Mentality & Personal Development Archives - Solopreneur Grind

How to get over your fear of cold calling, and a big sales “first”

Josh Schachnow — Sun, 07 May 2023 18:58:52 +0000

Is there anything worse than a lingering cold?

I mean, probably yes.

But when you’re going through it, it feels like hell and the thought of just getting better is like heaven on earth. Suffice to say my runny nose is still sticking around, but hopefully back to 100% asap.

That being said, I’ve gotten into a decent groove with cold calling over the last few months and wanted to quickly chat about it.

Because I feel like over the years it’s fallen to the wayside, as everybody looks to automate everything.

Cold email campaigns, cold LinkedIn outreach, cold Insta DM’ing.

And some of those are great, if done well. But from what I see in my inbox, and the amount of terrible, ice cold LinkedIn crap I get – most of it probably isn’t all that great. It also means even more opportunity for those of us who haven’t given up on cold calling.

Because while everyone else is worrying about perfecting their cold tech this and that, I’m just having honest conversations with people, on the phone.

Which is probably the best way to present your product/service, instead of being 1 in a million emails/LinkedIn messages/etc. That being said, it ain’t easy. There’s a reason so many people love the cold tech stuff – they can sit behind their comfy computers, and just press a few buttons.

Now don’t get me wrong – some of that stuff can work, and work well. But there’s a reason cold calling has, and probably still is, the most effective way to close new clients.

The trick is, mostly, getting over your fear of it.

Because unless you’ve done a lot of it before, or are extremely comfortable starting cold conversations with random people, it’s probably at least a little bit intimidating.

I know it was for me.

But one of the things I’ve learned, after probably hundreds of cold calls now, is that it’s like anything else – the more you do it, the better you get, the more confidence you get doing it, and it’s a virtuous cycle.

The hardest part is mostly in the setup:

have a defined target market
get a good list of these people ahead of time (with contact info)
have a script ready for how you’d like the convo to go and key messages to get across
know the key outcome you want to get from the call (demo booked? free trial? followup call?)

That’s half the battle.

And I talk more about it in the recent short snippet video I posted on Youtube Shorts/Tiktok. We basically take snippets from the Grind Mastermind Podcast, and repurpose them.

Bite sized knowledge, from yours truly. Check out the video on Shorts here, or Tiktok here.

Also had a cool “first” last week in my cold outreach adventure.

As most of you know, it’s been a big focus on sales and growth for the last month or so.

Cold calling, emailing, scheduling demos, trying to get new users, etc. And we actually had a pretty good month of April, so that’s exciting. I’m also continuously trying to learn and improve my sales game, because if I’m being honest, I’m not an A+ in sales.

I think I’m pretty good at sales – heck, I’ve been doing it on-and-off for the last 6 years for my law firm, then in tech for Visto. But I’d say I’m more of an operations guy than a sales guy.

Which made my sales “first” today even more exciting. So what was it?

Well, as you know we sell immigration software, and so the usual flow is cold outbound, then try to book a demo, then do a demo, then get them to sign up for our free trial.

Now what my sales advisor told me to aim for was to try and close a new user in as few steps as possible. So instead of cold calling and trying to book a demo – try to do the demo live, on the cold call, and avoid adding an extra step.

Makes sense logically right? If you can sign up a new user in 1 step instead of 2 or 3, that’s ideal. First because it’s faster, and second because there are fewer chances for the lead to fall off (back out, skip a call, etc.).

Today, I landed my first new user sign up on a cold call – all in one step – and it felt great.

I made the call, confirmed they were in our target market and that they were interested in our product, then asked if they had 10 minutes for a quick demo on the spot. They said yes!

So I quickly swapped us over to a video call, gave the demo and got them signed up for our trial. All within about 25 minutes from calling them that first time.

Now for some of you A+ salespeople out there, that might just be another day in the office. But for a guy who hasn’t done a ton of tech sales, it was a fun accomplishment to convert a brand new user right from a cold call.

Suffice to say, I’m just warming up over here… and if I can keep up this work, and continue improving as I go, I think we’re going to have a good few months at Visto. Hopefully you’re enjoying the journey too, and if there’s any part of that story/sequence/sales content that interests you, hit reply to let me know and I can go into more detail.

I’d also say I think I crossed the cold calling chasm.

And what I mean by that is, I’m starting to get comfortable doing it.

Like anything that’s sort of new or a little intimidating, it can take some time to get settled in before feeling confident in a certain task.

Selling, creating content, riding a bike, you name it.

After some more reps and advice, I’m starting to feel pretty confident with my cold callng game, which makes waking up and doing it everyday that much easier.

And I think it comes down to 2 things:

being well prepared
doing it a lot

Doing something a lot is pretty simple. The more you do it, the better and more confident you’ll get, especially if you’re being intentional with it and adjusting along the way.

Selling, creating content, riding a bike, etc.

But the other thing that’s helped me a lot for cold calling is being prepared. In this case, with a really good script.

As I’m making calls, I’m looking over on my second screen to my script that lists exactly what to say at the beginning, what to say depending on their response, how to close out the call, etc.

With a good script, I know exactly what to say about 85% of the time. And when that’s the case, it’s just a matter of going through the motions and hitting your numbers to get results.

And it’s probably the same with anything – selling, creating content, riding a bike, etc.

Have a good plan/guide in place and it will make doing those things much easier.

Maybe overly simplistic, but hey, usually the best business advice is…

Have a great day, make sure to sign up for my daily solopreneur tips here, and keep grinding.

The post How to get over your fear of cold calling, and a big sales “first” appeared first on Solopreneur Grind.

Solopreneur sick days, walks and motivation

Josh Schachnow — Sun, 07 May 2023 18:42:48 +0000

Back to the grind today after a hectic end of last week and crappy beginning of this week.

Here’s how it went down:

So last Thursday night I had a meeting with a potential partner, which ended up being a few beers long. It should probably be a written law in business that more beers consumed during a business “meeting” = a better result in the end for both companies.

Anyway, it’s for a very exciting partnership for Visto, and their CEO and I wanted to discuss details in-person after business hours. Good talk, hopefully good outcomes for all of us.

I’ll keep you posted as it evolves.

But it also meant I was out much later than usual and wasn’t able to get my Friday morning email out – my sincerest apologies.

To make matters even worse, I caught a cold over the weekend and while I didn’t take Monday fully off, it knocked me out for all of Sunday which is when I usually write the Monday morning email.

It leads to an interesting question, which is how should solopreneurs treat sick days?

Is there even such thing as a sick day as a solopreneur? Because a day off usually means zero work/output. I have 2 thoughts on this.

The first is that the best way to tackle sick days is to lead a very happy/healthy life and avoid them as much as possible.

Easier said than done, but I’ve found that in the last 3-5 years as I’ve optimized my health (routine exercise, eating healthy, lots of water/sleep, etc.), I rarely get sick. I’m talking 1-2 times per year, maybe.

Again, maybe your situation is different and getting into a good routine is harder, but I think that being healthy and avoiding getting sick should be goal #1 here. Do you agree?

Now secondly, if you do get sick, I think the best thing you can do is maxmimize recovery so you can get back to 100% as quick as possible. Not sure about you, but I find my efficiency and quality of work is much lower when sick, so I’d rather take an extra day/half day off to recover, instead of grinding too hard and extending the period of being sick.

So for example on Monday, I slept in a bit longer than usual, made sure to drink tons of liquid, took a few cold meds, and mostly did admin work from bed.

At this point I know my body pretty well, and with one more good sleep I’ll be back to 100% – so there’s no point trying to force in 1-2-3 more big tasks, over-tire myself and push things back.

Just my thoughts: avoid sick all together, and prioritize getting over it if you do.

I think that more than ever, we as solopreneurs need to be as on-the-ball as ever, so this is all very important.

Keeping a closer eye on trends, world events (to an extent – don’t need to follow every detail), key factors affecting different parts of the world, financial stability, and yes, staying healthy.

And being able to adjust as needed.

Luckily it’s easier than ever to do that thanks to the internet, and also making sure you have a good network of people that can keep you focused.

I had a good mastermind call with a group of solopreneurs I meet with every 2 weeks, and the benefit of simply talking to others – who could be in very different industries from yours – who are in the same kind of solopreneurial journey during these crazy times can have such a grounding and calming effect.

It’s part of why I always recommend networking to solopreneurs, and especially developing some close connections and/or mastermind type groups for deeper discussion when you need it.

One of the key takeaways: now that’s nicer out, I need to go on more walks.

If you’re ever in the position of making a difficult decision, or tough spot, or stressful week – usually a nice walk clears your head and makes harder decisions feel easy.

We’ve also got a big week ahead of us. Largely filled with sales, and by the looks of the weather forecast, rain.

Up here in Toronto it’s been a rainy few days, and forecast for another 3-4 more it seems – a warm welcome to summer.

But as they say, it can’t always be sunshine and rainbows.

On the business side, we’re slowly starting to see some traction with our (pretty cool) immigration platform. These things usually don’t happen overnight – as much as we’d like them to – but after months of launching, selling, listening to users, adding new features, and continuing to sell, the needle is moving.

We’re feeling confident, and just need to keep pushing.

Even though it’s going to be a gloomy week (weather wise), I’m gonna get up each day and pound out a ton of cold calls.

It’s not exactly the thing I’d love to do, day in and day out, but it’s what we (the company) need right now to get to the next level. And we can smell it…

This motivational Monday update is almost as much for me as it is for you, but this is a reminder to just keep pushing. For all we know, we’re all just another day, or another week, or another month away from huge break throughts and progress.

As long as we keep pushing.

So let’s do it together. No matter what difficulty you may (or may not?) be facing this week, let’s take it one day at a time, and keep pushing.

I know I will be.

Have a great day, make sure not to miss out on my daily solopreneur business tips and stories here, and keep grinding.

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Working in offices for solopreneur support

Josh Schachnow — Sun, 16 Apr 2023 18:39:33 +0000

As a solopreneur, getting back to work after a weekend can be overwhelming. That’s why I was excited to try out a new office space offered by our lead investor at Visto.

Not only was it a great opportunity to get out of my home office, but it also provided valuable support from other successful and experienced individuals who work in the same space.

This office is a great example of solopreneur support, providing not only a change of scenery but also a chance to interact with like-minded people.

The fast internet and empty space were just the icing on the cake.

And the best part? It’s completely free for portfolio companies like mine.

As I chatted with some of the other occupants of the space, I realized how important it is for solopreneurs to have access to support like this. Working from home can get lonely and isolating, but having a community to turn to can provide much-needed encouragement and advice.

So if you’re a solopreneur, consider seeking out a similar space or community where you can find support.

It’s not just a nice-to-have; it can be the difference between burnout and success. And if you’re lucky enough to have an investor or mentor who offers a space like this, take them up on the offer – it could be the boost you need to keep grinding and moving forward.

Have a great day, make sure to join the email list for my daily solopreneur tips here, and keep grinding.

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How we’re using Chat GPT

Josh Schachnow — Wed, 12 Apr 2023 17:36:57 +0000

Has a day gone by in the last few months without someone mentioning Chat GPT?

Well, in case today was going to be the first day for you – I think I just ruined it.

Oops!

Anyway, I think there’s no denying AI is already – and will continue to – changing the game. Especially for businesses, and especially for solopreneur businesses that try to get the most output from minimal input, like solopreneurs, small startups, etc.

I also find it really interesting how different so many peoples views are on things like Chat GPT. On one hand you have people embracing it and trying to do the impossible, and on the other, people who are scared crapless and think it’s the worst thing in the world.

Still the very early days in the AI scheme of things, but I think that as solopreneurs, we have to find ways to embrace it and benefit our businesses accordingly.

Not saying you need to rush to use it right now, but especially as some of these AI tools get better, the businesses that do embrace AI – and reap the rewards from using it – will far outclass the ones who don’t.

Just my opinion, which of course could be wrong.

It’s also something Chris and I chatted about in the most recent episode of the Grind Mastermind podcast, where we go live every 2 weeks to chat about our businesses, how the last 2 weeks went, our goals for the next 2 weeks, and cool tools/books we’re into.

Of course, Chat GPT came up as Chris is using it for a whole whack of awesome, time-saving activities for his copywriting business, and we’re using it to improve our SaaS product at Visto.

If you want to watch or listen to the full episode, which I highly recommend, you can check it out here.

And if you want to get updated anytime we release a new episode, make sure you’re on the email list here.

Have a great day and keep grinding.

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Tiktik videos, Youtube Shorts and Events, and branching out of your business bubble

Josh Schachnow — Sun, 02 Apr 2023 18:54:22 +0000

Yesterday I mentioned that some of my Youtube Shorts were starting to pop off. And wanted to go into some detail on my strategy thus far.

Interestingly, my stance on Shorts has changed a bit in the last few months, especially as compared to Tiktok.

A few months ago I was all-in on Tiktok and thought it was probably the best video platform to be posting on, especially for short form videos/clips.

My stance has changed a bit since then, mainly for two reasons:

First is that there seems to be a decent risk of Tiktok being banned in the US. It’s definitely not guaranteed, but given the recent hearing in the US with Tiktok’s CEO, it doesn’t look like the US is the biggest fan of the company. Not saying it’s going to go away tomorrow, but worth keeping an eye on.

Second, is they seem to be slowly drifting towards the pay-to-play arena that Facebook and Instagram are more well known for. And by this, I mean it’s harder to get organic views and growth without spending money on ads.

For this reason, as I’ve continued to post short clips from the new Solopreneur Grind podcast – The Grind Mastermind – I’ve been posting them on both Youtube Shorts and Tiktok.

My Tiktok channel has shown some slow growth, but video views seem to be stuck in the 150-200 views per episode. Not terrible, but not great.

Shorts is interesting because while my average views per video is probably around the same, some of the more recent videos are starting to do better – getting into the high 3-figures, and some videos getting to 4-figure views too.

It’s too early to tell, and I think consistency is key here either way (I post a video snippet 4-6 times per week on both), but I think Tiktok is losing a little bit of the edge it had in the video space.

Note: Instagram Reels may be a decent option too, I just strongly dislike using Instagram.

Anyway, I’ll keep posting these snippets and let you know how these numbers develop over time.

Regarding the new podcast format, we also made a change and are recording it live (before we then scrape the audio and post the podcast version).

And if you want to tune into the show live, it’s every second Friday at 9am EST – which you can actually sign up for now that I’ve learned you can create Youtube Live events!

So if you want to follow along or watch/listen to the show live – which also means you can chime in, ask questions, etc. – then make sure you’re subscribed on Youtube here.

So far the episodes have been a lot of fun and a nice shake up from the interview-style show as well.

Lastly, I went to a solid networking event last week too.

And I think that no matter what kind of business you’re building or what your role is, it’s important and valuable to “get out of the house” once in a while, as they say.

Especially if you’re working from home.

What I’ve found is if you’re very focused on your business and working from home, or the same small office, or coffee shop, or coworking space, etc., it can be very easy to get stuck in your little bubble.

And that there’s extreme value in going out and meeting some random people, having interesting conversations and tell people about what you’re working on.

Not in a salesy way. There’s some magic that happens when entrepreneurs get out, mix and mingle with one another. It’s also refreshing and can give you a much needed motivation boost.

Because when you’re in your bubble it can be easy to forget that there’s a whole world out there, and to a random person, what you’re working on is actually really cool and something they’d never heard of.

And once in a while, it can be nice to hear that from an outsider. At least, from my experience.

Do you agree?

And if you’re feeling stuck in your own little business bubble, try it out.

Go find a networking event on Eventbrite, or whatever other platforms exist that can help you find cool events nearby, and meet some random people.

You’ll get a breath of business fresh air, and you never know who you can meet too…

Have a great day, don’t miss out on my daily stories from my business adventures here, and keep grinding.

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Is solopreneurship fun? And peaking beyond just business

Josh Schachnow — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 17:39:06 +0000

Saw an interesting Q&A with Elon Musk on a short video today.

As you all know, I love soaking in information and guidance from successful solopreneurs, entrepreneurs and tech founders.

He was talking about how – contrary to popular belief – a lot of entrepreneurship actually isn’t fun. Which really stuck out to me at first, because especially on social media, it’s mostly glamorized as being this amazing thing.

He said the opposite. Which made a lot of sense to me.

Now this is less applicable to solopreneurs, but Elon was explaining what it’s like to build big businesses and what he said was that as the CEO of a big and/or growing company, you’re pretty much only dealing with problems.

The things that are easy or going really well don’t get his attention – because they don’t really need his attention.

It’s the things that are going wrong, or struggling, or aren’t that fun and no one else wants to do, that falls to the CEO, founder, etc.

In essence, he’s got these huge companies with thousands of employees, and he’s mostly spending his time trying to fix the things that are broken, or not working as well.

Not the most fun sounding job in the world, eh?

It’s because of this that he says you better have some real passion or interest in the problem you’re trying to solve with the company, otherwise you’re in for a real painful and negative experience.

In his case, he really believes that humans need to evolve to live on other planets like Mars, so even if he has to deal with all of the hard parts of that process, he’s driven by his internation motivation and passion over solving that problem to keep driving through the hard times.

While my company, Visto, is nowhere near the size of any of his companies, I can certainly relate a bit. And maybe some of you can too, especially if you have at least a small team?

Anyway, thought it was interesting and it caught me by surprise in contrast to most of the content out there that glamorizes solopreneurship as this heavenly thing – it isn’t all the time!

In a somewhat similar vain, it still surprises me how many cool people are out there building cool businesses.

Not sure if you can relate to this, but I find that when you’re so focused on building your business, in your city, in your industry, it can be easy to spend most of your time in a bit of a bubble.

But then, every once in a while, you get on a call or networking event or introduction from a friend, with someone doing something really cool that you’ve never heard of.

Or never expected to exist.

Or are super impressed that it exists in the first place.

Or can’t believe you didn’t think of building something like it!

That, or I’m a bit out to lunch over here.

But it happens to me every now and then, especially from warm intros or partnership calls where you’re meeting people just slightly out of your own industry. I find it exciting, like a breath of fresh air, just to learn about all of the other great stuff that’s going on in the world of business.

Because as most of us know, especially early on, it’s best to niche down – or specialize – and so you keep the blinders on for the most part. When you get to peak beyond them, even for a quick call or meeting, I find it really interesting and motivating.

It makes me think that one day, maybe down the road or in a second life, I could be interested in private equity and/or tech investing because I’d get to meet a ton of cool entrepreneurs doing a variety of things every week.

But first I need to prove myself as an entrepreneur in my own business… oh and actually earn some money to have to invest!

As always, only time will tell.

Have a great day, don’t miss out on my daily business stories from my journey over here, and keep grinding.

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AI for solopreneurs and knowing your business

Josh Schachnow — Mon, 27 Mar 2023 17:32:48 +0000

Had an interesting chat with someone yesterday about AI and how the future of work will look because of it.

I’m not a deep tech nerd, I’ve just helped build some basic software, but it seems like AI is going to be a game changer for everyone, especially solopreneurs.

And it’s probably just starting to heat up.

But as a business owner, it seems like great news to me. Whether you’re in tech, law, accounting, etc. If you run a business you’re probably going to be able to automate many of the basic tasks you either have to do yourself, or have to pay people to spend lots of time on.

Writing content. Creating visuals. Drafting proposals.

It’s not perfect yet, but really good, and at the very least can help reduce the time it takes you or your team to get the same amount of work done.

For you, that means you can free up more time for things like more sales, more marketing, more training, or more free time to sleep…

It could be more room to grow, or it could mean making the same amount of money at the end of the year but spending half the time or money on your business.

I guess it depends on the person/business owner, but it’ll be interesting to see how it changes our culture and business operations as it gets more advanced and more common in operations.

Have you been using any good AI tools yet? They seem to be popping up all over the place now, getting lots of funding, etc.

But I guess only time will tell.

Onwards to other topics, we’re gaining some good momentum this week. In a weird way, can feel the tides turning, if that makes sense.

Not to say that things weren’t going well before, but over the years, I’ve found that as the CEO of a company who sees all of the inputs and outputs, you can kind of “feel” how your business is doing.

Even without seeing a monthly income statement, which is even more important in the tech world.

Here’s what I mean.

When I was just running a small law practice, the motions were pretty straight forward. You do marketing, sales, etc., and based on the number of calls and clients that seem interested, it’s pretty clear to see how you’re doing each month.

In tech, especially when building and launching new products, there’s a lot that’s up in the air.

Will your new product be a hit? Will users like it? Will they even want to see it? Pay for it? Will word of mouth catch on? Will clients churn (ie. stop using your product) quickly?

In short, lots of uncertainty along the way and in different phases.

But I feel like only in the last year or so, I’ve gotten better at being more in tune with the business. This is going to sound esoteric and borderline crazy, but I can sense how it’s doing and have a good idea of whether things are good or not, whether we’re heading in the right direction or not.

Of course, there can and will always be uncertainties, and nothing is guaranteed. But the wheels are spinning, good things are in motion and I think we have an exciting few months ahead of us with more opportunities popping up every day.

This doesn’t mean we can coast – on the contrary, need to keep grinding it out. But if we do, I like where we’re heading.

Can you relate?

I’d say it took a solid 2-3 years to become more in tune with how the biz was doing, but once you do, you can use that good or not-so-good feeling as a guiding light to figure out when you need to keep pushing, or maybe switch things, or something in between.

Anyway, maybe you can relate, or maybe I’m just half crazy!

Have a great day, make sure not to miss my daily updates here, and keep grinding.

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Being a business yogi and a crazy immigration story

Josh Schachnow — Sun, 19 Mar 2023 19:48:39 +0000

Trying to get better at not letting things phase me as a solopreneur. Easier said than done, especially in the business world.

In fact, if you start your own solopreneur business, the only thing you can be certain of is there will be ups, downs and setbacks along the way. Probably lots of them.

But like anything, it’s up to you to determine how to react to it.

I’ve had some great times and also very bad times as a solopreneur, and the very bad times can be tough. Stress, anxiety, sleepless nights, etc. In a weird, yogi-esque way though, it’s controllable.

The better we become at separating our thoughts from our feelings, the better we will be able to keep our cool and make the most of what we can.

For example, you can freak out, stress, lose sleep, and do any number of things that aren’t actually productive when something goes really bad.

But none of this will get you anywhere, and in fact, can just cloud judgement and make things worse.

On the other hand, if you can become a master of your emotions (note: I am not), it may not solve the problems immediately, but you’ll at least be able to stay calm, continue to get enough sleep/rest, etc., to wake up the next day, do what you can and move forward in the best way possible.

I’d say I’m pretty average at being able to keep my cool, maybe slightly above average, around a 6.5 out of 10. But lots of room to improve.

Things like exercise, meditation and/or daily exercising can be a great way to improve them, that I’m slowly working on. Or if you have any other suggestions, please let me know!

On a somewhat related note, I hate to say it, but we hear a lot of horror stories in my industry.

In immigration, there’s a lot of shady dealers.

Tons of people and companies out there simply trying to take advantage of people, whether it be over-charging, scamming, using fake documents, you name it.

It’s sad to say, but hearing horror stories about scams is somewhat common.

But today I shared one on LinkedIn, both because it was particularly sad and also because it affected so many people.

For those who don’t know, there are study abroad agents all over the world who help students apply to schools in different countries. The most popular tend to be the US, Canada, UK and Australia.

And because most work on commission, they do whatever they can to help students get admitted to schools and get their visas approved.

Some even go as far as falsifying documents in order to get students approved, so they can earn their commission – and leave the student out to dry if they get caught.

Well, this week they got caught – in fact, 700+ students in Canada got caught and are facing deportation.

All because one agent forged documents that he used to apply on behalf of the students, helping them get to Canada successfully, some even studying and working there for years, until the forged documents were finally discovered.

To give you an idea of the money at play here, a successful student typically earns an agent ~$2,000 CAD. Take that times 700 students, and we’re talking roughly $1.4 million.

And guess what – that agency is surprisingly “closed” and they can’t get a hold of them anymore. Surprise surprise.

Anyway, just another day in the life of an immigration lawyer and tech founder.

Oh and don’t forget to always do your due diligence before choosing a service provider.

Have a great day, make sure to get my best updates daily here, and keep grinding.

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Early morning phone calls and what solopreneur success comes after

Josh Schachnow — Sat, 11 Mar 2023 21:13:15 +0000

Holy moly – what a whirlwind of a week folks.

Largely because on-top of the usual stuff, started doing some cold outbound sales to India.

And if you know anything about India, you know that it’s ~10 hours ahead of me in Canada.

Which means if I want to do any meaningful outreach by phone, it has to be in the morning until around 9/10am (depending on how respectful I want to be of their bedtime), or at/after 10pm.

I much prefer the morning, because I don’t function very well after 10pm, so I’ve been shifting my calendar around to have more free time first thing in the morning to pump out some outbound.

Just one of the sacrifices we may have to make when trying to build a solopreneur business.

That, or just make sure whatever your business does, you only do it for clients in your timezone!

It’s also very interesting to learn about new industries and also new regions of the world. For example, professionals in your industry in Canada might work one way, but professionals in the same industry but across the world work totally differently.

Not always huge differences, sometimes just little differences that can go a long way, like words or phrases that are used to say “hello” or “goodbye”.

Or more standard pricing models. Or certain features that have zero value to clients here, but mean everything to clients overseas.

It’s one of the more appealing parts of working in the immigration space – you get to meet and learn about people from all over the world, and see how different (and in some ways similar) people are.

Anyway, just some thinking as I’m spending more time talking to people abroad.

On another note, probably the one thought or idea that keeps me going the most is something that one of my advisors told me a few weeks ago.

And it encapsulates the grind and struggle of solopreneurship.

You ever have one of those days, or weeks, or sometimes even a basic task, that you know you have to do for your solopreneur business, but you really – and I mean really – don’t want to do?

Well, I think the real greatness comes just beyond those points.

The real big wins, big clients, big sales, big break throughs.

They don’t just come around everyday, to everyone and their mother who hopes or preys for them.

They come to those who push just a bit beyond where the real pain begins. When you say “I hate having to do this, but I’m going to do it anyway”. It’s on the other side of that, where you’ll break through.

At least, it’s what one of my advisors and I agreed upon a few weeks ago. And I genuinely believe it to be true.

The good part?

It makes doing those things a little bit easier, because you know that if you keep pushing, doing the right things, putting in the time and effort, that you’ll be rewarded in the end.

Maybe things are sunny and rosey for you these days, or maybe they’re not. Maybe you’re pushing through something or some phase that’s really tough.

If you are, don’t stop. Not yet.

It’s like Jeff Bezos said (side note: almost done reading The Everything Store which I’ll talk more about next week), you want to make the choices that will leave you with the least regret when you look back on your life.

So keep pushing, keep grinding, and in the end, you’ll be happy you did (or at the very least, you won’t regret that you tried when you look back on it).

Have a great day, don’t miss my best daily business journey and stories here, and keep grinding.

The post Early morning phone calls and what solopreneur success comes after appeared first on Solopreneur Grind.

Solopreneur mastermind, change of scenery and new website

Josh Schachnow — Sun, 26 Feb 2023 17:39:58 +0000

Back for another solopreneur blog update! In case you don’t live in Canada or the US, or in another country with fun holidays, we were off yesterday.

In Ontario it’s called Family Day – no complaints here! Anyway, last week I was talking about what to do if things feel stale for any aspect of your solopreneuer business.

Of course, what to do is very situational and depends on a variety of factors. But sometimes the best thing you can do is switch things up, mix it around and try something that sounds more “fun” to you.

After all, business is mostly just working hard on a series of tests and scaling up whatever works. At least from my experience.

So as I said in my last update, I decided to switch up the Solopreneur Grind Podcast a bit. And move from interviews to more “building in public” type vibe. For those who haven’t heard, that’s got a lot more popular in the last few years.

And it’s exactly what it sounds like: building a company and sharing your journey along the way.

Which is… kind of what I do in these solopreneur blog posts already!

But if you like my updates, and want to hear them in even more detail – from me and also a good buddy of mine who is building a copywriting/UX business – then definitely check it out.

In fact, episode 2 (both video and audio) is now live, can check it out here.

Had a weird too as Sam and I are doing some house-sitting.

Her parents went away on a trip and they have two dogs. Therefore, when they go away, we get volunteered to house/dog-sit.

Luckily their two dogs are pretty quiet, lazy and cute. And while having to walk them in Canadian winter is not fun, they’re pretty good company during the day as I’m working from home most of the time.

It’s also a nice change of scenery.

For those of you working from home, do you find it difficult if you go long stretches without having many reasons to leave the house?

It’s certainly convenient, but also very nice to get a change of scenery. I find it keeps me fresh.

Other than that, spending most of my time this week doing more Visto sales and marketing. Outbound, demos, partnership discussions, all that kind of stuff.

We also recently updated our website, so if you haven’t seen it in a while, or want to get a better idea for our latest product, definitely check it out.

In short, we’ve automated the process of preparing and submitting a Canadian study permit application – both for students who want to apply by themselves, or law firms that want to save time prepping these applications for clients.

If you happen to know anyone that might be interested, definitely let me know too!

That’s it for now. Have a great day, make sure not to miss my daily updates here and keep grinding.

The post Solopreneur mastermind, change of scenery and new website appeared first on Solopreneur Grind.