once you’ve got your skill dialed in, you have options.

Option 1 - Freelancing

Update all your socials to reflect that you are now looking for work in your chosen field.

Having a portfolio website to direct potential clients to is nice, but at this stage it’s not necessary. It’s more important to have samples of your work that you can share.

Keep it simple, don’t overthink things, and reach out to as many potential clients as you can.

Getting started as a freelancer can be tough, but it’s a numbers game. Don’t give up after reaching out to only 25 people.

The Advanced Freelancing podcast by Laura Briggs has a ton of great information about becoming a successful freelancer. Although it hasn’t been updated in a year now, the information in each episode is still extremely valuable.

Option 2 - Building Digital Products

One of the best ways to earn a living online is to build digital products.

Although it typically takes some kind of initial investment (usually time or money) the dividends that digital products pay can be extraordinary.

This method is how you truly decouple your time from money. Making money while you sleep is an absolute game changer.

Take the skill you specialized in and use it in digital products, such as:

• E-books

• Templates

• Digital Courses

• Software

Here’s Modest Mitkus’ thread on building and selling digital products:

Option 3 - Build an Audience

This third option isn’t for everyone, but is by far the most valuable.

Building an audience is one of the most effective ways to ensure the success of the other two options, should you choose either.

It could also open up avenues that you may not have even thought of.

Become well known for the skill you’ve learned and people looking to learn the same skill will want to learn from you.

Clients looking to hire someone with that skill will see you as a professional because your audience gives you authority.

You can leverage your following to build a business, making it easier to sell your skills.

Use tools such as social media or free newsletter services to start gaining a following.

Teach your audience the skill for free and make it so valuable they can’t ignore you.

Eventually your followers will start responding. They may have questions or comments that can help direct you where to go next.

Chances are, if a few people are being vocal about a specific challenge they are facing, there are more people in your audience that can benefit from your expertise around solving that challenge.

Stay versatile here. Listen to your audience and use the data to create something that provides value.

Don’t just create based on assumptions.

Continue to provide as much value as possible for free and when it comes time to offer your audience a paid solution, they will be lining up to give you their money.

It’s all about trust—being consistently valuable builds a ton of it.

I found a lot of value in Alex Hormozi’s video on audience building. He tells you like it is, no bullsh*t:

Conclusion

These are just a few examples of how you could build your Empire of One. There are many more paths you could take, such as coaching, consulting, or even podcasting.

The main thing is to just be as valuable as possible and make it difficult for people to say no to what you’re offering.

That’s it for this issue. Be sure to follow along on Twitter for daily info-nuggets on building your Empire of One.