As much as you’d like to be a superhero, you are not. I know, I’ve been there too – did that – tried that – burned out! If you are doing it all alone as a solopreneur, you are probably already feeling it. The harsh reality is that you can’t scale your business alone. Don’t worry, I’ll explain why you cannot and what to do instead.
You Can’t Scale Alone
The reason why you can’t scale alone is pretty simple. You can only work a maximum number of hours in a week. Most of you in the online service industry jumped into it to work less, not more.
Example of Why You Can’t Scale Alone
As much as I am able, I like to give practical information when giving you business tips. This often includes examples.
So, let’s say you worked 40 hours (it’s not working less like you planned, but let’s use it just for our example) at a rate of $45/hour, you still could not break $100,000. You will come up slightly short at $93,600. Remember, this is if your bandwidth is more than full.
Ex: 40 hrs x $45/hr = $1,800/week x 52 weeks = $93,600 year
You may say, I’d love to earn $93,600. Yet, you became a solopreneur to work less, not the same or more. In this example, you would be only $6,400 short of that 100k, but still short, if that is your goal.
In general, most online service providers cannot provide more than 30-35 hours per week. The other hours are spent in the general running of the business and working on the business.
Can I Still Scale and Take Vacations or Be Sick?
Now, what happens if you fall sick? You cannot work the hours, nor are your clients served. Would your business survive?
My Own ICU Story
I actually got very sick and had this happen to me a few years ago. I ended up in the hospital very sick, and I was supposed to bring on a new team member (subcontractor) and train her! I didn’t have time to be sick. Yet, there I was in the ICU! I couldn’t even think about the business for at least a week and didn’t get back to work fully for nearly a month. I would have lost my business had it not been for my team.
They rallied and even trained the new team member without being asked. They just jumped right in and did what they had to do. I had a great team, and I was so fortunate. What would you do if this happened to you?
Working Less
And what if you only want to work 25-30 hours each week? This makes the divide even larger. You wanted to earn more and work less, so how is that possible? (I’ll get to that in just a minute.)
Ex: 30 hours x $45 per hour = $1,350 per week x 52 weeks = $70,200
You can understand now why it is difficult to scale as a solopreneur. Even if you worked the 40 hours each week as in the first example, is it enough for you (by the way, you will actually be working more like 45+ hours each week in this example)?
Then, you have to consider vacations, illnesses, and how to serve all of your clients if you are away from work for any period of time.
Solopreneur Definition
My definition is a common-sense definition.
“A solopreneur is an entrepreneur or self-employed individual who does not have employees or subcontractors to help in the running of their business.”
They are individuals who run their businesses alone. If you are a solopreneur, you know what hard work it is.
The reasons many online service providers are solopreneurs may include:
- By Design or Choice – They have chosen to keep the business in a place so as not to grow any larger than what they can provide all services themselves.
- Lack of Resources – This can include not having the money to hire, not having the knowledge of how to bring on subcontractors, or not knowing where to get the help.
- Not Ready – Usually, this means that their business has not grown enough to need the help. It can also include the fact that they may need a mentor or coach to help them guide them through the process.
Now, for an ‘official’ definition from a university:
“Business professionals who are self-employed and run their businesses independently, without partners or employees, are sometimes called solo entrepreneurs or solopreneurs.” University of Phoenix
Alternative To Burning Out So You Can Scale
What is the solution then? The best alternative to working 40 or more hours per week is to bring on help. You may be thinking, “What?! How can I afford to pay someone and work less myself?”
Let me explain. You are multiplying, not subtracting. So, let’s say you want to work 30 hours, like our example. If you bring on a subcontractor to work with your clients, you are still earning what the client is paying you. You will not pay a portion of it to your subcontractor.
The more clients you can bring on and onboard with your subcontractor, the more you will make. This is how you multiply to your advantage. Continue to onboard clients, but each new one will go to a subcontractor.
You may split it 50/50 or 40/60. It is up to you. The best practice is to continue working as you are (as long as you can still handle onboarding more clients, if maxed out, that is different), and with every new client you will assign (delegate) them to the subcontractor. Eventually, you should be making enough to start cutting back on your hours while earning more than you did as a solopreneur.
Adding A Team To Build The Dream
You should keep adding subcontractors as you grow. Find out your subcontractor’s bandwidth so that you don’t hand her too much. Once her bandwidth is full, you should bring on another subcontractor and keep repeating this.
You can also take the approach based on the category of services you offer. You may want to bring on subcontractors based on the services they can provide your clients. The only warning I will give is to remember that all of the business responsibility falls back on you, so if you bring on someone who can offer other services, you may want to make sure you want to offer those services (and that you can fulfill them).
Managing Expectation
Another huge thing that goes hand in hand with all of this is managing your expectations. You don’t scale overnight. It takes patience and time.
You will not be perfect, and you will make mistakes. You may hire the wrong subcontractor, but you may also hire exactly who you need. Be sure to also give grace to your subcontractors when they make mistakes. It takes time to blend it all so it looks like a well-oiled machine.
Final Thoughts
I want to note that I know some of you probably make more than the example; however, the real point is that no matter how much you make, you cannot scale fully without help.
Scaling your business and taking it to the next level is not easy and needs to be done on purpose and with purpose.
Lastly, I’ll just wrap up by reminding you to read previous articles about bringing on subcontractors, outsourcing, or building a team.
I’ve also written previously about the pillars of scaling: equipped, structured, and empowered. I think if you are looking for additional resources, these can help you.
Finally, I will add that if you still want more help, please set up your Free No-Sales Pitch Session with me (you’d be surprised how much we can accomplish).
I love helping women service providers to scale. They scale through my unique combination of coaching and consulting. This allows you to get the best of both, so you can grow your business.
Tammy S. Durden is an award-winning business coach and consultant who specializes in helping women online service providers grow a business to fit their lifestyle rather than squeeze a life around their business.
Tammy has established herself as an authority figure over the last 18 years while creating and growing several online service businesses. She is also a sought-after thought leader, course creator, and speaker in the online service industry.