Why it’s so damn hard to be a solo business owner

In the February 2025 edition:

• Why running a single-person business is so difficult—and ways to make it a bit easier 🏋

• Spot-on advice about how to write when everything is a distraction ✍

• Is calling your elected officials a treat? It is now—because, ahem, we have some feedback to share 😡

ICYMI: A new Catbird Client Case Study with Kim from Read It & Eat Bookshop is now available—read it here!

SOMETHING USEFUL

Why it’s so damn hard to be a solo business owner

I run Catbird Consulting by myself (by choice), and most of my clients are the sole owners and operators of their businesses as well. So I know from personal and professional experience that being a solo business owner is uniquely challenging.

What a lot of people don’t fully realize is that running a business AND performing the core work of what your business does are actually two separate, often full-time jobs.

If you own a retail shop, managing your business is one job, and operating the shop is another separate job.

If you’re an artist, managing your business is one job, and creating art is another separate job.

If you’re a consultant, managing your business is one job, and working with your clients is another separate job.

There’s a huge potential pitfall here—when someone starts a business, they’re really signing up for two separate, but interrelated, bodies of work. They may be the greatest shop owner, artist, or consultant in the world, but a business built on those skills won’t work if they don’t manage the business side well.

In the corporate world, businesses have teams of people to deliver their products or services, and yet more teams of people to manage the business side of things.

But we’re not like corporations, and we don’t want to be. We need to manage our businesses in a way that’s sustainable as a single human with limited time, energy, and money.

Unfortunately, support to help us learn how to do this, or get the resources we need, is scarce. Books that teach fundamental business skills tend to focus on growth at all costs, or offer solutions that are overkill for a business of one, or assume we have employees to delegate to. Many business grants or loans require a minimum team size or annual revenue number to qualify.

It’s like our society thinks a business is only “real” if it has a big team and revenue in the millions. I’m calling complete and total bullshit on that.

Solo-owned businesses are an important part of our communities and our economy, but if we’re going to succeed with constrained time and resources, we need to focus on what’s most important and set aside the distractions.

What’s with all these hats?

“Wearing all the hats” is a common way to describe the difficulty of running a business by yourself. But there are a lot of hats to choose from, so it’s useful to know which ones are essential so we can focus our efforts there.

Let’s zoom way out for a minute:

All businesses, no matter the size, have 3 central functions: Marketing, Sales, and Operations. In a big company, each of these functions has a dedicated staff with specific roles. In a solo business, each of these functions is you—and it’s important not to neglect any of them.

Let’s take a closer look at what’s involved in each one:

Marketing = Awareness

Marketing is all about increasing customers’ awareness of your business, so the people who want to buy from you can find you. Some common ways to market are paid advertising, organic or paid social media marketing, working with influencers or affiliates, and email/direct mail marketing.

Another element of marketing is business development (BD). For a solo owner, BD is all about building relationships. It’s a more targeted form of marketing where you find ways to connect with specific people who need what you sell, rather than showing ads or posts to whoever happens to see them. Events, conferences, and direct individual outreach are all a part of this.

Marketing is an essential business activity, but most of us don’t have a huge budget or a lot of extra time for it. And frankly, marketing ourselves can feel uncomfortable. Part of doing it well is figuring out which tactics work for you. Part of it may be shifting your mindset around marketing.

But a huge part of marketing success is the ability to communicate very clearly (and repetitively; people need to hear messages many times to remember them!) about what you’re selling and why your customers will benefit from buying from you.

Personally, I prefer a BD-forward approach to marketing because my business is driven by referrals—and I don’t want to spend a lot of time on social media or do paid advertising.

Here’s what you need to know about marketing as a solo owner:

• Marketing is vitally important—there’s no way around it. However, there are several options for how to do it, and you can choose your tactics based on your values and what actually works for getting your business in front of customers.

• Do spend time crafting simple, clear marketing messages so you can explain why customers should be aware of you. Build an understanding of why your customers value your work, so you can explain that to new and prospective customers.

• Don’t spend time throwing spaghetti at the wall or copying what you see others doing on social media. Posting is easy but may not drive results. Finding ways to connect directly with people may be uncomfortable but will get better results.

Sales = Customer Decision Making

Sales differs from marketing in that it’s not about awareness, it’s about customer decision making—ideally, deciding to buy something from you.

There are active ways to sell (discovery calls, emails or social media posts with direct sales messaging, in-person retail sales) and more passive ways (website sales pages, offering promotions or discounts, asking for referrals.)

Selling successfully requires having confidence in what you’re offering, and understanding what your customers want and need so you can show them how you can fulfill those wants and needs.

Pricing strategy also plays a big role in sales. You need to match your pricing to the value of what you’re providing and the amount your customers are willing to pay, but not set prices so low that you aren’t profitable.

Similar to marketing, selling is beneficial to your customers when it’s done with integrity. You’re helping them understand what you offer and decide if it serves their needs. You want to communicate the value of what you’re selling honestly and respectfully. Unfortunately, a lot of sales tactics I’m seeing online are NOT honest and respectful.

I have a whole IG post about this, but as far as sales goes, using the methods you see online may backfire in a big way if you try them in 1:1 sales conversations. So forego the hard sell and fake urgency and just have a simple, straightforward conversation about why your products or services are worth investing in.

Here’s what you need to know about sales as a solo owner:

• Sales can happen actively and passively, and you need to take advantage of both. Make sure your website and social channels are working in your favor by making it easy for your ideal customers to buy. They shouldn’t be confused or turned off by your online presence. (It is ok if your presence repels non-ideal customers.)

• Do spend time making sure your pricing is aligned properly. But don’t get caught in a race to the bottom, or you won’t achieve the profits you need to run a sustainable business.

• Don’t spend time on predatory sales tactics—or, at the other end of the spectrum, fail to sell altogether because it’s uncomfortable. Be confident in what you have to offer and how you discuss it with potential customers, so they can see what’s in it for them.

Operations = What Makes It All Work

Here’s the big one. We’ve covered sales and marketing, and for solo owners, operations is pretty much everything else—all the behind the scenes and customer-facing processes that make your business work, both for you and for your customers.

This includes, but isn’t limited to:

• Financial management and bookkeeping

• Customer service and communication

• Strategic action planning to reach business goals

• Creating or improving processes & systems

• Ordering or producing inventory, or delivering services

• Development of new products or services

Especially important for solo owners, operations also includes self-management—structuring our own attention, time, and priorities to get it all done. In a team setting, group accountability helps us get things done. When we’re on our own, it can be incredibly difficult to apply that same accountability to ourselves. I know I struggle with this.

Because much of this ops work happens behind the scenes, it can be easy to focus on the parts that customers see and put the rest on the back burner. This can lead to neglecting critically important things like financial management and strategic planning, impacting the profitability of your business and your ability to achieve your business goals.

It’s important to spend some time on every element of business operations listed above. The keys to doing this as one person, without burning yourself out, are to keep everything as simple as possible and focus on the fundamentals before adding in new priorities.

So what are the fundamentals? Financial management is a big one, and the one I see getting back-burnered most often. But you can’t know if your business is sustainable if you’re not keeping track of your income, expenses, and profit. Creating a regular bookkeeping habit and a simple financial management system is more important than “extras” like adding a new revenue stream or exploring growth opportunities. Do these things after your finances are in order.

Another fundamental ops priority is customer service and communication, also known as customer experience. If your customers aren’t having a good experience with you, they won’t return or recommend you to others. Clear processes and timely communication are critical—there are a ton of apps that purport to help with this, but remember that a little simplicity here can go a long way.

Lastly, a fundamental business priority should be identifying what your strategy and goals are (revenue, projects to focus on, etc.) so you can structure your time and apply your attention accordingly. Without a vision of your future goals, it’s difficult to prioritize how to spend your time today.

Here’s what you need to know about operations as a solo owner:

• Operations is a large umbrella that encompasses many important business tasks. Some of them are outwardly visible and some aren’t, but they are all important. To avoid getting overwhelmed, focus on the fundamentals first and try to keep things as simple as possible. If there’s an area where you aren’t comfortable, seek help from someone with expertise on that topic.

• Do focus on self-management as a way to ensure that all of the operational facets of your business are receiving the attention they need from you.

• Don’t allow the internal-only operations processes like goal planning and financial management to fall by the wayside. It may be true that customers don’t see these parts of your business, but you need to see them and manage them in order to know whether your business is successful and sustainable.

The key is in the balance of all these things. Managing your business is managing the marketing, sales, and operations of what you provide to your customers. Staying focused on clear messaging, direct outreach and relationships, and core operational processes will enable you to build a business that will support you and your community no matter what’s happening in the world.

I shared a (much) shorter version of this article as an Instagram post in March 2024.

SOMETHING NEAT

Even if you don’t have a newsletter or blog, writing is still an important (inescapable?!) part of owning a business. And at least for me, it’s like pulling teeth much of the time.

It’s only getting worse, with current events and social media distracting the hell out of me while I’m just trying to organize and express my thoughts for one (1) email per month 😅

So I loved Rebecca Makkai’s recent Substack article, “How to Write While Deeply Distracted”. These are the most specific, actionable focus tips I’ve ever seen—some of them are pretty unconventional, and those are the most helpful of all. I think I need to start using that beeping thing.

A LITTLE TREAT

This month’s treat is a healthy one. It’s 5calls.org, a simple website/app that makes it easy to call your House rep and senators and give them feedback. They work for you!

Here’s a little trick—if you, like me, live in a place where your reps are politically aligned with you, that doesn’t mean you don’t need to call them. Look at their websites or social media and see where they’re not speaking up, then call them about those issues.

For example, my senators and congressional rep haven’t advocated enough for the LGBT+ community. So when I call them, I thank them for what they are doing, then tell them I want to see more from them on that issue. They need to know what their constituents care about, so there’s no excuse for them not to take action. So let’s tell them.

WORK WITH ME

This newsletter is for everyone, but a one-on-one consulting engagement is tailored to you and your business. Here’s how I can support you:

• Business Planning—For solo business owners with a lot to do, and never enough time. We’ll refine, prioritize, and organize your goals, and I’ll create a road map for you to get them done. (My most popular service—now booking for April.)

• Operations Analysis—Is your business built on a strong, long-lasting foundation? An operational deep dive will reveal any cracks or weaknesses, and tell you exactly how to fix them.

• General Consulting—Get expert support with business challenges like workload sustainability, financial fundamentals, pricing, client communication, and more.

When you’re ready, schedule a free 30 minute intro call with me.

Thanks for reading—see you next month. If you have a business owner friend who would find this newsletter useful, please share it with them!