This Simple Mindset Shift Will Transform Your Solo Career Forever

Watch the Episode on YouTube

In this quick but powerful sound bite episode, Carly Ries and Joe Rando tackle one of the most important distinctions for anyone considering solo entrepreneurship: freelancer vs. solopreneur. What sets them apart? Why does it matter? And most importantly, how can you transform your mindset—and your approach—to stand out in a crowded market?

Whether you're stuck chasing gigs on platforms like Upwork or dreaming of building a thriving personal brand, this conversation is packed with actionable insights to help you shift from trading time for money to building a business that's truly yours. Plus, don't miss Carly's shameless plug for their Solopreneur Success Cycle—it might just be the roadmap you need to take the leap.

So, be sure to tune in!

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Episode Transcript

Carly Ries: In this short episode, we dive into the critical distinction between freelancing and solopreneurship. While freelancing often involves treating time for money and chasing projects on platforms like Upwork, solopreneurship is about building a personal brand, niching down, and creating a business that stands out. We explore the benefits of adopting a solopreneur mindset, like working on your terms, charging more for your expertise, and becoming the go to solution for a specific audience. So this conversation should inspire you to rethink your approach and stand out in a crowded market. Don't miss our practical advice and tips for building a business that works for you.

You're listening to The Aspiring Solopreneur, the podcast for those just taking the bold step or even just thinking about taking for those just taking the bold step or even just thinking about taking that step into the world of solo entrepreneurship. My name is Carly Ries, and my co host Joe Rando and I are your guides navigating this crazy, but awesome journey as a company of 1. We take pride in being part of LifeStarr, a digital hub dedicated to all aspects of solopreneurship that has empowered and educated countless solopreneurs looking to build a business that resonates with their life's ambitions. We help people work to live, not live to work. And if you're looking for a get rich quick scheme, this is not the show for you.

So if you're eager to gain valuable insights from industry experts on running a business the right way the first time around, or want to learn from the missteps of solopreneurs who've paved the way before you, then stick around. We've got your back because flying solo in business doesn't mean you're alone. So, Joe, in our last sound bite episode, we talked about transitioning from corporate America to solopreneurship. And this episode, I feel like it's important to distinguish between freelancer and solopreneur and how you can make that leap from freelancer to solopreneur because in my mind, those are not the same thing, and I think you agree.

Would you wanna elaborate?

Joe Rando: I definitely agree, and I wanna start with saying there is nothing wrong with being a freelancer. We're not saying you shouldn't be 1, but being a freelancer is definitely a different mindset from being a solopreneur. And what I mean is that as a freelancer, typically, you're thinking in terms of trading your time for their money. Right? So they're giving you money, and you're giving them time.

And you may continue to have a business that basically trades your time for money. But by becoming a solopreneur in mindset, you're really thinking in terms of leaving the fibers behind and becoming something, I guess, special. Right? So making yourself special to some group of people. And what I mean is that, if you're niching down at something maybe you're good at or have some cred in, in a particular industry, maybe an area of expertise or some specific pain point.

I love that niching down on a pain point that you can solve. You can really start to to stand out to the people that are in that industry, need that particular area of expertise or have that particular pain point. And at that point, you can start thinking about saying no to opportunities that don't align with your vision. And I just wanna recommend that if you do this kind of approach, start to find the kinds of people that you're gonna help using personas. And if you have questions about personas, you can Google it, there is stuff on the LifeStarr website, about personas and, obviously, other places as well.

So, think in terms of that.

Carly Ries: Yeah. All good points. I think the biggest thing for freelancer in my opinion and we're gonna talk about personal branding in the next sound bite episode. But I think, when I think freelancer, I think of a very crowded space. I think of Upwork.

I think of, just kinda, going after projects and chasing projects. And when I think of solopreneur, I think establish establishing your personal brand, really separating yourself, and running an actual business instead of chasing clients. Like, it's an easier way for people to come to you as opposed to you bidding for other people's, projects. I don't know if that comes through right.

Joe Rando: 100%. You know, you need to think in terms of a personal brand. And as you said, we're gonna talk about that in the next episode. But just briefly, I mean, the idea of a personal brand isn't just coming up with a logo. Right?

It's about kinda defining, as I said before, what makes you special, coming up with a story, a story about you or why you do what you do, that kind of thing. people need to look at you and understand, be able to quickly understand kind of what you're about, why you're there. And it's very different from saying, you know, if you give me money, I'll, make you a logo or whatever. It's just a different mindset. And but, yeah, your idea of building that brand is crucial to being a solopreneur instead of a freelancer, definitely.

Carly Ries: Yes. So if you are in corporate America and you're thinking about jumping ship, we we recommend taking the solopreneur out as an easier way to stand out in the market. If you are already a freelancer and are struggling to have consistent income, consistent clients, we would urge you to consider the solopreneurship route and really building that business for yourself. We have a shameless plug alert. We have a full solopreneur success cycle on our website where we where you can kinda follow how to build that business for yourself rather than just chasing clients.

So we highly recommend you check that out.

Joe Rando: And think of the benefits, you know, doing only doing the work you like to do instead of doing whatever somebody's willing to pay you for, being able to charge more for your services because you've made yourself special instead of just being another whatever on Fiverr or Upwork. There's some real benefits to to going the solopreneur vision instead of the freelancer vision.

Carly Ries: And if you have any questions, we are here to help you along the way. Absolutely. Well, listeners, thank you so much for tuning in today. As always, we would love that 5 star review. Please subscribe on any of your favorite podcast platforms as well as YouTube, and we will see you next time on The Aspiring Solopreneur.

Closing: You may be going solo in business, but that doesn't mean you're alone. In fact, millions of people are in your shoes, running a one person business and figuring it out as they go. So why not connect with them and learn from each other's successes and failures? At LifeStarr, we're creating a one person business community where you can go to meet and get advice from other solopreneurs. Be sure to join in on the conversations at community.lifestarr.com.