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SOLO, a newsletter to help solopreneurs stand out

Terri Lonier

SOLO is your weekly design and visibility lab — part of the Solo Business School, and dedicated to helping solopreneurs stand out with smart systems, sharp visuals, and tools that unlock your edge. Each week, you get fresh ideas to help you stay small and play big.

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When Clients Don’t “Get It” (And What To Do About It)

SOLO is your weekly design and visibility lab — part of the Solo Business School, and dedicated to helping solopreneurs stand out with smart systems, sharp visuals, and AI that unlocks your edge. Each week, you get fresh ideas to help you stay small and play big. When Clients Don’t “Get It” (And What To Do About It) Over the past 13 issues of SOLO, we’ve explored how strong visual systems bring clarity, credibility, and confidence to your solo business. That foundation is solid, but visuals...

3 days ago • 6 min read
Stay small. Play big. Solo Business School tagline and brand on blue background in white type.

Welcome to Issue 13 of our Visual Assembly series. Each week, you get a bite-sized lesson on transforming your visuals into brand-building assets. Behind The Scenes:Building The Solo Business School Brand Over the past 12 weeks, we’ve explored how to transform visual chaos into business advantage in our Visual Assembly series. Today, I’m sharing how these principles shaped the Solo Business School brand refresh, developed in partnership with designer Hollie Arnett. While the new logo and...

10 days ago • 5 min read
Seesaw with two circles: Brand visuals and Digital systems, with white words on blue type: Brands need both style and structure.

Welcome to Issue 12 of our Visual Assembly series. Each week, you get a bite-sized lesson on transforming your visuals into brand-building assets. SOLO’s New Look (and the System Behind It) Today is like Christmas morning. The SOLO newsletter has a new look. It’s the result of a six-month project refreshing the Solo Business School brand — and today I get to unwrap this new format. But this issue isn’t about an updated logo or new templates. (A full overview of the new brand will be coming...

17 days ago • 5 min read
Icons of 5 different visual frameworks on blue background with white text: Simple visuals decode complex ideas.

Welcome to Issue 11 of the Visual Assembly series.Each week, you get a bite-sized lesson on turning visual chaos into business advantage.A warm welcome to the many new readers who have joined us from around the world this week. We’re glad you’re here! Turn Blank Stares Into “Aha!” Moments With Visual Frameworks Have you ever received a confused look when you explained your business? You know, the tilted head, furrowed brow, eyes-squinting-with-uncertainty expression? Yeah, me too. That...

24 days ago • 4 min read
Image of passport with logos of key social media platforms, with text: Smart templates travel all platforms.

Welcome to Issue 10 of the Visual Assembly series.Each week, you get a bite-sized lesson on turning visual chaos into business advantage. Is Your Profile Lost in (Platform) Translation? The other day on Threads, I came across a thought-provoking post about visual storytelling. Intrigued, I clicked through to the author’s profile, then paused. Something felt off. Was this really the same person I followed on LinkedIn? The name matched, but everything else needed a double-take. Different...

about 1 month ago • 4 min read
Blue background, white text: Templates are your content multiplier. With small images of 4 different sizes of social media posts.

Welcome to Issue 9 of the Visual Assembly series.Each week, you get a bite-sized lesson on turning visual chaos into business advantage. As solopreneurs, we face a brutal choice with social media: exhaust ourselves creating fresh content for each platform or miss opportunities by posting on just one. But I think there’s a smarter way: build once, then multiply your impact. One Visual, Many Platforms: The Template Multiplier Last week, we explored templates as invisible infrastructure. Today,...

about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Text on blue background: Invisible structure. Visible authority. The power of visual templates. Accompanied by 3 small squares with template blocks inside them.

Welcome to Issue 8 of the Visual Assembly series.Each week, you get a bite-sized lesson on turning visual chaos into business advantage. 🎉 Milestone Alert! This is Issue #52 of SOLO — a full year of visual insights! Whether you’ve been here since day one, joined somewhere along the journey, or just discovered us last week, thank you for being part of this growing community of visual thinkers. Now, onto this week’s focus. Why Are Templates the Hidden Engine of Unforgettable Brands? Think of...

about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Visual explanation of FAST system: Format, Asset Name, Stamp (date) and Track (version)

Welcome to Issue 7 of the Visual Assembly series.Each week, you get a bite-sized lesson on transforming your visuals into brand-building assets. Tired of files named final_final_USETHISONE_v2? Try the FAST-er Way If that filename in the headline makes you laugh (or cry) in recognition, join the club. We’ve all stared at a folder full of similarly named files, wondering which version is the final. It's not just frustrating — it's eating your time and affecting your credibility. Today, we’re...

about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Icons of file folders and image files scattered on a blue background, with text reading: Chaos constricts creativity.

Welcome to Issue 6 of the Visual Assembly series.It’s a visual communications course tucked inside a newsletter. Each week, you get a bite-sized lesson on transforming your visuals into brand-building assets. Help! My Desktop Ate My Logo! (A Creative’s Guide to Digital Organization) Until recently, my digital desktop would make Marie Kondo weep — and I know I wasn’t alone. Like many visual thinkers, I usually rely on remembering the general location of files based on where I see them on my...

about 2 months ago • 5 min read
Image of road on blue background with text: Guidelines guard quality.

Welcome to Issue 5 of our Visual Assembly series. When you get a new high-end tool or appliance, do you read the user manual? Some of us will jump right in and try to figure it out. Others will read intently before even unpacking the item. If you’re like me, you try a few things first, then turn to the user manual and say: OK, exactly how DOES this thing work? Often that little booklet transforms your expensive purchase into a daily joy instead of costly frustration. Your brand deserves the...

2 months ago • 4 min read