Curious to know which small business tips were the most popular among Flying Solo readers in 2017? Read on, all will be revealed.

It’s no surprise that the most popular Flying Solo article of 2017 revolved around coping with pressure. Kelly Exeter certainly knows what it’s like to feel overwhelmed, but rather than do more to regain control, she does less by deleting the following five things from her life:

• Perfectionism
• ‘Just one more’ (‘Just one more’ Netflix show or ‘just one more’ email before bed)
• Drama
• Overthinking
• Staying still (Exercise is excellent therapy)

Remember 9 important deductions at tax time

Amanda Vanelderen wrote a hilarious piece on the 9 tax deductions she believes should be claimable, for the good of the country of course!

Item 1: Imposter syndrome retail therapy

“New earrings after your quote got rejected? Deductible. A new guitar after a crappy week, because shouldn’t you be living your real dreams? Sure, why not.”

Item 2: Wine. All of the wine.

“I’m not unreasonable, let’s make it a deduction for Australian wines only.”

Item 3: Coffee

“Let’s put it in a language you understand: productivity. In this copywriter’s office, no coffee means no copy.”

Item 4: Hair dye, anti-ageing treatments and pipe dreams

“Running your own business gives you grey hair, wrinkles and a prematurely furrowed brow. Put the spring back in our step … Make Australia beautiful again.”

Item 5: Caring for humans and non-humans

“Caring for our mini humans, older parents, and furry friends (pets, not the chocolates) is part of life. Needing that flexibility is why a lot of us started our businesses.”

Item 6: Netflix, STAN or your binge bucket of choice

“I run my own business, I have kids. I don’t have time for commercials. Have some humanity.”

Item 7: Taking care of yourself

“It’s good money sense to help people keep their noggins from getting wonky, and get them moving.”

Item 8: Uniforms

“Yoga pants, ugg boots and hoodies are this writer’s winter uniform of choice … I will not write if I am uncomfortable. You want that sweet, sweet GST, right? You know what to do.”

 Item 9: Motivational snacks

“Because, productivity.”

Five super steps to getting clients

Starting her Virtual Assistant business after 50 years of age, Marian Mouttet achieved her desired income within the first five months of business. If you’re launching your business, or are just looking to get more clients, this comprehensive article is a must read.

Here are the exact five steps Marian took:

Develop a marketing strategy

“Have a website; attend networking meetings; email a flyer to all my contacts; and join at least two VA online organisations for leads. Some strategies worked and some did not, but I tried them all.”

Join two local networking groups

“I got one of my first clients through this group and they’re still with me today.”

Reach out to previous business colleagues and contacts 

“Before going out on my own, I had an existing private client I’d done Award Submission documents for. I contacted them and let them know of my new status and they became my first business client.”

Do volunteer work

“Volunteer to work for a non-profit organisation for free … Not only did I get to demonstrate my desktop publishing skills to a whole group of families with many business connections, I also utilised the free member advertisement to advertise my business.”

Tell everyone

“I told everyone I knew personally about my new business and described what I offered.”

Don’t take on work that isn’t the right fit

“My advice, do not settle for jobs you do not want to do and rates that undervalue your services.”

If you’re starting a business, do these 4 essential things

Before starting a business, Eddy Addicks advises the four things you must do, which pertain to:

• Registration and licensing requirements
• Legal structures
• Business names
• Domain names and trademarks.

Read the full article for details on each.

Learn from FS’s most popular articles of 2016

Guess what, my article on Flying Solo’s top articles of 2016 made it into the list of most popular articles for last year. If you’re interested, here’s what people loved reading in 2016.

Steal these 4 marketing ideas from big business

Jayne Tancred wrote a highly insightful article on the strategies, disciplines and thought processes that are at the core of many big business marketing practices, which she believes soloists should steal and adapt in order to flourish.

• Know your objectives
• Play the long game
• Ensure you’re reaching the right people
• Leverage the halo effect – “If you offer a range of products or services, it’s important to determine which are best to invest your time and/or money to promote.”

Your time to sizzle

Hope you enjoyed reading a summary of 2017’s most popular Flying Solo articles. Look out for the follow-on piece, which covers the next six most popular articles. That will give you 12 tips and strategies in total. Enough to help you enjoy a sizzling, successful 2018!

What are your thoughts on these tips and strategies? Want to add some more?