The following article was published in the August 2006 issue of The Coaches Training Institute .

Learning from the Masters: A Path to Success for Solopreneurs
by Dr. Joelle Jay, Ph.D., PCC, CPCC

Of all the challenges of being a solopreneur, one of the most challenging is isolation. By definition, solopreneurs work alone. If you’re not careful, you can start to believe you are alone – completely on your own in your quest to envision, design and implement your business.

Such an approach can be quite limiting; it means the solopreneur’s business can only grow as big as your own narrow perspective. Not knowing the possibilities, you may hold yourself small, struggle to choose the right actions and falter in pulling off big plans.

One way out of this box is to employ a practice I call “Learning from the Masters.” Learning from the Masters is a technique that helps solopreneurs expand their vision and learn not only what’s possible, but also how to do it.

In this process, you:

• Find someone who is doing what you want to do.

• Ask them how they did it.

• Envision yourself doing it, too.

Here’s how it works.

Let’s say you are a coach who wants a thriving practice. Yet, even after several years, you find yourself struggling to command the kinds of fees and clients you’ve set your heart on. It’s becoming clear that you lack some of the information you need to transform your business; after all, if you knew what to do, you’d be doing it. You decide it’s time to start Learning from the Masters. You search for a coach who has a thriving practice. You call her and interview her on how she got from where you are now (struggling) to where she is (successful). Then you sit down and envision the future of your business, using what you’ve learned.

Here’s an example.

I recently interviewed coaching success story Laura Berman Fortgang, who had valuable guidance to offer new coaches. Below follows some of her advice. Read this now, then take a moment to use it to inform your own vision.

Do what you do best.

Successful coaches don’t go into it for the money, the recognition or the status. They go into it because they love it. To really grow your business in a hurry, develop a stellar reputation for exceptional coaching.

Look the part.

Fortgang encourages coaches to “look the part.” Dressing professionally helped her gain credibility and rapport with the professionals she wanted to coach. Are you hoping to coach executives? Then a suit might be in order. Planning to coach new mothers? Dress in a way that is comfortable and welcoming. Donning the appearance that suits your clientele makes them feel more at home with you.

Don’t take no for an answer.

When Fortgang started coaching, she knocked on the doors of a few corporations; they said no. But she knew she needed to build a reputation that would count! When the front door didn’t open, she searched for the back door. She offered brown bag talks at corporations and asked friends who they knew in the business community. Eventually, Fortgang found herself on the inside of a world where she wanted to coach – a place she never would have been if she had taken “no” for an answer.

Give something over to providence.

Some things you simply can’t create, no matter how hard you want them. “I didn’t hire a publicist until I had my first book,” says Fortgang, “but I still got plenty of press.” A friend from Entrepreneur magazine passed her name along for an article, and someone she had once done a favor for suggested her name for TheOprah Winfrey Show. She was on the show three days later.

These success stories emphasize the reality of the universe: when you are committed to being successful and communicate your desires confidently, the right opportunities present themselves to you. All you have to do is be ready. Part of success is putting yourself on the path to opportunity and trusting that it will find you.

Keep your finances in check.

Fortgang says she suffered for two years before business really took off. To survive the start-up stage, she suggests keeping expenses low and having a plan for funding the business, whether it’s giving yourself $10,000 maximum in seed money, keeping your day job or minimizing overhead.

Double your fees.

While giving away things for free is a viable strategy for getting started, it’s not a great long-term approach. As soon as you have a working client base, start increasing your fees. When Fortgang felt she had proved herself, she stopped doing things for free and doubled her fees every six months. That way she figured out what the market could bear. If clients immediately agreed to her rates, she knew they were still too low!

Invest back in the business.

One mistake many new coaches make is to spend all of their income. Fortgang promotes a different approach: keep your finances in check and invest any profit back in the business. Attend workshops, prepare materials, create products or hire help so that your business can not only survive, but thrive. Don’t spend the money; put it to work for you.

Reading Forgang’s advice, did you discover some new ways of thinking that can inform your vision for your business? That’s what Learning from the Masters has to offer – a chance to think out of the box of your own experience.

Dr. Joelle Jay is a leadership coach, consultant, speaker and author who works with executives and business leaders to improve their effectiveness. Jay specializes in helping successful businesswomen attain accomplished careers while enhancing quality of life. She can be reached at Joelle@pillar-consulting.com

Reprinted with permission from July/August 2006 issue of CEO IQ.