Featured Solopreneur Jill Chivers: “Be Extra Patient”

This is “Featured Solopreneur,” an ongoing series that gives all of us a glimpse at how other solopreneurs operate their small businesses. Click Here to read more Solopreneur Success Stories.

Name of solopreneur:
Jill Chivers

Name of business and city:
I’m Listening Now, which is an online enterprise; based on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia

Web site address:
www.imlisteningnow.com

Type of business:
Downloadable self-excellence program (“power up your best self”) that can be used in the privacy of your own home and at your own pace. And it’s inexpensive.

When did you officially go into business?
We had a false start late 2009 with a Web site that was not up to par. We rebuilt the Web site and went live mid-March 2010.

Why did you start your own business?
I started my first business in 2000, I designed and delivered corporate workshops on communication skills, leadership, teamwork, and other “people” related programs. I ran that business until last year, and still occasionally run workshops. I started that business (in 2000) reluctantly—I never saw myself as an entrepreneur and thought I was very happy in corporate land. It took me a few years to really settle into being my own boss and now I am completely unemployable!

So, when I got the idea for I’m Listening Now (late 2008—we had a long development period), it was a natural thing for me to be thinking entrepreneurial thoughts about creating a business around it. I was also ready to do something new—I had been a corporate trainer/facilitator for over 15 years and whilst I love it, it was time for something new.

What was the best thing you did when you were starting up your business?
Test the product—we had about 20 people from five countries test it out and give us feedback. I say that’s a good thing, and it was—it really gave me confidence that the product was wanted and needed—but we are yet to see “massive sales”!

What is a mistake that you made that you learned from?
Our first Web site developer was not the right fit for us. We were still learning about online marketing and cyber commerce, and we thought we’d done enough research. But we hadn’t. Our first Web site person created a custom-coded website with all kinds of inappropriate and unsuitable elements to it, and to add insult to injury, it cost a fortune! I’m over it now though (editor’s note: her eye twitches when she says this).

We should have done more research before starting to build the Web site on how to build a Web site and pitfalls to avoid. (On days when I am in “forgive thyself” mode, I add to that: but how can you ever know when enough research is enough, and it’s time to move into action?)

What is your biggest current challenge in the business and what are you doing to try to solve it?
Making sales is the biggest current challenge. Our list is growing, which is delightful, and I am enjoying the writing side of things. It’s great brainwork to be thinking about what new aspect or “take” on listening I can come up with every week.

I would love to be making more sales and I get frustrated about that. This isn’t actually about ‘solving the problem’ but one thing I’m trying to manage is my own impatience about that, and not to worry so much. We also try new things when we receive feedback and have decided a tweak or change is necessary. For example, we received some feedback that we had too many product options. So, we eliminated the e-articles, and streamlined our downloadable products down to 5, plus the DVD.

We get very positive feedback about how compelling, attractive, and clear the Web site is, so that makes me think that the words and “offer” are either right, or very close to right.

I’m working on some offline strategies, too. One is talking to a company of career coaches about them using I’m Listening as an integrated part of their coaching program. That’s a perfect use of it, so if we can get the model/template right with this organisation, we’ll approach more coaches. I’m also seeking more opportunities to speak to groups about the power and magic of listening in everyday lives.

What are you goals for the rest of this year?
For an organised and structured person, I have a fairly “organic” approach to the Web site’s goals. I don’t know what’s possible or reasonable or doable or realistic as the cyber commerce space is still so new to me and I’m still working out how to do things. I don’t know if it’s realistic in 12 months to have achieved a subscriber base of 1,000, for instance, or to make $100,000 in sales. I know what some folks say about goals—if you fail to plan you plan to fail. But I’ve had a very successful offline business and I had no plan for it either. So here’s my “organic” ideas on what 2010 would bring, if it were a great year:

• Loving every day that I work on my business

• Feeling joy as my natural state more often. As in: more than once a week and not necessarily induced by a very good Shiraz

• Grow the list—this means people are liking/finding value in what I’m writing

• Make sales—this means people are finding value in what I’ve created

• Speak more—not just to the cat or my husband but to groups of people, who are organised in some fashion and want to hear more about the power and magic of listening in everyday lives

Where do you want to be with the business in five years?
I’d like it to be more commercially successful. You know, making some good solid money with it. And having fun with it every day. Specifically: speaking regularly (with ease and joy); making sales; writing to a large and enthralled audience.

What are your main software programs?
The Web site uses WordPress; AWeber to manage the list; and DL Guard for shopping cart which is specifically designed for downloadable products. I also use Outlook for e-mails, calendar and contacts; Skype for talking with friends on the cheap; MS Office for the usual. That’s it I think.

What lifestyle choices have you had to make to stay in business?
Spending less is one of them. I started a 12-month challenge to not go clothes shopping, which I blog about a couple of times a week here , as one way to keep expenses down—I have learned so much from that experience and I’m still partway through it! Spending is never just about what comes out of your wallet, it always goes deeper.

Traveling on a budget is also something we’ve had to factor in—we do house swaps which is a great way to reduce or eliminate the accommodation part of a holiday, and we fly economy etc. If you see it as an adventure, rather than a punishment, it’s amazing how much fun it can be to spend less.

What are you strategies for staying competitive?
I don’t know if I’m competitive in this space. The self-help genre is huge—during the GFC (global financial crisis), it was one of the few areas that grew (for instance, during the GFC, self-help book sales were up by something like 20%, when all other book sales fell). So I know there’s a lot of competition in the space I am playing in. But I don’t feel like I’m competing with any of them, which is more a statement about my attitude than my marketing prowess.

Since so much of my business comes back to me, I try to keep me in top condition; I exercise and eat well, I try to keep on an emotional even keel and stay buoyant, I get enough rest, I surround myself with people and ideas that support and inspire me, I invest time in myself. Does this count as strategies for staying competitive?

Do you need a second household income to support your lifestyle? (is the business primary, or supplemental to the household?)
I’m Listening Now doesn’t support us financially yet. We have a property portfolio that’s doing that for us right now, which is also terrific as many people invest in property, but I’ve met very few who can actually live off it. The ideal scenario is for I’m Listening Now to be providing a steady income that’s worth reporting to the tax office.

If your business should fail, what is your fallback position?
When I think of what I might do if I’m Listening Now folded, I get stumped. I am lucky in that I wouldn’t have to think about getting a job to pay the bills. But what would I do with my time, my energy? That’s the thing for me. I have so much enthusiasm, and have lots of ideas, and I’m a see-it-through kind of person. Actually, now that I write all of this down, I might actually be qualified to make a go of this business after all!

What’s your advice for solopreneurs?
What? I have to give advice? You know, it depends on how I’m feeling on the day, as to what advice I’d give. Some days I’d say “go for it—follow your bliss” and other days it’d be “you know it’s going to be a lot harder than you think, right? A lot” which sounds more like a warning than advice. Here’s my top five list of advice, regardless of what day it is:

1. Do enough research/homework to make you feel confident without overwhelming yourself in too much data.

2. Don’t subscribe to too many “experts” who tell you how to make a million dollars online by lunchtime whilst still in your pajamas. This will do your head in. Limit yourself to five experts only, preferably those who come referred.

3. Be aware that your friends still working 9-to-5 may not get it and may be experiencing a range of emotions about you going solo. Like being scared for you or being envious of you. This means they may not be in the best position to fully support your solopreneurialiship so go easy on them, and yourself, when you start talking to them about this stuff.

4. Be extra patient. Five, ten times more patient than you think you’ll have to be. Most “overnight successes” took years. And all those people who have made a small fortune online in a very short time span? The ethical ones will tell you to look behind that success and you’ll find a football field of attempted (and failed) product launches, Web sites and blogs. There is no magic bullet.

5. Remember why you started this in the first place. If necessary, write this down. Print it in colour, have it laminated, and place it where you’ll see it every day. There will be days when you cannot possibly imagine what possessed you to start your own business and become your own boss, and they’re the most dangerous days (you can find yourself scanning the Positions Vacant ads on those days), so a visual reminder will help.

Are you glad you became a solopreneur? Why or why not?
Yes! Having worked in corporate land for many years, and then seeing it through the eyes of workshop participants who attended my programs, I couldn’t work full time as an employee in that environment again. I’m happily unemployable! I love having my own schedule…some days this means I work only a couple of hours, and other days it means I work long after it’s gotten dark. I feel very blessed to be living this life.