Why quitters often win

Sam Leader There's nothing like running a solo business to ruthlessly expose our strengths and weaknesses. We try to juggle all the balls and wear all the hats, but inevitably we're good at some things, not at others.

So how should we handle our weaknesses? Conventional wisdom states we have to work on them. They can be transformed into strengths by way of perseverance. The harder the endeavour is, the more rewarding you'll find it.

But when, exactly, are you allowed to say enough is enough? When do you admit that you're not making headway, just swimming against the tide?

Frustrating endeavours are only rarely opportunities in disguise. More often, they are energy zappers and soloists need to protect their energy with all their might.

Examples of energy zappers in your solo business are easy to identify as they often take the form of tasks you hate. Disliked tasks get procrastinated over, are sources of guilt…and, when they're eventually done, are likely to get stuffed up.

Instead of mooning over Excel or staring at the phone, why not pay a fellow soloist to do your books or your cold calling?

Liberating yourself from such tasks means the job gets done well, and you're able to spend time doing something that plays to your strengths.

Also, those who consistently listen to their hearts when it comes to gauging strengths and weaknesses have far better self-awareness than those who plug away.

Getting help from others does not make you a loser, it makes you one smart solo cookie.

Do you think it's better to work on your weaknesses or give them a wide berth? Let us know by posting a comment below.

Until next week.

Love your work,

Sam Leader is a director of Flying Solo and its editor. She is the co-author of Flying Solo - How to go it alone in business.

24 comments | Add your own 1 2 3 4 | Next» View all»

I'm writing a book...a more "solo business" I have yet to find. I relate to what Sam is telling when I consider how to be after, say, rejection by a publisher. All depends on whether you should have been "there" in the first place, and how good your product really is. Is it worth trying to salvage it? It helps to be sure that your perceptions are justified by lots of hard self-examination. If the answer after a big breath is "yes", go with it and hard. john wright from sydney, Australia
I learnt that I don't need to do everything in or for my business (even my life for that matter), but I do need to understand it all. Having a book-keeper and an accountant that do the numbers for my business is only half the job done. I need to understand what they represent, and to make that information work to my advantage. I have to come to realise that I don't need to collate them into my P&L to make it work. Lesson learnt, understood and embracing it. I don't need to mow my lawns to appreciate the job well done and the roll on effects of that. Same principle again. Superwoman - not woman in stupor from trying to do it all - alone! Laynie Kelly from Business & Office Solutions
As a solo-preneur with 13 years in business, I celebrate Sam's comment regarding recognising weaknesses and outsourcing tasks that give you little joy. There is no point wasting time on activities that drain your enthusiasm and take you longer than others to complete.
At the same time, if any of your weaknesses impact on your core offering then you need to face those difficulties and innovatively turn them to your advantage. Making changes to your modus operandi, your style, your focus is always challenging, but the rewards are infinite.
And, you can use yourself as a shining example when you help your clients through the challenges that they are facing. Sandra Baigel from Voice & Word from Melbourne, Australia
To hand over a difficult task to another who can do it easily (like making ^*@^%^ name tags for events) frees me up to be so much happeir and more productive with the bigger things.
Just yesterday I 'quit' a difficult process that was dragging on and taking forever and causing me worry. Today I am a happy, light-hearted person with renewed energy and enthusiasm, and things are flowing smoothly again. The Universe is smiling once more. BR from Qld
There is a book "Now Discover YOur Strengths" which raises the idea of investing all the time and energy we would usually spend on improving our weaknesses ... and instead ... invest that time and energy to enhance our strengths. Imagine what could be achieved ... Linda Anderson from Sydney | Read my articles
I think some of the issues relating to Strengths and Weaknesses may come down to time and money. Soloists who are starting out (ie within the first year or so of business) are often not at liberty to simply pay someone else to do the "dirty work". We often have to "lick envelopes" and rearrange the files, do the bookwork and manage the invoices all because there is no one else to call upon to assist, or because we are not yet financially viable to justify the expense. In essence, we have to write a list - the good parts of the soloist business we don't mind doing/love doing (usually the reason we started the business in the first place, or a major influence) and the bad parts, those inevitable tasks we absolutely don't like... that cause all those ill-feelings, guilt, procrastination, etc... and determine on a scale of 1-10 just how bad those tasks are, how essential they are, how much time and energy they take...
If they are essential, and yet not entirely time wasting (the only reason time is wasted is because of our '-ve' approach), then we need to pick up our attitude, and reflect on how privileged we are to work for ourselves (thankfulness can be such a powerful jolt of "go-get'em").
If some of the tasks really do call upon us to act or think in ways outside our skill set and yet the tasks are essential to the business, then some genuine business advice would work. Find out how to better do what we are already doing, to ultimately earn the cash flow that allows for outsourcing those dreaded tasks.
We need to keep our eye on the goal - why did we start our soloist business, and is it fulfilling that ideal dream/goal? Stay true to the reason you started your soloist business and realise that some of the "envelope licking" will truly pay dividends in discipline and ability to appreciate. Stick with it... It is so worth it. Good Luck. Terri Mitchell - Freelance Copywriter, www.twohandsdancing.com from Sydney Australia

24 comments | Add your own 1 2 3 4 | Next» View all»

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