This is “Featured Soloist,” a feature that appears every Tuesday at The Solopreneur Life.

Tommy Walker

The purpose of “Featured Soloist” is to give all of us a glimpse at how other solopreneurs operate their small businesses. This week we meet Tommy Walker, who owns Tommy.ismy.name, a company that provides Internet marketing strategies. If you would like to be the “Featured Soloist,” please send me an e-mail, Larry@TheSolopreneurLife.com.

Name of solopreneur:
Tommy Walker

Name of business and city:
Tommy.ismy.name
Dover, New Hampshire

Web site address:
Tommy.ismy.name (in development)

Type of business:
Internet Marketing Strategies

When did you officially go into business:
January 2009

Why did you start your own business:
I started my business because I was working at a retail store for some time and had gotten fired over a pair of pants. I had thought to myself after the situation that there had to be a better way to make money, and if I wanted to achieve my goals, I would have more luck finding work that I had enjoyed than pounding the pavement putting in applications to businesses around my town. Two weeks later, I had my first client.

What was the best thing you did when you were starting up your business:
I think the best thing I could have possibly done was the endless amount of research I had done for what was going on in the field that I was looking to make waves in. I think that without the tireless amount of research to not only know what tactics were being used, but also seeing where people’s pitfalls were helped me be able to learn more about how to fill the gaps that other people couldn’t. Learning more about certain aspects of the industry that I knew existed, but did not have any actual experience in has given me the ability to wear a variety for hats, and make my value high, while keeping costs down for my clients.

What is a mistake that you made that you have learned from:
Not so much this time around, but the last time I tried working for myself I had gotten burned from clients. Working without a contract is something that I will not ever do again. That and giving a strategy in a proposal. Too often with people in this industry, one person’s proposal is another person’s shopping list to find goods at a lower cost. Instead I choose to explain my methodology in a way that a potential client can see working for them.

What is your biggest current challenge in the business and what are doing to try to solve it:
My biggest challenge in this business is dealing with people’s hurt from working with snake oil companies that took their money and ran. Instead of talking about how awesome I am, I let my work speak for itself, and let my clients do the referring for me. That way I’m not pounding on anyone’s door for work, and they’re already getting an active example of the work I do on a regular basis. I’m doing alright for myself at this point, and I don’t even have a blog yet, though I would never recommend that to a client.

What are your goals for 2010:
I’ve already started working on the conceptualization process for new software that could be the next step in geo-location based service. I would also like to start seeing some more development on a social network/filesharing network idea that I’ve been wireframing for the past four years.

Where do you want to be with the business in five years:
In five years I’d like to be doing consultation work for fun. I would ultimately like to be running businesses that bring in the new wave of Internet evolution.

What are your main software programs:
Balasmiq for mock-ups, Gimp 2.0 because it’s like a free photoshop, Google Chrome for my Web browser, Open Office word processor to draft copy.

What’s your advice for aspiring solopreneurs:
Don’t ever quit! The amount of sacrifice and hard work you have to put in to make things work can be very exhausting. My first year I made less than $10,000 and that would seem like enough to stop anyone in their tracks. But don’t! And listen to your instincts, don’t sell out on your vision because someone else wants you to. Too often solopreneurs get an offer that they’ll bend on what they do, just to find themselves in a moral conflict down the road. Don’t! You can’t afford to lose your spark.

What lifestyle choices have you had to make to stay in business?
Oh God! For the first few months I had to live entirely bootstrapped. I had one client, making only $750 a month with a $600 rent. The rest of the $150 left over was used to pay for Internet and my phone bill. Not to mention food…I ended up becoming genuinely closer with friends and family to help support my decision to go at it on my own, and as a result have developed much better relationships. When you don’t have a lot coming in, and you refuse to work for someone else, it forces you to think about how to make it all work, and work well.

What are your strategies for staying competitive?
I let the work speak for itself. My rates are pretty competitive compared to the rest of the industry, but on one client I’m able to live comfortably. I let word of mouth and quality of work do its thing mostly. I’m not really interested in throwing down the gauntlet with competitors, because there are plenty who know far more than I do, and likewise those who aren’t quite where I’m at now in terms of knowledge. So I learn from who I can, and educate who I can as well.

If your business should fail, what is your fall back position?
No Plan B.

If you could start your career all over again, with what you know now, what might you have done differently? Why?
I believe that where I am now is directly as a result of where I’ve been. I wouldn’t change a thing. Without the bad stuff, the good stuff wouldn’t seem as good.

Are you glad you became a solopreneur? Why or why not?
Absolutely! I do things on my terms, work with people that I choose and who will not question my advice, only challenge me to do better.

Welcome back! If you would like to work with me, Larry Keltto of The Solopreneur Life, click here.

Related Posts:

• Featured Soloist Revisited: Tommy Walker’s Biz Takes Flight
• Featured Soloist Shayna Walker: “Banish Your Fear of Failure”
• Featured Soloist Jade Craven: “I’m In A Position To Help People”
• Featured Soloist Laura Petrolino: Proving Every Day That Pigs Can Fly
• Featured Soloist Jill Salzman: “I Refuse to Make Fear-Based Choices”