Am I more visible than I think?
A peek behind the curtain of solopreneurship
If you’re a solo/entrepreneur, you’re vying for sustenance through attention.
I’ve heard this called ‘the attention economy’ and like ‘the top 1%’, only a tiny fraction of thought leaders go viral or can count on a consistent income. It takes years to cultivate enough resonance to sustain a livelihood as part of the ‘Inspiration Economy’.
If you’re thinking ‘Bullshit. That’s a limiting belief’ I won’t be surprised if you’re an info-guru coaching other coaches, or have opted to become an executive coach as a next act following a corporate career, with an in-house corporate golden vein or two to tap into. I agree that there is such a thing as a limiting belief. There is also an unfortunate prevalence of priviledge-induced toxic positivity going around in the coaching industry of which I call bullshit right back.
I am, and do, coach neurodivergent creatives adults and independent artists. That does not lend itself to a network-marketing style pyrimid scheme. And I’m alright with that.
So getting back to visibility…
I love when I’m informed that someone has listened to my podcast or replies to the opening note of one of my newsletters. Because I do still wonder: how visible am I?
Since 2003, I’ve spent a lot of money building a coaching business which culminated on the threshold of six figures back in 2021. Since then, (post-pandemic and everything else) what used to work doesn’t seem to anymore.
In response, I’ve changed my pricing structure and have devised entry points to my practice that are as accessible as I can make them. For instance, I have a few donation-based offerings. I see these as coaching program funnels that allow people to experience pieces of my arsenal such as tarot coaching, theta healing and co-working clinics at a ‘pay what you enjoy’ cost.
Gradually, my client base has been building back up again.
I don’t do a lot of consultations but I usually ‘close the sale’. In other words, I seem to be attracting more qualified leads. This has been via incoming means like digital searches and referrals. Right now I’m not engaged in outgoing commercial efforts such as Meta ads, pay-to-play ‘featured articles’ or speaking. This right here? What you’re reading is one arm of my outreach alongside my weekly newsletter, Tarot Tuesdays and some form of voiced media that ends up as the podcast.
At present, my earnings are sufficient to keep our two-income household afloat in NYC, which is to say we don’t live like swells, but that’s no small thing.
So my call to action today? Please, keep it up with the ‘hello in there!’s when you read someone’s blogs and newsletter. Your attention is a gift.
It is also a great kindness to encourage people by letting them know you’re gifting your attention, especially if you look forward to their content and want them to stick around. Bonus points for choosing a paid subscription if you can (hint hint. I offer some nice perks.)
Most importantly, spread the word.
After all, a referral is the highest form of compliment.