Most solopreneurs I know aren’t stuck because they lack ideas (we’re overflowing with them) or effort (we work harder than most folks we know). We get stuck because we’re carrying too many projects without being clear about the relationship we have with each one. See if this sounds familiar. Something feels off, but it’s hard to name. You’re making progress in several places at once, yet nothing feels settled. One project keeps whispering that you should probably stop. Another nags at you for...
9 days ago • 4 min read
Most of my stress last week came from one thing: working at the wrong pace. Have you noticed that feeling too? Pushing forward, but not sure why? When this happens, I’ve learned to stop asking what I need to do next. The better question is: What pace am I working at right now, and who chose it? Most solopreneurs never consciously choose a pace. We inherit one, often from client expectations or inboxes that never empty. Other cues also come from algorithms that reward constant presence, or...
16 days ago • 3 min read
The new year always brings big energy. But this time, I’m hearing something quieter: fatigue. Not burnout exactly, just the weight of staying “on” all the time. Like there’s always something to respond to, keep up with, or post to stay visible. None of these activities is wrong. But they add up. Ambition carries a cost, not just in effort but in attention. And when so much of that attention goes to anticipating a response, clarity doesn’t come from finding better answers. It comes from...
23 days ago • 3 min read
This is one of those weeks that feels like a pause. The holidays are fading. The new year is at hand, but real momentum hasn’t kicked in yet. There’s less noise than usual, and that quiet can feel both calming and uncertain. If you’re not feeling ambitious, that’s okay. What this moment asks for is something simpler: clarity. A way to see what matters before everything speeds up again. So instead of talking about goals or resolutions, I want to offer something smaller and more practical for...
30 days ago • 4 min read
Holiday weeks feel like they stretch attention in a dozen directions, right? Lists grow longer, people need more from you, and your business keeps whispering that you must do more right now. Here’s a simple reminder you might not hear elsewhere: Not everything needs your attention right now. This is one of those weeks when the best thing you can do is hold steady. A simple filter might help: If something doesn’t require a decision before January, won’t meaningfully change outcomes if put on...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Every December, I revisit the sketch that reshaped my business. Twenty years ago, frustrated with the wrong kinds of clients, I drew a simple matrix to help me sort out what was really worth my time. That sketch turned into a powerful tool I’ve shared with thousands of solopreneurs. I bring it back every year to help you plan the next one with more clarity, more purpose, and ideally, more joy. Meet the Money-Fun Matrix The Money-Fun Matrix is a simple 2x2 tool I created to evaluate the...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Have you ever pinned your self-worth to a single number? Mara did. She wasn’t new to baking, and she’d built a loyal market following. But still, every week, she let one number decide if she was a failure. Each Saturday, Mara rolled into the farmers’ market before sunrise. She displayed warm sourdough. Rosemary focaccia. Cinnamon raisin loaves. Every loaf reflected the precision and care of a serious professional baker. And every Saturday at noon, she judged her entire business by one thing:...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Most people try to avoid failure. Paul MacCready, however, was different. He welcomed it. For nearly two decades in the 1960s and 70s, the world’s best engineers chased a dream. Their goal? Build a human-powered aircraft that could fly a mile-long figure-eight and clear a ten-foot barrier. No one could do it. The failure pattern was consistent. Teams built immaculate, over-engineered planes. A single crash meant months of repairs. With that much sunk into every prototype, experimentation...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
In the early 1980s, Steve Jobs’ team at Apple Computer was creating the revolutionary computer that would become the Macintosh. They knew that a crucial part of creating a personal computer “for the rest of us” would be visual symbols instead of arcane computer code. So Andy Hertzfeld called up Susan Kare, a former high school artist chum (Weak ties! See the recent issue), and told her to go get the smallest graph paper she could find. Kare’s task was deceptively simple: make the computer...
2 months ago • 2 min read