Small Business Newsletter: Flying Solo’s Soapbox

Welcome to the home of Soapbox, Flying Solo’s solo and small business email newsletter which provides a weekly jolt of soloist wisdom along with links to our latest articles on running your own business.

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Here, you can browse past editions and join lively discussions on a wide range of topics related to starting, growing and running your own small business.

Soapbox articles

• Avoiding early adopter anguish

  If you regularly worry that you’re missing the boat on some new innovation, or get rattled by the continual brilliance of others, rest assured, you’re not alone.

  • 30 June 09
  • Robert Gerrish
  • 28 Comments

• Could you sell your business?

  You’ve worked hard, built up a good customer base and established a profitable niche for your business, but is it actually worth anything? Would anyone buy your business?

  • 23 June 09
  • Peter Crocker
  • 34 Comments

• The Proper Job – do you miss it?

  Recently, I met up with two friends, both of whom have secured excellent jobs. Their eyes shone excitedly as they told me about their new roles and I succumbed to an unfamiliar emotion… jealousy.

  • 16 June 09
  • Sam Leader
  • 56 Comments

• Personal & business growth tip: Start a network

  Last week, I delivered a workshop in seven regional locations. It was a great reminder of the distinction between an audience and a network.

  • 09 June 09
  • Robert Gerrish
  • 12 Comments

• I’m still addicted to email. Are you?

  In my last newsletter Confessions from an email addict, I spilt the beans on my compulsive email behaviours. Despite some frank self talk and bold promises, I’m sorry to report that my email addiction continues.

  • 02 June 09
  • Peter Crocker
  • 22 Comments

• Bad business ethics or just business?

  Regular readers will know I’m something of a customer service freak. My most recent experience has got me thinking about business ethics.

  • 26 May 09
  • Sam Leader
  • 76 Comments

• Our presenter today...is not here!

  Not so long ago, some 70 business people gathered to hear me talk. Unfortunately I was still in my pyjamas and more than 500km away. It turned out to be a great event.

  • 19 May 09
  • Robert Gerrish
  • 17 Comments

• Confessions from an email addict

  When I woke up the other morning at 3am to go to the bathroom, I thought it would be a routine pit stop. How wrong I was. Seeing the office door ajar, I quietly crept in and did the unthinkable.

  • 12 May 09
  • Peter Crocker
  • 73 Comments

• A little less conversation

  Procrastination, like time management, is an old chestnut, isn’t it? But I’ve had a revelation in this department recently so please excuse me while I revisit this clichéd subject.

  • 05 May 09
  • Sam Leader
  • 30 Comments

• How was your day?

  Your day at the office has been spent in meetings, then you battle rush hour traffic to get home. On the front porch, your smiling spouse greets you with “How was your day, dear?” Familiar? No, didn’t think so.

  • 28 April 09
  • Robert Gerrish
  • 18 Comments

• From little things…

  In our newsletters, we often talk about the importance of celebrating victories. This week, we’re going to give ourselves, and you, a pat on the back for the success of our online forums.

  • 21 April 09
  • Peter Crocker
  • 4 Comments

• Did you jump or were you pushed?

  The journey to soloism doesn’t always start with a well planned jump. Mine began with a firm push, courtesy of my last boss, who was in fact the last boss I had, or will ever have with any luck.

  • 14 April 09
  • Sam Leader
  • 32 Comments

• Business failure: the upside

  Having started my first business as the last recession took hold, I have some strangely positive recollections. Like how the marketplace rids itself of businesses that frankly never deserved to be there.

  • 07 April 09
  • Robert Gerrish
  • 47 Comments

• Lose the busy competition

  Meetings, deadlines, multi-tasking, smart phones, caffeine and chaos: it seems business is all about busyness. Ask people how they are and you’ll often get “Mate! Busy!”

  • 31 March 09
  • Peter Crocker
  • 29 Comments

• There are no downsides

  I realised how lucky soloists are when having a conversation with a friend who couldn’t decide whether or not to leave her job to pursue her solo business dream.

  • 24 March 09
  • Sam Leader
  • 28 Comments

• How great companies turn crisis into opportunity

  In a recent interview in Fortune magazine, management guru Jim Collins, author of business classics Built to Last and Good to Great, discussed what a business needs to thrive through uncertainty.

  • 10 March 09
  • Peter Crocker
  • 14 Comments

• Best of 2008

  People often ask me “What are your favourite articles on Flying Solo?” Okay, people never ask me that, but if they did, here’s what I’d say.

  • 23 December 08
  • Sam Leader
  • 3 Comments

• The wisdom of the crowd

  When we launched our new forum ten days ago, we didn’t expect to have over 900 posts up and running so fast. Numbers aside, it’s what’s being shared that’s really amazing.

  • 16 December 08
  • Robert Gerrish
  • 3 Comments

• What I got out of Flying Solo LIVE!

  Before our recent live event, I spent my time fretting about mechanics. Will everyone show? Will the audience be able to hear? What flavour are the mini gelato cones? After all we’re forever told it’s the small stuff that matters.

  • 30 September 08
  • Sam Leader
  • 8 Comments

• You hold the answers

  When faced with questions regarding business evolution or revolution, there can be no one better to counsel than your customers. Your customers will show you how to improve things and help expand your thinking.

  • 18 March 08
  • Robert Gerrish
  • 6 Comments