Just Because You’re A Soloist Doesn’t Mean You Have To Work Alone

Most of us became soloists because we want more control than is possible building a firm with employees.

We want free time, flexibility and the freedom to do things like turn down a client, raise our kids or travel around Italy for a month (or two).

But that doesn’t mean we always have to work alone.

Instead, the most successful soloists have often figured out how to balance the joys of being solo with partnering carefully.

Of course you have a CPA and a lawyer—perhaps a bookkeeper and/or a VA on contract—to help keep you on the straight and narrow.

But there are other situations when partnering with the right person can be exactly what you need to push you to the next level.

You want to try something new (like say a podcast), but don’t want to do it alone.

When I met I my podcast partner-in-crime Jonathan Stark, he proposed we collaborate on TBOA after we bonded over a single conversation. I’d been reluctant to take one on solo, but as a duo? Easy yes.

We are different enough to make for interesting conversations, but aligned in our value systems. (Today marks the 5^th anniversary of the day we recorded our first episode, so I’m gonna say it’s working 😉.)

You’ve got value to offer someone else’s audience.

You’ve been watching a niche leader or a media outlet and you believe their audience will not only value your brand of expertise—but it dovetails nicely with their leader’s goals (which you’ve figured out by paying close attention).

Sometimes capturing this value is as simple as a one-time pitch (like offering yourself up as a podcast guest), but other times it becomes more like developing a relationship.

The kind of mid- to long-term relationships you are so good at building with clients.

Because you almost never know where even a casual conversation can lead you, especially if you just happen to be exactly the thing they need at exactly the right time.

Being a soloist is amazing, but it doesn’t mean having to do everything alone.

Partnering with the right people can be fun, audience-engaging and lucrative—without needing a single employee.

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