Archive for the ‘Starting Out’ Category

Apr

11

WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org: Which Should Solopreneurs Use?

April 11th, 2012 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Starting Out, Web Site, WordPress

Back when I was creating TheSolopreneurLife.com, I was new to WordPress and didn’t understand the distinction between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. It was very confusing.

I came to learn that WordPress.com is like renting a building for your business, while WordPress.org is like owning the building.

WordPress.com is a hosting platform that utilizes the same WordPress software that you can download from WordPress.org. With WordPress.com, the hosting and managing of the software is taken care of for you.

WordPress.org is open-source blog software that now is used for all kinds of Web sites. WordPress.org offers free downloads of WordPress files and includes step-by-step instructions for installing and configuring WordPress on your own hosting provider.

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Apr

10

Sometimes You Choose Your Niche. Sometimes Your Niche Chooses You.

April 10th, 2012 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Marketing, Starting Out

I’ve never claimed to be a fast learner. Here’s the latest example: it took me 18 years to identify my best niche.

For quite some time, I’ve been mystified by my clients. In our initial conversation, they invariably say they want to build a business that goes beyond a profit motive. Some clients have an education-related purpose. Some have a spiritual purpose. Some have a health purpose.

I found this very strange, because I’ve never consciously tried to attract people for whom money isn’t the ultimate concern.

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Mar

30

Use Nondisclosure Agreements When Trying to License Your Ideas

March 30th, 2012 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Starting Out

There’s a new addition to The Solopreneur Life’s Amazon bookstore: Stephen Key’s One Simple Idea: Turn Your Dreams Into a Licensing Goldmine While Letting Others Do the Work.

Key is a freelance product developer who has licensed more than 20 ideas that have generated more than $1 billion in sales. I’m adding One Simple Idea to the store because I believe it gives us as solopreneurs our best shot at licensing our ideas.

My opinion is Key’s methods make it possible to bring ideas to market in a way that’s faster, easier, cheaper, and less risky than old methods.

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Mar

30

People for Solopreneurs to Follow on Twitter

March 30th, 2012 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Social Media, Starting Out

Are you trying to find worthwhile people to follow on Twitter? Here are two suggestions.

1. Subscribe to my Twitter “Solopreneur Heroes” list. I began curating the list about a year ago, and it contains “leaders, inspirations, and valued resources to the solopreneur world.” The number of heroes listed can change, but I like to keep it near 50.

Here’s my Solopreneur Heroes list.

2. Follow the keyword “solopreneurs” to find solopreneurs and to tap into the latest solopreneur-related buzz.

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Mar

27

6 Cool Examples of Successful Niche Businesses

March 27th, 2012 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Marketing, Starting Out

The secret to a successful niche business is realizing that it isn’t about you. It’s about the customer.” —Glenda Ervin, vice president of marketing for Lehman’s

Ervin is absolutely correct. Niche businesses meet needs. Niche businesses solve problems. Niche businesses ease the pain.

Here are six examples of how enterprising solopreneurs identified needs, created fabulous niches, and built thriving businesses.

1. The Need: Retribution
The Business: Dirty Rotten Flowers
How large is the broken-hearted niche? Oh my. Roman Sacke started Dirty Rotten Flowers to find out. DRF creates unique bouquets that the wronged can send to people who wronged them. Products include: The Morticia (“one dozen decapitated roses from someone with a wicked sense of humor”) and I Love You Not (“one dozen twisted red carnations accompanied by our deconstructed teddy bear”).

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Mar

20

Kauffman Study: Owners of 2011 Startups Preferred Solopreneurship

March 20th, 2012 by Larry Keltto | Posted in Starting Out, Surveys

The Kauffman Foundation this week released a study that says in 2011, owners of new startups preferred solo businesses.

The Kauffman Index of Entrpreneurial Activity shows that 543,000 new businesses were started per month in 2011 by new and repeat entrepreneurs, a slight decrease from 2010. This means that 0.32 percent of American adults created a business per month in 2011 — a 5.9 percent drop from 2010, but still among the highest levels of entrepreneurship over the past 16 years.

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