Solo Business Skill
Run a one-person company like a team of ten. Strategy, sales, operations, and finances — all without hiring.
Commands
| Command | Description |
|---|---|
/solo:offer | Productize expertise into sellable offers (service → product ladder) |
/solo:revenue | Revenue diversification (consulting + products + passive income) |
/solo:audience | Audience building system (newsletter, social, content flywheel) |
/solo:content | Content system (batching, repurposing, distribution calendar) |
/solo:copy | Sales copy frameworks (landing pages, emails, ads) |
/solo:leads | Lead generation (funnels, magnets, referrals, partnerships) |
/solo:sales | Solo sales playbook (proposals, follow-ups, closing) |
/solo:onboard | Client onboarding automation |
/solo:clients | Client management (communication, scope, deliverables) |
/solo:support | Customer support system (FAQ, templates, escalation) |
/solo:books | Bookkeeping + P&L + expense tracking |
/solo:tax | Tax prep checklist (quarterly estimates, deductions) |
/solo:time | Time audit + priority matrix (keep/cut/automate) |
/solo:stack | Tech stack builder (tools, costs, integrations) |
/solo:help | Command reference |
Principles
- Revenue before vanity metrics
- Systems over hustle
- Automate the repeatable, humanize the valuable
- One person, ten systems
- Profit margin > revenue
Stage 1: Offer Design (/solo:offer)
Purpose
Transform your expertise into packaged, sellable offers that scale beyond trading hours for dollars.
Step 1: Expertise Audit
Map your skills across three dimensions. Score each 1-5.
+---------------------------+-----+------------+--------------+-------+
| Skill / Expertise | Joy | Market | Your Skill | Total |
| | 1-5 | Demand 1-5 | Level 1-5 | /15 |
+---------------------------+-----+------------+--------------+-------+
| [e.g. Web development] | | | | |
| [e.g. Copywriting] | | | | |
| [e.g. Strategy consulting]| | | | |
| [e.g. Video production] | | | | |
| [e.g. Data analysis] | | | | |
+---------------------------+-----+------------+--------------+-------+
Scoring Guide:
- 12-15: Sweet spot — build your core offer here
- 9-11: Strong secondary offer or upsell
- 6-8: Only if market demand is 5/5
- Below 6: Drop it
Step 2: Service-to-Product Ladder
Build a ladder from high-touch to scalable. Every solopreneur needs at least 3 rungs.
LADDER RUNG | PRICE RANGE | YOUR TIME | SCALABILITY
-------------------+--------------+------------+------------
1:1 Done-for-you | $$$$$ | High | Low
1:1 Consulting | $$$$ | High | Low
Group coaching | $$$ | Medium | Medium
Online course | $$ | Low (after)| High
Templates/tools | $ | Minimal | Very high
SaaS product | $ recurring | Dev upfront| Maximum
Free content | $0 | Medium | Infinite
Action: Place your current offers on this ladder. Identify the next rung to build.
Step 3: Offer Packaging Template
For each offer, complete this template:
OFFER NAME: _______________________________________________
TARGET BUYER: _____________________________________________
PROBLEM SOLVED: ___________________________________________
DELIVERABLES:
1. ____________________________________________________
2. ____________________________________________________
3. ____________________________________________________
TIMELINE: _________________________________________________
PRICE: ____________________________________________________
GUARANTEE: ________________________________________________
IDEAL NEXT STEP (upsell): _________________________________
Step 4: Positioning Statement
Fill in the blanks:
I help [TARGET AUDIENCE] achieve [SPECIFIC OUTCOME] through [YOUR METHOD/APPROACH], without [COMMON PAIN POINT THEY WANT TO AVOID].
Anti-patterns:
- "I help everyone" — too broad, you help no one
- "I do everything" — no positioning, no premium pricing
- Missing the "without" — you need to name the pain you remove
- No specific outcome — "grow their business" means nothing
Offer Scoring Rubric
+-------------------------+---+---+---+---+---+
| Criterion | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
+-------------------------+---+---+---+---+---+
| Clear target buyer | | | | | |
| Specific outcome | | | | | |
| Defined deliverables | | | | | |
| Pricing justified | | | | | |
| Has a guarantee | | | | | |
| Leads to next offer | | | | | |
| Can explain in 1 sentence| | | | | |
+-------------------------+---+---+---+---+---+
TOTAL: ___/35
- 30-35: Ship it
- 22-29: Needs tightening — sharpen the weakest area
- 15-21: Rethink fundamentals before launching
- Below 15: Start over with the expertise audit
Stage 2: Revenue Diversification (/solo:revenue)
Purpose
Build multiple income streams so no single client or product can sink your business.
Step 1: Revenue Stream Audit
List every way you currently earn money.
+-------------------+--------+----------+-----------+--------+-----------+
| Revenue Stream | Type | Monthly | Recurring | Active | % of Total|
| | A/P | Revenue | Y/N | Hours | Revenue |
+-------------------+--------+----------+-----------+--------+-----------+
| | | | | | |
+-------------------+--------+----------+-----------+--------+-----------+
Type: A = Active (requires your time), P = Passive (runs without you)
Red flags:
- Any single stream > 50% of revenue
- All streams are Active
- No recurring revenue
- Total hours > 40/week across all streams
Step 2: Revenue Mix Targets by Stage
YEAR 1 YEAR 2 YEAR 3+
Active services 70% 50% 30%
Productized service 20% 25% 25%
Digital products 10% 15% 20%
Passive/recurring 0% 10% 25%
Step 3: Stream Evaluation Scorecard
Score each potential new stream 1-5.
+-------------------+--------+--------+-------------+--------------+-------+
| Stream | Effort | Margin | Scalability | Predictabil. | Total |
| | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | 1-5 | /20 |
+-------------------+--------+--------+-------------+--------------+-------+
| | | | | | |
+-------------------+--------+--------+-------------+--------------+-------+
- 16-20: Build this next
- 12-15: Queue it for next quarter
- 8-11: Only if it complements existing streams
- Below 8: Skip
Effort scoring (inverted — lower effort = higher score):
- 5 = Set up once, earns forever (templates, affiliate)
- 4 = Monthly maintenance (membership, newsletter sponsorship)
- 3 = Batch work quarterly (course updates, content)
- 2 = Weekly time required (group coaching, retainers)
- 1 = Per-project, heavy time (1:1 services, custom work)
Step 4: Diversification Roadmap
QUARTER | NEW STREAM TO ADD | SETUP ACTIONS | TARGET MONTHLY $
--------+--------------------------+----------------------------+------------------
Q1 | | |
Q2 | | |
Q3 | | |
Q4 | | |
Anti-patterns:
- Adding 3+ streams at once — you will finish