A solopreneur is typically described as an entrepreneur who runs their show on their own. Google defines solopreneur as, “a person who sets up and runs a business on their own.” I understand we’re getting into semantics here, but I think this definition is lacking. I am a solopreneur and I do most of my work in solitude. It becomes very easy to forget that I am not alone in this and that I didn’t get where I am solely on my own efforts. I am the sole worker at Emma Lee Creative, but don’t call me a self-made woman. I am mostly others-made, and I owe my success to my support network.
Entrepreneurship is not for the lone wolf. It is not something that can be successfully done without the help of friends, family, entrepreneurial community, colleagues, investors, and clients. I have a solid network of all of these people, but in 2018, I lost my dad. I didn’t realize it until New Year’s day, but my dad was a big part of my business. In 2019, I had trouble finding my footing as a creative and as a professional. This came for a number of reasons, but the big one was not having my dad there to cheer me on, to talk to, to build me up. I have plenty of people in my life, and I never thought losing one person would make a difference to me as a professional, but it did. Every person on your team matters. If you try to go at it alone, you’re going to struggle. I couldn’t even start my company without the encouragement of two entrepreneur friends. It truly takes a village.
Client: A local flight instructor needing design services and a headshot.
CLIENTS
No business runs without clients/customers. Clients are the fuel that makes the car run. We always think of ourselves as serving our clients, but have you ever considered the ways that our clients serve us? Clients are kind of the backbone of our businesses. Without them, our companies don’t thrive. We do good work for our clients, but they give us our business. Nobody owes us a contract, but our clients choose us. We can’t do it without them.
COLLEAGUES
I wouldn’t even have a company if it weren’t for two colleagues. Colleagues are the people who know your work, can send stuff your way, and give you professional support. One of the people who helped me start my company is not only a current client, but also someone who helps me out with things like making connections in the community and helping me know which forms I needed to fill out to legally establish Emma Lee Creative. Your colleagues are the people who keep you going when it’s hard to even start. 2019 saw plenty of those days, and my professional community is the reason I was able to push forward. I would not be where I am without my fellow photographers, startup teams, or AIGA.
Colleague: If it weren’t for Kurt, I wouldn’t have a company.
INVESTORS
Who are the people investing in your company? Not just the people investing money, but who is investing time, energy, and non-monetary resources in your company? These people are invaluable. For me, this person was my dad. He invested a considerable amount of time giving me advice and helping me with my books. He helped me out financially as I was getting started. He would do favors for me when I was in a time crunch or my organization skills fell short and I needed a favor. He invested the energy to call me every morning when I was struggling with depression, to make sure I could do the things I needed to get done. He would listen to me vent about my struggles and offer sage wisdom that never steered me wrong. Without this support, I would have given up within a year. I have people all around me still who invest in my business: fellow business owners to help me with my finances, a boyfriend who is constantly pushing me to keep going, and colleagues who invest their reputations in my work by recommending me for work or by hiring me to work for them. You cannot discount the investments made by those around you just because it’s not monetary.
Investors: My dad. My biggest fan, my most solid support, my loudest cheerleader.
FINALLY, YOUR PERSONAL CHEER SQUAD
You need your friends, your family, your people, your squad. You may think they are biased, but you shouldn’t discount their support. These are the people who know you best. Often, these are the people who know you well enough to be intimate with your flaws and your strengths. Not to be negative, but the people who know you best often have the most reasons to be critical of you. When they cheer you on, it’s not meaningless. It’s genuine. Sure, they may love your company because they love you, but they are often the people who are going to tell you the hard truths. They’re more objective than you think, and they may be more valuable than you think.
CREDIT WHERE IT’S DUE
You’re the one doing the day in and day out work of running a company, and that cannot be dismissed. You are doing the work, but at the same time, the people who are in this with us deserve recognition for the ways they love us, support us, tell us hard truths, connect us, and cheer us on. Thank you to my community, my squad, my warriors, my fellow entrepreneurs, and clients for all you do for me. I owe the success of my company, in part, to you.