The 3 Superheroes You Must Have Around You When Expanding Your 1-Person Business

I refer to ‘Everyday Superheroes’

I am a practical optimist.

I always believed that I would make it one day. When would that be? Only God knows. So, I stumble along my way.

Then funny things happen.

The more I stumble, the more I find out about reality.

• Business reality.
• Psychological reality.
• Group dynamics reality.

These are circumstances I encountered.

I have no doubts it will visit me for coffee again. This year. Next year. This time. Next time.

Ray Dalio says it best.

“If it didn’t happen in your life before, then you’re not paying attention you don’t think it’s possible. But almost all important events never happened in your life before.”

The Practical Optimist Thinking

First, I know my 1-person business will grow. I am invested in making this happen.

However, at this juncture, it is too early to,

• Say when,
• By how many revenue multiples,
• And to what scale.

I have no idea. And I avoid looking into a crystal ball for possibilities.

But there is one uncertainty I know I must actively mitigate. Repeatably, in fact. And that is downscaling. Or downsizing.

Yes. I think about potential failures before success.

My friends say I am too pessimistic. I humbly disagree. It is better to surface all possible points of failure, go through them, and devise a strategy to cover these holes.

Contingency planning calms me.

But there is an inherent problem.

What are those potential issues to begin with?

I don’t know. Who does?

This is where our 9–6 comes in handy. This is why I choose to stay in a medium-sized scaleup even though it is contracting in corporate performance.

• I see things happening.
• I observe how they are managed.
• I witness how the same issues repeat itself over and over again.

I draw my conclusions from there.

And that brings me to the everyday superheroes I think about.

The Flexible Fish Hunters

I am referring to sales professionals.

Many sales professionals I know are like salmon hunters. They wait for the season to come and then go for the kill.

It works, of course. I do that, too.

But the seasoned ones also plan for small(er) catch(s) during off-seasons.

When the economy is facing stagnant growth, spending drops. Clients start to tell you that their budgets are sliced by 40%.

Let’s assume that they are not lying to you.

• Do you wait for the good times to come again?
• Do you tell the others in your team that I only work for big deals?

I don’t endorse such thinking.

I prefer to work with flexible hunters. They are skillful commercial fishermen. They are equipped to hunt salmon and tuna. And they know when to hunt salmon and tuna.

I want them to be in my future team.

Because I know every single low-ticket deal counts when The Next Economic Freeze hits.

Do I know when? No.

So I prepare in anticipation.

The Back Supports

You want people who can give you a sense of calm when chaos and calamity hits.

I call them the back supports.

They stabilize our spine.

These are people in our business backyard we trust when the world outside runs out of fish and we are desperately searching for new fishing grounds.

I met one in my 9–6 recently.

I never knew he was a back support.

One of his emails demonstrated so.

This email popped into my inbox when,

• All project managers and sales directors were quibbling over our tapering revenue this year,
• When we were busy fighting each other for the budget for our entities for next year.

That email put a smile on my face. It reads like this.

“I know you are busy. I will take care of this client’s complaint.”

That was the entire email.

I experienced an overwhelming sense of relief.

Trust me. You want such people around… when hell arrives in a handbasket.

The Silent Strongholds

Silent is the keyword.

These are people who know that,

• You are fighting for your life,
• You have plenty on your plate,
• Your mind is at work all the time,
• And they do not complain when you are home late.

I call them the silent strongholds.

They are family members who care for everything at home so you can focus at work.

They are rare.

Just like precious gems.

One of my colleagues has this silent stronghold at home. His wife never called to ask when he was coming home.

Or whether he was working late again.

Her messages, when I read them, fill my heart with warmth.

This is one.

“Do you want dinner?”

This is another one.

“I made barley for you. It is in the fridge. Drink it when you are home.”

This is the ultimate one.

“I know you are supposed to fetch the kids this evening. I will take care of it. I know you have an important meeting today. Don’t rush. Drive safe.”

In short, I am touched.

You would, too.

The Close

Planning to expand your 1-person business one day?

Yes, of course. 3 cheers to that!

While you are, you do want to identify the potential pitfalls of your business and cover these holes ahead of time. Contingent planning allows us to play the long game.

And I say this.

You want people who can go through thick and thin with you during good times and bad.

They are worth the long search.

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