How not to make money
I used to hate my solo business.
What’s the point of starting your own business if you’ll grow to hate it?
Believe me, you might.
In 2005, Dave Chapelle was offered a megadeal — 50 million dollars.
The “Chappelle’s Show” was the #1 TV series on the #1 comedy channel, and the network offered Chapelle $50 million to do season 3.
What did he do?
He turned down the deal and hopped on a plane to South Africa.
Dave returned to stand-up comedy 8 years later.
So what the hell happened, and why should you care?
Be careful about focusing on the money.
The Baboon Salt Trap refers to an experiment where a hole is strategically made so that it’s wide enough so the baboon can fit its hand in but not wide enough for the baboon to get its hand out once it’s holding the lump of salt.
Technically, the baboon could open its hand, release the salt and runoff. However, baboons love salt and won’t let it go — so the animal is trapped.
Here’s the thing: a huge part of solopreneurship success is making money.
If you can’t make money as a solopreneur, you’re not a solopreneur. You just have a hobby.
Which is why so many of you focus on the money. The money is the decision maker.
If you do 4 different things as a solopreneur, and your least favourite thing explodes tomorrow and starts making a lot of money, you’d probably focus on that, right?
We’re all just silly baboons.
I know that’s what I did. Ten years ago, while I was finding my way as a solopreneur, my Fiverr account exploded. I started getting 100 orders per month.
So, I focused on Fiverr.
Then, I slowly came to regret it.
I got burned out from dealing with so many different projects and people. But what was I going to do? I had nothing else to make money and struggled when Fiverr stopped giving me work for reasons I couldn’t understand.
Suddenly, I hated the business I had worked so hard to build.
That’s why I completely understand why, in June 2004, during a stand-up show in Sacramento, Dave Chappelle left the stage because audience members kept shouting a catchphrase from his show. He then returned and expressed frustration, saying the show ruined his life and interfered with his stand-up career, which he valued most.
Well, at least at the end, baboon Dave knew when to release the salt.
So, two questions:
How do you build a business that you love AND makes great money?
How do you escape/avoid a situation where you feel trapped doing something you hate?
You’ll have the answers to both by the end of this newsletter.
Secret to Success: Be careful about focusing on the money.
In this newsletter:
First signs you’re making money the wrong way.
How to solve the short-term money problem.
How to figure out EXACTLY what you want to do for money so you’re both rich and happy. For paid subscribers only.
Create a solid long-term plan to ensure your passion eventually becomes profitable. For paid subscribers only.
First signs you’re making money the wrong way.
Here are the first signs that you’re focusing on the wrong thing.
You frequently change your mind about what to focus on based on what you think will make the most money fast.
You’re only or mostly doing what you’re doing for the money.
What you’re doing for the money is taking a lot (or all) of your time and energy, and you barely ever do what you really want to do anymore.
When you think about still doing this 5 years from now, you feel stressed out. Your body contracts.
You’re frustrated when your money-making thing becomes too difficult. You have no interest in going deep, you just want the money.
You feel like your artistic self is being suffocated, not being expressed the way you want to express it.
Because you get used to the income, you feel pressured to say yes to every money-related opportunity.
You feel like you’re chasing/living someone else’s definition of success.
You feel stuck in pursuing more for the sake of more.
And yet, how do you walk out? You need the money, right? How can you ever be a solopreneur — or any entrepreneur — if you can’t make money?
If any — or more than one — of the things above are true for you, there is another way.
Sort the short-term money problem differently.
Sometimes we forget that our desire to make money and our desire to be successful solopreneurs can be two different things.
What separates them? Time.
The business of your dreams is your long-term goal — but you also need money now.
The one thing you need to ensure — your utmost priority now — is that how you make money short-term doesn’t stand in the way of you working towards your long-term goals.
If you can’t yet make money doing what you want, you need to make money another way.
Here’s what to look for:
Something that won’t take all of your time. Part-time job or 1–2 freelance clients.
Something you know well. Unless you hate your current job, staying at it as long as possible while you’re building your business is best. If you can make it a part-time job, it will take you less time and energy than if you have to find a new job. Again, if you hate it, don’t stay there. Hate isn’t good for creativity.
Something that won’t exhaust your creative energy. At one point, my Fiverr success took so much out of me that I seriously considered working at a warehouse or something so that I didn’t have to stress out over communicating with clients.
Something you like but don’t love. If you get consumed in another big passion of yours, you’ll accomplish nothing. Better choose something you like but don’t love so you can reserve your love for your business dream.
Here’s another benefit to solving your financial troubles outside of your new business: it makes you less desperate to sell, making people more likely to buy.
Now that you’re not worried about money anymore let’s focus on building your dream business.
How to figure out EXACTLY what you want to do for money so you’re both rich and happy.
This is about more than just what kind of business you want — Service, Product or Media. If you’re still confused about that, refer to Clarity for Solopreneurs.
Now, this is about how you want to do your business. How you want to package it, structure it, design it so it feels right to you.
Did you know that self-made millionaire Steve Siebold spent 26 years interviewing some of the wealthiest people in the world before condensing his findings in his book ″How Rich People Think.″
Don’t look for jobs with the greatest salary potential, he advises. Rather, “focus on work that has the most fulfilment potential. Once you find it, invest so much heart and soul into your work that you become one of the most competent people in your field. You’ll be rewarded with uncommon wealth.”
So, how do we discover what we really want that will make us rich and happy?
Here are a few questions inspired by 7-figure business coach Marie Forleo. For best results, answer them in writing.
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