Larry Keltto - The Solopreneur Life: 42 Solo-Business Owners Speak the Truth on Dreaming Big, Failing Forward, and Calling Your Own Shots

It is never too late to be what you might have been.

George Eliot

Introduction

In April 2010 I began publishing on my Web site (TheSolopreneurLife.com) a weekly Q&A interview with a solopreneur. The purpose of the feature was to learn from how other solopreneurs operate their businesses.

I thought the series was a good idea; I knew it was good when the first Featured Soloist was published and I immediately began receiving inquiries from solopreneurs who were requesting to be featured.

So every Tuesday morning for about a year, I posted Featured Soloist on TheSolopreneurLife. com. Along the way, several people suggested that I compile the best advice from the soloists and publish it as a book. Thats what I did, and this book is the result.

The solopreneurs featured in these pages come from around the world. Their ages vary greatly. Their level of experience as solopreneurs ranges from just started to veteran. They work in different industries. Taken together, their thoughts give us a snapshot of the solopreneur life as its being experienced in 2010 and 2011 around the world.

My business is stronger for having read the wisdom in Featured Soloist, and I think it will help you, too.

Acknowledgements

I want to thank all of the solopreneurs who took the time and made the effort to be Featured Soloists. Special thanks to Barbara Milgram and Laurie Gay, the first ones who said yes to being featured.

Thank you to Naomi Niles, who suggested people who would be interesting soloists.

Thank you to Derek Peterson, a longtime friend and a great encourager of TheSolopreneurLife.com.

Thank you to my wife, Christine, whos been my sounding board for all things solopreneur.

Thank you to my daughters, Anna and Clare, who are the reason why I choose the solopreneur life every day.

And thank you to our dog, Griffin, whos always nearby while I work, no matter how late the hour.

Larry Keltto
September 2011

Introducing The Solopreneurs

Bob Andelman, Mr. Media Radio Interviews, St. Petersburg, Florida

Koldo Barroso, Bellingham, Washington

Nichole Bazemore: Simply Stated Solutions, Atlanta

David Billings, Sparky Firepants Images, Portland, Oregon

Laura Brandenburg, Clear Spring Business Analysis, Denver, Colorado

Marianne Cantwell, London, England

Jill Chivers, Im Listening Now, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Heather Claus, 365 Days of Everything, Wilmington, North Carolina

Patrick Curtis, Wall Street Oasis, Boston

Mel DePaoli, Omicle, Seattle

Melissa Dinwiddie, Mountain View, California

Bill Dwight, FamZoo, Inc., Palo Alto, California

Laurie Gay, BluePrint Balance, Atlanta, Georgia

Tzaddi Gordon, ThriveWire Media, Sunshine Coast, British Columbia

Deb Howard Greenleaf, Greenleaf Accounting Services, LLC, Northwestern Pennsylvania

Diana L. Guerrero aka Ark Lady, DBA as Ark Animals & Guerrero Ink, offices in Big Bear Lake, California

Amy Harrison, Harrisonamy Copywriting, Brighton, United Kingdom

Andy Hayes, Hayes Media Group, Seattle

Dawn Svenson Holland, FlashPoint Fundraising, Cedar Rapids, Iowa

Sherice Jacob, Charleston, West Virginia

Burton Kelso, Integral Computer Consultants, Kansas City, Missouri

Kelly Kingman, Sticky eBooks, Beacon, New York

Tricia Lawrence, real/brilliant, inc., located near Seattle

Linda M. Lopeke (aka the SmartStart Coach), Lexicorp Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Matt Mansfield, Matt About Business, LLC; Deerfield, Illinois

Barbara Milgram, Pomegranate Planning, Los Angeles, California

Kelly Newsome, Higher Ground Yoga, Washington, D.C.

Laura Petrolino, Ignite Venture Partners, Tampa, Florida

Ted Prodromu, NetBizExpert, San Anselmo, California

Amy Pryor, Amy Pryor Fine Art, Newport Beach, California

Cari Redondo, A Work of Heart By Cari, Marion, Iowa

Shannon Reece, Reece International LLC, Naples, Florida

Angelique L. Rewers, The Corporate Agent, Baltimore, Maryland

Helen Robinett, Image Quest, Melbourne, Australia

Jill Salzman, The Founding Moms, Oak Park, Illinois

Jim Sheard, Ph.D., Beyond the Score, Owatonna, Minnesota

Revka Stearns, Solopreneur Web Design, and Berries and Cream Blog Design, Vanceboro, North Carolina

Natalia Sylvester, Inky Clean, Austin, Texas

Cindy Tonkin, The Consultants Consultant, Sydney, Australia

Caroline Colm Vsquez, Palomas Nest, Austin, Texas

Shayna Walker, Williamsburg Wedding Design, Williamsburg, Virginia

Tommy Walker, Tommy.ismy.name, Dover, New Hampshire

Nichole Bazemore: I wanted to see if I could do it successfully. I never enjoyed working in traditional corporate environments and wanted to do something which would indulge my creative passions and natural gifts and at the same time, allow me to design my work around my lifestyle rather than the other way around.

Amy Harrison: I had been working for a small group of private investors for a few years and got a huge buzz from the passion and the spirit they had for their businesses. I wanted that same spark of excitement for my own project so I branched out on my own.

Diana Guerrero: I had been working in a career with animals since the mid-1970s. I started the business after I began spending weekends in the mountains of Southern California. I was sick of the city and the ups and downs in the animal acting industry and the limited imagination in the more traditional animal-care facilities. The environment and location and way of life was attractive to me. So, I began searching for a business model that would work and started my animal business.

Barbara Milgram: I had worked in advertising and although I successfully climbed the corporate ladder, I began to grow more and more frustrated feeling that my opportunities to grow and contribute at my full potential were limited by the constraints of being part of a bigger organization. I wanted to try my hand at making a go of it on my own.

David Billings: Insanity runs in my family. Starting this business was just something I had to do. I had worked for studios and design firms for almost 10 years and I learned a ton. But I always felt that I had my own strange solutions and methods didnt always fit the mold. I decided that if I was ever going to do things the way I wanted, I would have to start my own company.

Andy Hayes: I was kind of forced. I had ended up after a series of corporate acquisitions inside of a company that I passionately disliked, working with people I disliked, doing work I disliked. I was depressed and had a lot of health issues because of it. I finally had had enough and said that even if I started a business and failed, Id be better off. Thankfully, I was right. On the better-off part, not the fail part.