Tanned, rested, and ready to take over the world? We are!

That’s right – after a way-too-long summer break (wow, did I miss you guys, or what?!), TIS is getting geared up to hop back into life. Like, NOW-ish would be good.

Well, actually, you gotta wait a few more days. My super-secret genetically-enhanced and well-trained TIS cats are working diligently behind the scenes to improve the TIS experience for all y’all super-solos and super-solos-to-be. Including – dare I say it? The kitties say YES! – a vastly enhanced experience for mobile users!

Whoot, and sing hallelujah, peeps!

So, in the next few days, we’ll be rolling out some of the pooch-produced changes (really, they’re very good at their jobs and work for tuna so – y’know, bonus!) and you’ll see some changes here and there: some huge, some not-so. Then, we’re aiming for a big super blow-out relaunch on Monday, August 30th! Update your bookmarks, and see ya back here on Monday where the behind-the-scenes and on-top-of-the-laptop TIS cats and I are gonna help you take over the world!

In the words of my super-spy hero/crush Chuck Bartowski? “Mwah. Hah. Hah.”

The Back Story

A while back, I wrote a post about content generation for blogs — why it’s impossible to run out of ideas if you’re paying attention and your senses are engaged. In it, I challenged readers to come up with their own ideas using a simple technique I call “Open Your Eyes.” Since I never ask more of my clients (or readers) than I’m willing to do myself, I actually put myself through the same exercise, and came up with seven blog topics/headlines based on the first seven things I saw around me.

This is the last of those posts, based on one of the first things I saw while doing that exercise — the art supply cabinet.

Engage Your Inner Artist

Whatever your business is — whether you’re an artist trying to sell your work online or in a gallery, or a lawyer working out of the home office in the basement, or an internet marketer working from the satellite office at the local Starbucks, or … well, anything, really — your business success depends on your facility with juggling the various shiny colored balls that make up your business-owner life.

One minute you’re the artist (or the lawyer), but then seconds later you have to plop on the office manager hat, and then switch it out almost immediately for the finance manager’s hat, and then the CEO needs to weigh in on major decisions, and there’s the poor grunt worker who needs to change the copier toner … It’s all a juggling act, and how deft you are with managing those responsibilities, and specifically switching between them as needed, is a key determining factor of your success.

One of the best ways to improve that facility — the ease with which you can switch owner-hats — is to exercise the creativity muscle.

Bringing Your Left Brain Out to Play

I’m sure you’ve heard the theory that we humans tend to utilize only a small percentage of our brain power at any given moment. (That doesn’t actually equate to “you’re acting only ten percent as smart as you really are,” by the way – but it’s intriguing, nonetheless.) And undoubtedly we all know by now that right brain = order, logic, and reason while left brain = creativity, intuition, and art. (It’s not quite that simple, of course — nothing ever is — but for our purposes, it’s close enough.)

So, what I’m suggesting is that you bring the left brain out to play with respect to your business.  Even if your business is art (heck, maybe especially then) it’s all too easy to begin to see the work you do as – well, work. Engaging in directed, purposeful, lighthearted creative play helps our brains basically get out of those ruts. By engaging in new creative activities, outside the usual channels in which your neurons typically fire, you’re creating new channels and new skills.

Best of all, you start seeing things differently. And that, my friends, is where brilliant decisions come from.

Why not try getting out the watercolors, buying a small block of modeling clay, or even borrowing your kid’s coloring book for a little while? (Just make sure you DON’T color inside the lines!) Experiment a little, with an attitude firmly in place of “this is PLAY.” Don’t start critiquing your work; the point is not to create a visual masterpiece, but to engage the creative muscles you’ve let atrophy.

It’s like kindergarten for grown-ups.

The Back Story

A while back, I wrote a post about content generation for blogs — why it’s impossible to run out of ideas if you’re paying attention and your senses are engaged. In it, I challenged readers to come up with their own ideas using a simple technique I call “Open Your Eyes.” Since I never ask more of my clients (or readers) than I’m willing to do myself, I actually put myself through the same exercise, and came up with seven blog topics/headlines based on the first seven things I saw around me.

This is the sixth of those posts, based on one of the first things I saw while doing that exercise — the refrigerator (well, also the TV, though we did that one earlier…)

Stop the Leaks

There’s this thing called “vampire power” (or “ghost power” sometimes). It’s not part of the Twilight series, don’t worry. It’s what happens when big appliances like your refrigerator, your television, your dishwasher, etc. remain plugged in. Here’s the weird part: even if you turn off the appliance — say, your television — but it remains plugged in, it’s drawing power.

That’s vampire power, or ghost power. We’ll leave the green discussion for another time, but here’s the thing: you’re just like that appliance. If you’re “plugged in,” you’re still using energy, even if you’re not actually expending tons of effort.

And the result? Is a long, slow drain on your reserves. Maybe this is why so many of us are still exhausted come Monday morning . . .

You, Unplugged

I wrote about this a while back at Donna Seyle’s Freelancing Law Firm blog in a post called “Why Down-Time Is Such a Great Productivity Booster.” Basically, the idea is this: if you want to heighten your productivity and your efficacy as a solo business owner, you gotta take a step back. Not just once in awhile – on a regular basis.  Consistently. As in, daily.

I’ve tried the go-go-go method. It satisfied my inner Type A megalomaniac (“I have to do it ALL myself because nobody does it better!”) but I didn’t get nearly as much done as when I take the middle path. That doesn’t mean “medium effort, all the time.” It means work hard, play hard – and rest hard. Or – rather, rest deep, since it’s that whole obsession with doing things “hard” that gets us in trouble in the first place.

You will experience resistance, trust me. Especially if you haven’t done this before on a consistent basis, your inner critics will howl mightily at the notion of doing nothing, even for a few minutes. Try not to shout those voices down. Try to just … let ‘em go. Pay attention to your own heartbeat, your own breathing, if nothing else. Even a few minutes a day will help. Thirty minutes a day will rock your world.

Don’t take my word for it. Challenge yourself: for three weeks straight (21 days being that magic habit-setting timeframe), take 15 minutes every day for meditation, reflection, or just sitting and doing absolutely nothing. It’s not for engaging in hobbies (though that’s awesome, too). It’s for just … being. Unplugged.

See if you can’t tell a difference.

Launch.

Say the word often enough, even just in your head, and it starts to sound really wacky.  Like a made-up word. Go through too many iterations of the thing itself and you’ll want to implode.

That was May, for a lot of us. There were all these launches, see — tons of new products, all of them (I’m sure) packed with great value and priced appropriately (ahem) and they were all blasted across our Twitter streams, our email inboxes, our blog feeds … and then multiply all that by the ten or eighty affiliates of each said launching product and …

Phew. I’m tired just thinking about it.

If you’re not clear on the concept, or even if you are and want to read more, I highly recommend these two posts — Dave Navarro, aka “The Launch Coach” wrote about why launches suck, and over at Productive Flourishing, launch fatigue was the post that launched 159 and counting comments.

From these conversations, and others I’ve had over the last few weeks, I think I’ve identified a handful of potential pitfalls for the unwary launcher but the two biggest categories seem to be:

• Mishandled affiliate programs: When your price is well over $500 and you’ve got major A-listers hawking your wares over all their available channels … c’mon. We all know what’s going on here. Even if those affiliates really, truly believe in your genius and have the very best intentions, the appearance is that you and your high-school cool-kids clique are trying to make a buck off the less popular kids. Unfair? Perhaps. But that’s the impression you’re leaving your audiences with.
• Tricks and deception: Let me be clear here — I despise this, and so do most thinking, rational people out here on this side of your launch. We know what you’re doing. You’re not fooling anyone with that “oops, I sent the wrong link! I’m so human” email, or the “oh, this is TOTALLY unsolicited and objective and it looks like I’m going to honestly critique this product of my buddy’s but I’m really just going to tell you how fabulous this product is” email, or the “Oh WOW, we broke the servers, really!” email or the “Honest, I’m just putting out all these free videos here, I don’t have ANYTHING to sell” email (followed in two weeks by the “well, y’all talked me into it, OK, reluctantly, and only because you REALLY wanted it, I have this new product for sale now” email).  You’re not fooling anyone. And I, for one, WILL NOT BUY if this is how you treat me (I don’t care how great your product is).
  

Why do I care about all this stuff? Obviously, I’m planning a launch. And I don’t want to go down that road. I’m trying to learn from my past mistakes, and from others’ mistakes. So, I’ve been willingly seeking out all these launches, so I can follow along, see what they’re doing (good and bad) and trying to find my own way through.

Part of my mission here at The Inspired Solo is to remind other solo entrepreneurs that we all have our own unique, special-snowflake paths to tread in business, and that when we do walk our own paths, we have better results than when we just try to follow in the footsteps of someone else’s path.

So, I’m looking for my “highest, truest, best” launch path, if you will. And I think I’ve found it. I’ll call it the UNlaunch, and yes, that’s a totally uninspired name but there it is. The UNlaunch is based on a few key lessons I’ve learned over the last month:

1. No traditional launch “tricks,” period. I just cannot bring myself to engage in these tactics.
2. No affiliates  — not on this product, anyway. Not to say I’ll never use them, but I want the audience for this product to know that anyone who’s recommending it is doing so not out of self-interest but out of objective rational thought.
3. Upfront sales copy — the price will be at the very top of the page, in bold, large print.
4. Absolute clarity about who this product will be for, and who it will NOT be for (more importantly).
5. Excerpt made freely available pre-launch. No hiding the whatever under the whatever.
6. No list-bombing. Just a few posts here at the blog, a few tweets, one mention on the Facebook page — that’s all you’ll get from me. (If others want to recommend it, that’s out of my hands but I’m going to recommend they be discreet and unjerky about it.)

I’m curious — what do you think about the UNlaunch? Will it work? I guess we’ll find out. (Note I haven’t said what the product is — that’s because I want this post to just be about the method of launching it, not the product itself which frankly isn’t done yet.)

I promised some changes, and lo – I have delivered some changes unto you.

If you haven’t seen our site in a while (say, you’re reading this in your feed subscription reader, like Google Reader, or Bloglines), you might want to head on over and check it out! We’ve got a new look courtesy of the Clean skin for Headway Themes.

We’ve also got a new free e-course titled Finding Your Tribe: 10 Easy Steps to Identifying and Connecting With Your Business Blog Community.  You can sign up for it at our home page in the sidebar there.

I chose this e-course to develop and offer based on comments and emails from the last time I wrote about this topic on this blog (and some of the material has been repurposed and included in the new e-course, by the way, but the vast majority — I’d say over 80% — is brand new).  Also, in the last reader survey we did for TIS, this was one of the most often-mentioned subjects in the comments question. Seems a lot of you out there feel pretty confident you have the basics of business blogging down, but are squeamish about reaching out and connecting with other bloggers, website owners, journalists, writers, and others who can really help you explode your reach and spread your message.

And I get it, believe me. I’m a relatively friendly, outgoing kind of person but I cannot stand “networking.” Shudder. Perish the thought. It feels icky. I never really even knew how to go about it, although translating it to the web made it a bit easier for me.

A lot of trial and error, and a good amount of research (reading what other smarter folks had to say on the subject, for instance), led me to develop this fairly simple ten-step method that can translate to any business model or industry. Whether you’re an internet marketer or a lawyer, a life coach or an artist, you can use this method to build your community and create solid relationships with others in your field and in related fields. And there’s no better, faster way to generate massive amounts of relevant blog traffic than by “borrowing” someone else’s audience.

But getting there? Takes some work, and the right attitude, and a gentle touch. That’s what this e-course is about.

So, if this sounds like something that you could use, just head over to the sidebar there and sign up. Your first lesson arrives within 24 hours, and the others will follow at a rate of between 4 to 6 days.

And, as always, I’d love to hear from you about this e-course or the new TIS look. Just drop me a line from the contact form here or you can reply to any of the emails that deliver the e-course.

The Back Story

A while back, I wrote a post about content generation for blogs — why it’s impossible to run out of ideas if you’re paying attention and your senses are engaged. In it, I challenged readers to come up with their own ideas using a simple technique I call “Open Your Eyes.” Since I never ask more of my clients (or readers) than I’m willing to do myself, I actually put myself through the same exercise, and came up with seven blog topics/headlines based on the first seven things I saw around me.

This is the fifth of those posts, based on one of the first things I saw while doing that exercise — the cat.

Dogs Are Smart … But Cats Are Freakin’ Scary Smart

Let me make this perfectly clear: I am a dog person.

I have always been a dog person. But when your daughter turns to you with these huge blue saucer-like-eyes brimming with hope so intense it borders on desperation and says, “Please, Mommy, please can I have him?” and holds that little mewling black ball of furriness up to you?

Yeah, so we have a cat now. His name is T-Jeff — she named him after her second-favorite president, Thomas Jefferson.

And the more I observe the now full-grown black ball of fur, with his five-out-of-six sharp, pointy ends, the more I have come to appreciate the Wisdom of the Cat. In fact, I have learned approximately eight things in particular about running a successful solo business from this cat. So, without further ado, I present, in T-Jeff’s own (ahem, go with me on this one) words:

Eight Things I Taught My Human About Running a Successful Solo Business

By T-Jeff Sisk-Schelin

1. It’s not rocket science.

You humans are way too invested in making things much harder than they need to be. See a mouse? Catch it, or let it run. (Or my personal favorite — play with it like a little rubber ball until it squeals for its mama …) Don’t sit there agonizing about it. Just do something. Or, y’know, don’t. Whatever. Don’t second-guess yourself. That’s what I’m saying here.

2. Never underestimate the power of a good long nap. Or three.

I get exhausted just looking at you people scurrying around on your two legs (and what the heck is that all about, anyway?). You guys need to learn the strategic benefits of a well-timed nap. Seriously. It’ll do wonders for your clarity of thought and energy levels. If a nap’s not possible (preferably on something really, really soft and cushiony) then at least guard your sleep viciously. Personally, I find a well-placed swipe of the claw an effective deterrent to early wake-up calls. Your mileage may vary.

3. Good grooming is important.

Your presentation is everything. How can you expect the other cats to respect you if your fur’s all mussed up? Take a few extra moments in the morning to make yourself look good. Even if you work at home, you’ll feel better, and you’ll perform better. First impressions count!

4. Say “thank you” in your own special way.

When my food bowl gets filled, I always try to say “thanks” to my humans by rubbing against their legs. They seem to like that. (It’s really about keeping the fur smooth but what they don’t know won’t kill ‘em. Oh, wait … ) No, seriously, it’s important. Say “thank you.” Leg rubs might not be your thing, but whatever your style is — a nice handwritten note, some flowers, a couple of tickets to the local symphony, whatever — do it.

5. Play a little, every day.

I seriously cannot get enough of that Cat Toy. It’s this beige square thingie and I swear, it says “Cat Toy” right there on the side, and it’s got this long black elastic string and it BOUNCES, people, it bounces all over the place like crazy and … anyway, yeah. Cat Toy is my thing. Find yours. Do it every day.

6. Attitude is all.

Here’s my little secret for dealing with the dog: It’s all in the attitude. Seriously, I know y’all think I’m nuts – this little six-pound ball of fur walking right in front of Dogzilla, strolling by like I’ve got not a care in the world. It’s all attitude. Believe it, and they will believe it. What’s “it”? Whatever gets you walking by the monster with ease and confidence. “I’m tough.” “I can take him, totally.”  “Dog? What dog? I don’t see no dog.”

7. Plan your attack.

You’ll see me, on occasion, watching something you can’t see (or maybe you can), for what seems like a really long time. When that’s going on, rest assured I’m thinking. More specifically, I’m planning my attack. I think sometimes you humans kinda rush in a bit too quickly. Don’t just sit there and fret, though — think strategically. How are you gonna go get that thing? What will that thing do when you approach? Who else might want that thing? Are they gonna try to stop you? How are you gonna stop them? Wouldn’t a can of tuna be good right now?

8. If all else fails, run like hell, hide under the bed, and regroup.

It’s not my preferred course of action, but once in awhile a little well-timed solitude is the difference between survival and … y’know, not. Take a moment when you need to and figure out what to do next. Sometimes lying low is the better part of valor.  (But only if all else fails. Truly, this is an option of last resort.)

]]> http://theinspiredsolo.com/running-the-inspired-solo-business/eight-things-i-taught-my-human-about-running-a-successful-solo-business-by-t-jeff-the-cat/feed 0 http://theinspiredsolo.com/inspired-client-service/waterbed-level-client-service-into-waterbed-heaven-for-your-clients http://theinspiredsolo.com/inspired-client-service/waterbed-level-client-service-into-waterbed-heaven-for-your-clients#comments Mon, 31 May 2010 09:30:19 +0000 Sheryl http://theinspiredsolo.com/?p=1540

The Back Story

A while back, I wrote a post about content generation for blogs — why it’s impossible to run out of ideas if you’re paying attention and your senses are engaged. In it, I challenged readers to come up with their own ideas using a simple technique I call “Open Your Eyes.” Since I never ask more of my clients (or readers) than I’m willing to do myself, I actually put myself through the same exercise, and came up with seven blog topics/headlines based on the first seven things I saw around me.

This is the fourth of those posts, based on one of the first things I saw while doing that exercise — a futon.

Client Service Trade-Offs for the Solo Entrepreneur?

When you’ve got a kajillion employees and full-time in-house employee training programs, client service is should be a breeze. But what about the poor solo?

Yeah, we’ve got some unique challenges facing us in the client service department. Time is a self-limited commodity, choices must be made, energy must be budgeted … but trust me when I tell you this: client service is not one of those tasks you can outsource or ignore.

Given that you’ve got a finite amount of time and energy with which to work, is client service doomed to be one of those unhappy tradeoffs we solos must make in perpetuity until we grow big enough to hire additional full-time employees and start that proprietary training program?

Nah. Like most things in life and business, it’s a choice. Specifically, you can choose to be a futon or a waterbed.

A futon is serviceable. It’s convenient. It’s usually designed to pull double-duty (it’s a sofa! It’s a bed! It’s two pieces of furniture in one!). It’s also generally uncomfortable as hell for most of us over 30.

A waterbed? Now that’s heaven. It’s comfy. It’s also hugely expensive and nigh unto impossible to make up with sheets.

OK, maybe waterbeds make you seasick. Then take a look at that luxe bedroom suite up there for a few moments. That’s what I’m talking about. (Imagine how much that cost … and how long it must take to clean up …)

Futon-level client service is functional. It works — sort of. It serves the purpose — barely. But waterbed-level service? That’s what transforms your clients into returning clients. It’s what turns returning clients into raving fans who sing your praises on Facebook and Twitter.

And, surprisingly, it’s not impossible to do on a solo’s shoestring budget.

Turning Futons Into Waterbeds and Clients Into Raving Fans

The key is in recognizing your power to script your client’s experience. From first contact — whether that’s through a website or social media or a phone call — until the final bill arrives and even (especially) beyond, you can create a a script that provides high-level service to each and every client.

The first step is to put yourself in the shoes of your client. How do they find you? What does that look like? How can you make adjustments — small or huge — to that first impression your clients receive of you?

Some particular aspects of your client interaction process to look at critically:

1. The way your phones get answered — who does it, how they do it, what it sounds like from the other end
2. Your email — both content and appearance (your signature, for instance?)
3. Your letterhead and envelopes — the appearance, the quality of the paper, whether there are any typos or smudges
4. The parking lot of your office or store, if you have one — is it clean? Well-lighted?
5. Your waiting room/lobby — comfortable? Are clients offered a seat and a beverage? Do they have reading material that’s relevant to them? Art on the walls to look at?
6. Delivery of services/products — can you play a bigger, better game here? Better paper? More sophisticated presentation method?
7. Follow-up — do you even do any follow-up, or do you just turn ‘em loose with a wave and a “thanks!”? Consider exit interviews, asking to put them on your mailing list, a further-contact system to keep your name foremost in their minds?

Just a few ideas to get your started, there.

Take a look at the entire flow, beginning to end, with a sharply critical eye. Then brainstorm ways to improve the way you treat your clients. Some of those ways might be beyond your budget; so challenge yourself to come up with less costly ways to achieve the same or similar impact.

Your clients — and your bottom line — will thank you for it.

The Back Story

A while back, I wrote a post about content generation for blogs — why it’s impossible to run out of ideas if you’re paying attention and your senses are engaged. In it, I challenged readers to come up with their own ideas using a simple technique I call “Open Your Eyes.” Since I never ask more of my clients (or readers) than I’m willing to do myself, I actually put myself through the same exercise, and came up with seven  blog topics/headlines based on the first seven things I saw around me.

This is the third of those posts, based on one of the first things I saw while doing that exercise — the door.

Get Me The Heck Outta Here! Not So Fast, Hot Shot . . .

I understand. I truly, truly do.

You’re ready. You have gone through the “what if” phase. You’ve treaded the treacherous waters of “Oh, shit, can I really do this?!?” You are so ready you can taste that freedom … the freedom of being your own boss, starting your own business, telling your old boss where to go …

I get it. I wrote this not so very long ago, and Pam Slim of Escape From Cubicle Nation published it on her amazing blog:

Yesterday, the DeathStar exploded, into a million little shiny pieces floating in space.

OK, only in my mind. Still. Pretty.

I got in early yesterday – about 8:15. Darth was in his office, growling at the computer, as he usually does first thing in the AM. Walking up the stairs, I realized I was shaking, I was so excited.  …

I collected my wits in my office. I organized my troops – printed off the notice, which I’d emailed to myself the night before, took a few sips of coffee, mentally went over what I was gonna say…

I looked at the clock. 8:25. The troops would be changing shifts soon. Time for attack. I rose, on wobbly feet, clutching my resignation notice in my hand. Took a deep breath. Looked one more time at this blog. Reminded myself how far I’d come. No backing out after this. Am I ready? Finally ready to start seeing myself as a grownup …. ?

Everything got pretty silent, and my whole body relaxed. It was like every cell was breathing out, Yesssss. I’m ready …

Like I said, I get it.

But if I’d just stopped right there — paused at the door to Darth Vader’s office, asked myself if I’d accomplished what I’m about to advise you to do … well, who am I kidding? I’d have resigned anyway. That place was toxic, and I had to get out then or my blood pressure would turn toxic too. But if I had done these things, the last few years would have gone very differently for me. I’d like to think I’d still be out of the law, and doing what I really love instead, but without question, my exit would have been much easier.

So, learn from my mistakes. Embrace my failures so you don’t have to repeat them.

Seven Things To Do Before You Head Out the Door

1. Question your reasons viciously.

Too often, newly-minted entrepreneurs rush the launch because they’re running away from what they had, instead of running towards something better. If you want a solo business to succeed, you better make damn sure you’re doing it for the right reasons. Ask yourself:

• Is what I hate about this place affecting my judgment?
• If I could fix what I hate about this place, would I stay?
• Can I fix what I hate about my job? Is there anything I haven’t tried yet?
• Do I really want to be wildly successful at this new venture, or do I just want anything new — anything other than what I’ve got now?
• What about finding the same or a similar job at a different employer? Have I looked into that? Do I have good reasons not to select that option?

Clarify your reasons. Write them down, and keep them in a permanent text file saved to your desktop. You’ll be referring to them often over the next several months, I promise you.

2. Get sufficient capital. Then get more.

One of the main reasons new businesses fail: lack of adequate funding. It played a major role in my business’s failure (though not the sole role). No, I don’t think you need “one full year of expenses saved” to paraphrase some commonly given advice. But you do need enough to keep the wolves at bay, and you do need to be realistic about how long it’s going to take you to start turning a profit.

This is all about market research and financial planning. They’re not necessarily the sexy-fun parts of launching your own business, to be sure (unless you’re a finance superfreak, in which case, God love you). But they are essential to building the sturdy foundation you need supporting your new venture. And when they’re not solid, the fallout can be spectacular, in a highly unpleasant way.

3. Write out your “go to hell” letter. At home. Then burn it.

OK, no, you don’t have to burn it. But you CANNOT send it. That’s not the grown-up thing to do. You need to process all those emotions, though, so be my guest – write ‘em all down. Call your boss and your coworkers every bad name in the book. Just make sure you do it at home, and take steps to make sure that letter never sees the light of day.

As Lost encouraged us this past Sunday: “Remember. Let go. Move on.”

4. Don’t check out.

Make a plan to address how you’re going to do your job in your notice period. You will be there every single day, on time. You will do what you were hired to do. You will not work on your business during your employer’s time. Wrap your brain around it now — you’re still on the job until your last day.

This is how we keep those bridges intact, OK? And you might need those bridges one day. Speaking of …

5. Figure out whether there’s a contracting possibility here.

Is there any kind of nexus between what you do for your employer and what your business will be doing? Brainstorm to see if there’s a way you can propose continuing to provide services for your employer as a consultant or contractor. They know you — presumably they’re happy with your services — this could be a great cash flow boost while you get your business legs under you.

6. Think about the next person in your chair.

Take some time to make the way a little smoother for the next person in your position. Write a memo covering all the stuff you’re working on currently that you know won’t get finished. It doesn’t have to be a book, but even a few paragraphs on the crucial stuff will be highly appreciated by your successor, and by your soon-to-be-ex-boss as well. And that’s invaluable.

7. Make sure you’re ready. No: really ready.

Undoubtedly, this is an insane time. What with life and work and starting a new business and trying to squeeze in some sleep there? Sure, it’s tempting to want to dump something NOW. And the “thing” we almost always want to dump NOW is the W-2 job.

But hold the phone there. Just a minute. Are you really, truly ready?

• Got your money lined up?
• Have a business plan?
• Know exactly how you’re going to get your customers?
• Know exactly how to do what they’re going to pay you to do?
• Got your taxes straight?
• Have an accounting system? Know how to use it?
• Business cards in hand?
• Is your marketing plan action-ready?

Don’t be afraid to delay the inevitable if you feel you’re not quite there yet. (Although it’s also true that many of us feel like we’re never going to be quite ready — and for those folks, a little push might be a good idea – but that’s another post altogether.)

Bonus Tip: Have you thought about going part-time with your new business? Unless there’s some unworkable conflict of interest with your W2 gig, it might be the answer to a lot of problems. Think about it.

Normally, I’m a big believer in the “do it yourself” movement. That’s what being an inspired solo is all about, really — claiming your own power, saving money by embracing new learning curves and tackling the job yourself.

But sometimes, it’s just not cost-efficient to go it alone. Whether you measure that cost in time, effort/energy, or sheer frustration level, sometimes it’s in your best interests to know when to call in the cavalry.

I had such an experience last night, when after taking a quick break from editing an upcoming post I came back to the TIS dashboard to find all my posts — and all my pages — vanished.

Not in the trash. Not accidentally deleted. Gone.

The theme was working fine, as were the plugins. All my side widgets were there, as was the content in the footer. The header was fine. But the content … oh, all that precious content I slaved over for three years … yeah, it was gone.

After breathing into a paper bag for a moment or two, I did some research. I found a few mentions of similar but not quite identical blog malfunctions, and then this thread, and then this one which then led me to this blog post. Bottom line: database error, meaning the database needed to be repaired.

I thought about that for a few minutes. I could find enough info out there to do the needed repair myself. In all probability — as with most WordPress technical crap — the actual fix would be much less hair-raising than doing the research to find the fix. But I had a few things going at that point, and I had to wonder if I really wanted to spend that mental energy doing something that someone else could probably do a whole lot faster and easier…

I swallowed my pride and contacted Hostgator support via their live chat option. Within about 20 minutes, after one false start that eerily mimicked the Creative Mama blogger’s experience, the very nice and ultimately helpful Adrian He typed back “OK, check it now.”

And voila, my hard work was back. All my pages, all my posts, back on TIS where they belonged. I think the word I’m looking for is “Phew.”

So, here’s the takeaway: choose your “inspired solo can do ANYTHING” moments carefully. Where it’s free, and probably less costly to your sanity, go with Plan B — call for help.