6 mistakes I made as a solopreneur that made me burnout
In my second year of business, I burned out.
My first son was almost a year old. And I wanted nothing more than to walk away from my business.
Looking back, I see now there were 6 mistakes I was making as a solopreneur and full-time parent that were causing me to burnout.
Those 6 mistakes are:
“If so-and-so can do it, so can I.”
Comparing myself to someone with more resources
Ignoring my special talents or gifts
Not using leverage inside my business
No boundaries around work time or projects
Not managing my mind
Let’s deep dive into those 6 mistakes.
1) If so-and-so can do it, so can I.
This is a particularly nasty myth that I've relied on since I was 15 years old to get motivated and do hard things.
This message that a certain task or action is doable because so-and-so did it.
So, what’s a little bit of fear?
But this myth goes deeper.
You don't have insight into the backend of so-and-so’s world. You don’t know the resources, or time, or abilities they have that you don't… and vice versa.
The better idea?
Try the Stitch Fix Strategy:
Swipe someone's strategy, try it on, tweak to make it fit your workstyle and business, and return within 30 days if it doesn't fit you.
Yep, the Stitch Fix Strategy is even applicable to cold and partnership emails.
2) Comparing myself to someone with more resources.
Right before my burnout, I constantly compared myself to other entrepreneurs who were moms with little kids and berated myself, "Why aren't you making $10,000 a month? What's wrong with you? If they can do it, so can you."
Welcome to part two of the above mistake.
None of us do it alone.
However, nobody talks about their support system.
Instead, it's an ego boost to make-believe that we do it ALL by ourselves.
What a crock of shit.
The entrepreneur I compared myself to had a ton of resources and support that I didn’t have, like family nearby and a housecleaner, and sometimes a chef.
My support system is a hugely helpful husband who single-handedly manages bedtime, cleans and does dishes, and wrangles my wee beasties.
Expecting the same results with different ingredients is a recipe for mental madness (aka burnout).
3) Ignoring my special talents or gifts.
I was born with a special set of talents..
… and a set of gifts that I’ve invested 10,000s of hours into developing.
In the year that I burned out, I was doing anything and everything that paid. Like editing an online book (for which I bought a Mac because the files were only in that format, and returned within the return period).
Knowing what I’m good at -- both innate and cultivated -- helps me lean on my strengths.
For example, I can distill large amounts of information into a theme or see patterns between that data.
And coming up with USPs or reframing existing marketing strategies into new ones is a big strength of mine.
When I operate inside those strengths, work is easier. It even feels fun.
Take the Clifton Strengthsfinder test to discover the strengths you have.
4) Not using leverage inside your business.
For years, I’ve relied on one question to determine what’s working:
“What’s the one trigger I need to pull to make my goal achievable?”
For years, the answer was:
Send more cold emails.
So I focused just on that one action.
Thanks to that focus, in 2022, my revenue grew 227% and my email subscribers grew 39% over just 3 months:
As part of that leverage, I created a few key pieces of content to recycle over and over again:
One webinar — the 3 Priceless Pillars of a Winning Cold Email — that I put on for partner webinars and edit the content slightly to make it relevant to their audience
Two lead magnets and a streamlined welcome email sequence
One newsletter (you’re reading it!)
5) No boundaries around work time or projects.
When I burned out, I didn't have firm boundaries around:
How many hours I worked (just during naptime and as much as I could!)
What projects I took on: anything that paid.
Then Parkinson’s Law kicked in:
“Work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.”
And I was working so much. It wasn’t healthy, especially with a nearly 1-year-old baby.
Once I put boundaries up -- like I only work 12 hours a week, and I only work on cold and pitch emails -- suddenly it was clearer what I needed to decline.
6) Not managing my mind.
I didn’t manage my mind or thoughts. Instead, they ruled me and influenced every flash of emotion.
According to coaching legend Brooke Castillo’s The Model, thoughts create emotions.
I was a mess.
I believed every thought I had, rather than realizing that thoughts are fleeting… and exchangeable. At my darkest point, I was depressed and burned out.
To fix my mind, I started working with the incredible Coach Kathleen Oh.
She scrounged out those insidious thoughts that I’d inherited from my family and childhood. Once I fixed my thoughts, my emotions steadied out and I wasn’t a rollercoaster anymore.
Now I apply these two rules every year to my business to avoid burnout:
Experiment to find what works best for me right here and
Manage my thoughts and mind.
You’re amazing,
Laura
Whenever you’re ready, here are 3 ways I can help you:
1) Send successful cold sales emails to get new 1-1 clients
Inside the Cold Email Cash Flow Method is my entire cold sales email system.
If you’ve tried a few cold emails and want to get better results, this might be for you. Enroll here.
2) Find your lead to cold email
Discover how to target the right recipient to set your cold email up for success here.
3) Join Growth Multiplier Mentorship and be a case study
I'm putting together a group where I'm going to work with a handful of private clients with their cold & pitch emails.
If you’d like to work 1-1 with me… click here to send me an email and we'll have a quick convo to see if this is right for you.
Featured photo source: Remy_Loz