How to Create Your 3-Step Solopreneur Success System

Bingo! It looks like we have appeared everywhere we want to be. Welcome to Creative On Purpose Live, a show dedicated to helping solopreneurs build a fulfilling business that funds and fits your ideal lifestyle. I'm your host, Scott Perry, your guide in the Close the Gap 90-Day Solopreneur Success Accelerator. To learn more about our next Close the Gap cohort, see the link in the comments below this broadcast. Today we are exploring a topic from my upcoming book, also called Close the Gap, about how to build your solopreneur success system. So we're going to, uh, I'm going to kind of riff on this topic for about 10 minutes or so. We have Emma and Penny and Bree, all members of the Solopreneur Success Circle, that are going to then jump in the broadcast room with me to roundtable discuss the, uh, the ideas that I'm sharing today. And so what I want you to think about when you're thinking about your solopreneur success system is that, as I posted on social media earlier today and on, uh, Substack notes, every system is perfectly designed to get the notes— to get the results it gets. Every system is perfectly designed to get the results it gets. Choose your system, choose your future. So when we're thinking about systems, we're thinking about mostly we're trying to think about outputs. What's the result that we're trying to get through the system that we're building? One of the things that I find that solopreneurs don't really take adequate inventory of is looking at where they're starting and what they're starting it with when they are thinking about their system. You have to have a clear enough destination in mind, a clear enough result that you're going after. This is something we talk a lot about in the Close the Gap program, the 90-Day Accelerator, because we want to know what is it that we hope to achieve at the end of our 90 days? What, what are we collecting data around? What are we optimizing for? And once we have enough clarity about that, equally important to define exactly where we're starting and what we're starting with, because when we have those two points set up, we have established a vector, we have direction established, which means now we can start to think about What are the 2 or 3 things that need to go right to start to build velocity from where we are to where we want to be? And a lot of the process that we talk about in the Close the Gap program is not so much what are the things that are missing, broken, or need work in our system. The first thing we start with is, of all the things that are already in our system, what are the few things that are absolutely necessary? Because if we can eliminate any pieces that are unnecessary, then we are automatically boosting the system's efficiency and effectiveness. So this is the way that systems work. System Reliability Theory practice says that every system perfectly designed to get the results it gets because every system is, the effectiveness and efficiency is the product of the efficiency of all of its components. So the fewer components, the greater the efficiency and effectiveness. And if we can optimize the least efficient component in a system, automatically going to increase and boost the efficiency of that system. So let's just use an example. If I am a solopreneur and I am optimizing for a lifestyle where I have complete time freedom, I can do whatever I want, for most of my days. I'm optimizing my business to increase the amount of free time that I have, which means I want to optimize for focusing in my work on the necessary things that are required for me to get the clients that I need to, to, uh, thrive, earn the revenue that I need to take care of my responsibilities while maintaining optimum amount of time for the other things that matter to me. What do I have to, what are the 3 things that have to go right? Well, I need to have an offer that is irresistible enough for an audience or a market that is engaged enough. And I have to have a sales success system that puts that offer in front of that audience with the greatest degree of efficiency and effectiveness. So my 3 pieces, my, the 3 things that have to go right enough for my business to thrive and for my business to get the traction it needs for me to optimize the system for time freedom, uh, while boosting revenue, uh, possibility. Irresistible offer, eager audience, sales success system that puts that offer in front of that audience. And if I can establish those things, then what I can do is look at what's the element that is not performing, uh, as effectively or as efficiently as the rest. What I find generally with the solopreneurs that I'm working with is they have a pretty good idea of what success looks like for them, the lifestyle that they're optimizing for. It's not just about the money. It's not just about the free time, but it's what they would do with that money or that free time. It might personal experience that was optimizing my business around my grandson's nap schedule. I wanted to be able to have a business that required me to work, um, that allowed me to work a very small amount of time for a reasonable return on investment in terms of revenue so that I could have 9 hours a day to take care of my grandson 5 days a week. That was the lifestyle. And what I determined is that if I could build a system that allowed me to work 2 hours in the morning from 5 to 7, take care of my grandson from the time he arrived at 7 AM until noon. Then I could have my wife available from noon until 5 to take care of my grandson when I had client work or community conversations going on. And when I did not, I had the flexibility in my schedule to go ahead and be able to spend time with my wife and my grandson during the afternoons. And by looking at my system, I knew I had an off— an audience that was interested and eager in what I was doing. I had an offer that they were interested in. The thing that I needed to optimize for was my sales success system. How was I putting that offer in front of that audience? And for me, what I was able to arrive at after about a year of working on my system is that I was able to leverage Substack to share my methodology, my process, my case studies, and all the things that leverage— or, or that were able to articulate and to share the element, uh, the, the approach that I used to help solopreneurs get the results that they were looking for. And I didn't have to waste a lot of time grinding out content for social media or trying to grind out content for a YouTube channel or a podcast or any of those things. I could simply share my process through the channels and through the platforms I already had established. And by having— moving people from my social media platforms, my YouTube channel and my podcast, into my Substack subscriber community, I could get some of those people to come into my paid Substack subscriber community where I could help turn them into the perfect clients that I am able to be the most effective and helpful for. And that was how I turned my system into something that was incredibly efficient and effective. Small group of subscribers invested in their own success by gaining greater proximity and access to me. And some of those people are enrolling into the Close the Gap coaching program, which is the 90-day success accelerator. Some of them are becoming one-on-one clients. Some of them are hiring me to, uh, do events and that sort of thing. And I'm able to share all this through the Substack, where I'm even actually sharing the entire process, uh, as I'm writing my book out loud and in public. So Just to recap, every system is perfectly designed to get the results that you're getting. If your system for creating the leads or creating the revenue that you need to justify the business that you've started is not, is not working properly, continuing to do the same things that you're already doing and hoping that it's going to change is probably not a great strategy. What are the elements of that strategy that need to be fixed or fine-tuned? Uh, what are the, the elements that need to be eliminated so that you can free up time, money, attention, uh, those precious resources that you can invest in the things that are already working to help them work better? And so what you want to do is when you're establishing your sale— your solopreneur success system, You have to have a clear idea, clear enough idea of what you're optimizing for. What's the lifestyle that you want to fund and fit your business around? What do you start? Where are you starting from? And what are you starting with? What are the 2 or 3 things that need to happen to help you close the gap between where you are and where you want to be? And then developing a daily discipline, a practice of trying to raise the floor on the least efficient and effective elements of that system so that you can boost the overall system's effectiveness and efficiency. So I hope that's really helpful. We're going to bring in— we've got Emma, Penny, and Bree here. We're going to roundtable some of these ideas, and of course, Bree and Penny and Emma, you're welcome to ask questions or share reflections as well. It looks like StreamYard is cooperating today in terms of the technology. You can all hear me. I would encourage you to, when you're not speaking, to remain on mute just to avoid any echo that we experienced this last time. And I appreciate, let's see, we got Kev and Her Indulgence Glow Candle Bar here. I appreciate you all being here. So who'd like to, who'd like to share a reflection or a question? Or did you all just want everyone to see how good looking you all are? Go ahead, Penny.

That takes me out here. I just wanna share this because I've listened to you do this before, but this was the first time I sat here and figured out, because it does look like I'm gonna get a new client, and this system I'm trying to— yes, I heard from her yesterday, and we're setting up the next meeting to put together. And as I was listening to you, I was thinking, okay, you said offer, market, and then a sales system. So I was thinking the CEO has got to put together with me, um, a, a plan, a program with which they can motivate investment philanthropic investment, and buy-in, meaning the board and the other leadership that will approve or not approve this idea. And then the market are the people out there who are going to become the donors, and the sales system is the mission-centered fundraising. And I hadn't seen it that way, but does that sound reasonable to you?

It sounds really reasonable. Number one, congratulations on closing the gap between where you are and where you want to be in terms of getting this client. Penny and I are very old friends in digital years. We practically went to kindergarten together. I think Penny and I have been following each other and working together since about 2018 or so. So this is great news. It's been thrilling to watch Penny, you know, develop and grow her, her business and grow, grow in Clarity and Confidence. So yeah, Penny, I think that you're layering over that this idea is exactly right. Your offer is, well, I would say in some ways your offer and your process is mission-centered fundraising, right? The promise that the offer is you can help fundraising organizations, fundraisers, CEOs, achieve their fundraising campaign revenue goals. Therefore, your audience are fundraising organizations, CEOs, campaign directors, fundraisers, and the system, this mission-centered giving process of yours, is the process. And I guess just one thing to think about is, as you're thinking about, you know, the, the sales success system, when whether it's trying to get donors to give to a cause or you trying to sell a product or service, that, that element of your success system has components to it as well. And so what are the 2 or 3 things that have to go right in the mission-centered giving process that can help your client more, you know, know what their, what metrics, what data they're collecting and tracking so that they can assess that data, strategize based on what the data tells them, and then execute their next step.

And I have a process that's to start, for them to start with. It'll have to be filled in according to their organization.

Exactly. Well, and that's another great point, Penny, because this is the thing that I think really sets the Close the Gap process apart from what I see being offered by online gurus and digital marketers is they're offering most often very, um, tactical or tool-oriented approaches to solving problems. And what I am saying is, you know, there's no one tool or tactic that can universally work for any solopreneur. What I'm more interested in is establishing fundamental principles that I have arrived at through reasoning from first principles, so that I can take anyone that is an independent business owner, wherever they are in their journey, and help them craft their destination, their starting point, and list and, and audit of assets and resources so that we can craft their unique path to their unique destination. And I hear something very similar in what you're trying to do with the fundraisers and the fundraising organizations that you're working with.

Yeah, that's what came to me as I listened to you this morning.

Fantastic. Emma, Bree, any questions? Go ahead, Emma.

My question is, you mentioned that we need to remove the most the less efficient component. And you mentioned, for example, uh, the offer, the audience, and the sales system. And those things, I— the way I see it is that we need to test it. Like, what is— what offer? You don't know until you test different offers. What audience? You need to test that. But I think that the less efficient is me, because the, the— I will have maybe less— I will have— I want results in a faster time, and I don't get those results as, as I desire, the fat as fast as I wish. So then I create doubt, and then I— it is— so then it— that is the— I believe that is the most efficient component.

Well, I would say that your insight, that this revelation is the fundamental truth of all systems. And Penny and Bree have heard me say this many times: the least effective component of any system is the human being that's pulling the levers and pressing the buttons in that system, because We are human beings. We are fraught creatures prone to all sorts of cognitive biases, preferences, and predilections. And our default thinking often is to just keep looking for more. We keep adding things to our system because we like shiny objects. We are looking for tricks and hacks and kind of you know, blueprints, roadmaps, and other quick fixes to our problem. Or worse, looking— we are, we, we have enough traction to know that we are, have something that works, but we feel like there's that, just like, if I could just find that one missing piece, that one thing that will— and that's actually, even though that is our default thinking, and, you know, congratulations, we're all human beings, because this is the way we operate. The— what system reliability teaches us is that anytime we add anything, doesn't matter how effective— if you find another component of your system that's 90% effective and your system is currently 90% effective, you are driving down the efficiency to 81% simply by adding another component, even though it's a high, highly efficient component, because system reliability is a function of the product of the efficiency of all the components. It's not an addition problem. It's a multiplication problem. So the other thing about what you're sharing, Emma, is that when we are looking, like, I think it's a really good idea to just, like, audit your system. Audit your current system. And if you're looking at your sales success system, what you're, the process you're using to put your offer in front of your audience, take an audit of all the places you're doing that, all the social media platforms, all the, you know, if it's a YouTube channel or a podcast or direct messaging, whatever it is, and try to get your first, your first, task is how efficient are each of these components? Like how, if you are using a social media strategy, how many phone calls are you getting from your social media strategy? If you're using a podcast, how many leads are coming in through your podcast? If you're using YouTube, how many leads are coming in through YouTube? And if you know, there's a component of this that is definitely going to involve some guesswork or best guess work. And of course, most of our clients don't come in through any one source. Maybe they saw you on Facebook, they heard you on YouTube, they listened to your podcast, and then they received an email from you, and it was, you know, that was when they decided to reach out to you. So obviously, all these things can you know, work together synchronistically because it takes more than one exposure for someone to reach out. But at the same time, you have to look at how much of your time, attention, money, and effort is going into each of those things. So we'll actually get into this before the end of the year. One of the things that clients that I'm working with have found very effective, and Bree is one of them, is establishing your marketing web. Like, yes, you can, you can share content across multiple platforms, through, through multiple platforms, but when they are done consuming your content on that platform and they want to learn more about you, where are you sending them? Are you sending them to your Substack? Are you sending them to your website? Are you sending them to a Google Doc? It really doesn't matter. Just have to know where you are going to have the most relevant, personal, direct, and honest conversation with those people. For me, that's Substack. Uh, Bree is also working on a Substack strategy. I think Penny is thinking about that. Um, I don't know where it is for you, Emma, but it doesn't really matter. Like, I, I would also caution anyone to not just jump in and build a Substack because it's working for me. Uh, the better— best thing you could do is leverage something that's already working. So if direct messaging through Facebook is working for you, start there. That's where you want to get people to. That's the center of your web. Um, but the most important thing is have clarity about where that is, because that is how you're— when you have direct conversations with clients, then you can start to collect some real numbers. Here's how many messages or emails or posts I put out. Here's how many people commented. Here's how many people got on a discovery call. Here's how many people closed and became clients as a result of that discovery call. Um, one last share before I ask for any follow-up questions or reflections, Emma. Uh, Joseph Robertson, in his most recent, um, contribution to the Man Bites Dog Substack, Scott Perry talked about black holes. And when we're designing this system, what we're trying to do is identify the black holes. Like the system, there are, there's going to be a place or places in our system where we are, we will be able to find the biggest drop-off. So again, if you're, if your overall marketing strategy is initiating conversations, you are probably doing that through some sort of content. Posting on some platform or platforms, and then engaging people in conversations in the comments, getting them onto a call, and closing them as clients. If those are the 4 kind of steps that take someone from a cold lead to a client, from a prospect to a lead to a client, then identify where the big drop-off point is. Uh, Laurel Portier and I worked together, um, for 6 or 7 months in 2020, I think it was. And that was something that she really helped me with, is I was— my content was getting good, um, engagement. I was having a decent amount of conversations in the comments, getting, uh, the number of people that I wanted on, on discovery calls. What was happening was that I wasn't converting my calls into clients. And so rather than just continuing to increase my content creation or increase my comment, um, average or increase the number of calls I was having, I got better at closing the calls I was already getting. That was the best use of my time, attention, and effort, as opposed to just grinding out more content, um, which is very labor intensive. So that I could boost that average at the end. Any follow-up questions or reflections, Emma?

So one of the— my problem is I'm putting up content, but I don't get no comments. So I'm not having no conversations in any place.

That's a very common problem. Let's face it. Every social media strategy that's been around for a while, including the, this two-step approach that, that you use and that I use, that I think all of us use in, um, in various ways. I mean, the marketplace has kind of figured it out. Like, you know, that people are offering value bombs or, or requesting comments or, and get, you know, sharing content in the hopes of starting conversations. They know that it's going to lead to a discovery call, and they know that on a discovery call, they're going to be sold. Now, of course, as an empathetic and generous marketer with an offer that can really help people, you are not going to do anything that's slimy or tricky or spammy or scammy. However, the marketplace is glutted with scammy, slimy, sleazy tricky, hacky marketers. And so we, when you are using a social media approach like that, you are, you are engaged in an approach where there is already a lot of fatigue. And we also know that, and I'll share from my own personal experience, Emma, when I ask new clients how they heard of me, I'd say 80% of the time they say they've been following me on social media and they have never commented on any of my content. They've never liked any of my content. They've never messaged me. Um, so it doesn't mean that it's not working. It just means that you're not collecting evidence. And what you can do is if you're not getting the data that you want through your content creation 2-step strategy, you can, you can also test alongside that something like I know you're already doing, like, you know, what a cold calling strategy. Can that get you data that you will help you optimize that system while you let your, content creation and comment strategy kind of continue to percolate on the back end because those things can work synchronous— synchronously. The bottom line is, and the thing that will help in addition to without spending too much time, attention, money, or effort on new strategies or investing more in the existing strategies. Where do you want people to engage? Like, where are you going to have the most personal, relevant, honest, direct conversation? And how can you take your existing content, your, your existing content strategy to drive people to that place where you can have the most clear, direct, relevant, personal conversation with them. Does that make sense?

Yes, it makes sense. Yes, it makes sense. Awesome.

You're very, very welcome. All right, Bree, you want to take us home?

I'm just kind of sitting back and absorbing. I, I just agree with all of this. I feel like maximizing, like I was maximizing for putting out content and then letting it drop. But I am now maximizing for connections. And that, I think, is what's going to help draw together all of what you said, the irresistible offer, communicating with people, getting that in front of them, and then working on figuring that out as I go. And yeah, so maximizing for that.

That's really well said. I love that you said maximizing for connection because I think that's ultimately what people are looking for. You know, just for anyone that's on Substack right now, if you look at what's, you know, if you look in your notes feed at the kind of things that are getting a lot of attention on notes, it's a lot of screenshots of people's subscriber growth or screenshots of their bestseller badges or dogmatic advice about how they can get more attention by, you know, the kind of things that they should be writing about in their Substack or on Notes or what have you. What I am, what I am seeing and, you know, what the experience— just think about the experience that you're having. Like, how impressed are you by someone's screenshot of their outrageous subscriber growth. Does that make you want to work with them? Does that make you want to read what they have? Like, you don't even know what they have to say on Substack. All they care about is that I'm growing Substack subscribers at an outrageous, uh, rate. Yay me. It's a very kind of self-centered, selfish approach to, um, to talking about— like, it's not even talking about what you do, it's talking about the fact that you've game the system so that you can get all these kind of reach and impression metrics. Um, I don't do any of that, but I, um, and, and the content that I do share on my Substack and on Notes does not get anywhere near the amount of attention in terms of comments and reactions and restacks and all that sort of thing. Um, but it doesn't matter because the, the people that are connecting with my content on Substack are becoming subscribers to the Substack, which is great, but they're also moving into the paid subscriber community, which is where I can have a more direct, connected, relevant, honest discussion with them. And when openings come, or when we're enrolling the Close the Gap 90-Day Accelerator cohort, or when I have some sort of, uh, workshop offers or anything like that, I've already educated them. We're speaking the same language. We understand the same principles. We believe in the same approach to business development, growth, and success. And so what is happening is it's a, even though it's a longer game and it's not as sexy as the screenshot What is happening is that I am consistently able to fill programs, which of course consistently gives me my revenue, the revenue numbers that I need to succeed and take care of my responsibilities. And I'm doing that in less time with greater efficiency. But here's the biggest thing for me, is that I am never doing, I'm never separating the work I do and the difference I can make with and for the the right kind of clients. I'm never, never, there's never a distinction between the change I make through the business I've built and my marketing. I don't have to like have an offer or I don't like, there's not this work that I do that I want to do. And if I market loud enough, long enough, and spend enough, I'll get the number of clients. I simply do the work that I love to do, hone my craft. Improve my skill. And by sharing the process, the, the results that clients are getting and, and the case studies, that becomes my marketing. Bree knows this, Penny knows this, Emma probably knows this. It's called be a blessing marketing. Turn the great work that you do into your marketing and sales system. Because then instead of wasting all your time becoming a better digital marketer, which is not what you signed up for when you started your solopreneur business in most cases, You are becoming more and more skilled at your craft, more and more clear about who you serve, how you serve them, the results that you get them, the process, uh, the effectiveness and efficiency of the process you use to get them those results. You are becoming increasingly preeminent, the one and only choice in whatever domain it is that you operate in, because everything that you're doing is about practicing craft. Getting results, the care and consideration that you have for the kind of people that you want to help. And you're not, you're not splitting your time, attention, money, and effort between the work that you love to do and the marketing and the sales that you do just to earn the privilege to do some of that work. It's all integrated, one, one thing. And it's, you know, my estimation, and I know, Brie, you're experiencing this, and Penny is now experiencing this. Emma may be experiencing this, but if not, she will be very soon because we're not going to let her rest until she experiences this. You get to do work you love with people you care about and make a better living while you're doing it. So I hope that this little jam session on system thinking, system reliability, Building Your Solopreneur Sales System has been helpful for you all. I will be dropping links in the, in the comments that will help you read the chapters of the Close the Gap book that are available, learn more about the Close the Gap 90-Day Solopreneur Success Accelerator, and share articles that specifically deal with system thinking, system reliability, and building your solopreneur success system. And if you have any questions, any observations, or reflections that you want to share, feel free to share those in the comments. You can always also DM me wherever you're finding this broadcast or replay. And until next Thursday, I hope that you all— I wish you all great success. Appreciate you tuning in. We appreciate the gift of your time and attention. And keep, keep, keep go-go going, making the difference that you make. It's appreciated. It's making a difference. And we'll look forward to seeing you all next Thursday.