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.

Welcome to issue #071, and all the new readers who joined us this week.

Discover the Shape That Sorts, Shrinks, and Sharpens

So much of running a solo business is about distilling the many into the few: ideas into offers, leads into clients, options into a single path forward.

Come along as we explore the triangle this week, one of the five essential shapes in visual frameworks. (Check out the other four in this previous issue.) Whether it points upward, is divided into tiers, or is flipped upside-down as a funnel, the triangle shape conveys ideas about hierarchy, flow, and priorities.

A QUESTION I'VE BEEN ASKED

When is a triangle the best shape for a visual framework?

Triangular shapes represent how things stack, flow, or narrow down. They direct the eye, from broad bases to sharp points, making them ideal for showing relationships that build or funnel.

Here are five ways you can put triangles to work:

🔺 Prioritize with shape.​
A triangle suggests hierarchy, even without tiers. Its larger base and smaller top is a visual cue for “start here, build up to there.” Use it to guide clients on what to tackle first.

🔺 Show what’s most important.​
Use a tiered triangle (like Maslow’s pyramid) to highlight the foundational bottom and advanced or rare top. They’re a smart choice for illustrating growth stages or mastery levels in your offers.

🔺 Map how many become few.​
Flip the triangle into a funnel to show a filtering process, like turning leads into clients, or broad ideas into a focused plan. Perfect for sales or project pipelines.

🔺 Break down three essentials.​
A simple three-point triangle shows balance among three pillars. Use it to explain the core elements of your method or the three values that support your brand.

🔺 Simplify complex work.​
Turn a jumble of tasks into a clear, structured story. Show how supporting parts at the bottom lead up to a single, most important outcome at the top. Clients immediately see: “Ah, it starts here, builds there, and leads to this.”

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A QUESTION TO REFLECT ON

What’s your triangle?

In your own work, consider where a triangle could help show how things build on each other, or how many ideas could be distilled into a few.

This week’s reflection question:

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A QUESTION TO CONSIDER TOGETHER

Are triangles in your visual framework toolkit?

This is the fun part of each newsletter, where we see how your thinking aligns with other readers. Your answer is anonymous, and you’ll see the collective results right after you respond.

Last week’s poll results: Almost 70% of poll respondents said that Planning vs Spontaneity was the tradeoff that created the most tension in their work.

​ Quick Links When you’re ready to explore further... 🔵 Download the Solo Business Canvas, a free visual tool to map your one-person business. 🔵 Learn to create quality content with AI as your personal assistant. 🔵 Browse the free solo resources of handpicked tools and resources I actually use. 🔵 Send me an email to explore a 1:1 Coaching Session or ask a question 🔵 Explore the archives of past issues​ ​ Got this from a friend? Subscribe to get future issues.

Until next week: Stay small and Play big!

Terri Lonier, PhD Founder, Solo Business School

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