What Have You Screwed Up Lately?

Ask an experienced soloist their biggest success, and they often hem and haw, trying to find something to share. But ask them about their biggest mistakes -- oh, the floodgates open!

In working with independent entrepreneurs for nearly two decades, I've seen a pattern emerge in the types of mistakes we make. Here are three common categories. See how your experience compares:

1. Optimism.
These mistakes arise when soloists let their optimism overtake them. "But I only need 1% of the market, and it's a huge market," they exclaim. Only later do they realize that their business idea was not grounded in the reality of actual customers opening their wallets or checkbooks to pay for the product or service. Optimism is a key factor in remaining persistent through the early (and often tough) days of your solo venture -- just don't let it cloud your judgment.

2. Planning.
Another common mistake is not taking time to plan for desired results. Business success is not something that can be shoehorned into a tight timeframe, like cramming for a college final exam. There are often sequences of events that must occur, and which take time to develop and execute. To increase your chances for a positive outcome, start with a clearly defined end result and plan it backwards, step by step. This becomes your roadmap. It's a simple, but remarkably powerful, process.

3. Slap of the forehead.
Then there are those mistakes that are simply dumb. We've all been there. They result in the proverbial slap on the forehead and the "I can't believe I did that" observation. They can be mental lapses of missing a payment or discount deadline, calling one of your best clients by the wrong name, or leaving $300 worth of computer equipment under the airplane seat in front of you. (Yes, all true, and no, never got the equipment back.) I chalk these up to the general category of "tuition" -- a painful lesson learned, and hopefully I'll never make that specific mistake again. Talk to enough soloists, and you'll hear their "tuition" stories, too.

Once you've been in business long enough you realize that everyone has their own collection of mistakes. Sharing them is often a bonding experience -- just bring up the topic sometime over coffee or beers. The goal is to be aware of the "screw-up traps" you commonly fall into, so that you can minimize the pitfalls and make your solo journey as smooth as possible.

-- Terri Lonier
Founder, WorkingSolo.com