It's Just Me.

The way to be both small and strong is to scale influence, not size.

1. Don’t be busy.

Growing your business by working 20% longer is not growth. That is called working longer and harder.

2. Big Ideas are cheap.

Small ideas are expensive. They keep you busy for little in return. And as you are so busy, they are mostly more small ideas. And so on. And so on. Remember, big ideas are often counter-intuitive, awkward and go against the popular way of
doing things.

3. Different beats better.

Trying to do the same as everyone else but a little better than your competition will take you all your hours, all your energy and all the money that you can throw at it. Remember, there is only you.

4. Be a skyscraper. Even if it’s just for a day.

Have a small footprint, but stand tall. Do a few great things, not many things ok. Work in sprints, pop your head up. Even if it’s just for a short while.

5. Say ‘No’ more than you Say ‘Yes’.

There is no lack of opportunities out there and if you are not careful, you can spread yourself too thin. Shallow work rarely produces your best work.

6. Prepare well. Spend more time here.

Say you had four weeks to pull a project off. Most people would spend one week working it out. And three weeks on making it look good. Flip that.

7. Don’t raise money.

Learn how to sell instead. Learn how to write. Learn how to tell your story. Learn how to build
a community. Have destiny in your hands. The time you will spend trying to raise money could be better spent learning how to sell.

8. Be early, and right.

Your job is to separate yourself from others. You are not here to do the same as others. Think of it like getting a seat on the train. If you get there early, you get to choose where you want to sit.

9. Don’t outsource to the cheapest.

You can’t do this alone. You tried that, remember? And look where that got you. It’s time to build a virtual team.

10. Don’t outsource, if...

No process defined, no point. Let’s admit this: We are the bottleneck in our company. Even in a company of one. And unless we articulate our process, we always will be. The aim of a defined process is to be less busy but more effective.

11. Commit to three hours a day of productive time.

While others are scrolling on Instagram, quietly build your business without distraction. Turn the WIFI off. Put the same music on repeat. And do this each day. Do it without fail.

12. Don’t do more unless you can do less.

Have you noticed how amazing humans are at adding complexity to their lives? And their businesses too? Remember, you are here to do great things, not many things.

13. Frugal buys freedom to choose.

One way to add stress to your life and your business is to build costs into your business that means you have to do work that pays the bills, not builds
a reputation.

14. Don’t be the firefly.

The firefly heads to the brightest light. And then when another even brighter light appears,
it heads towards that. Ignore the latest opportunities and stick to the plan.

15. Radical rest.

Most people who run a small business are putting in all the hours. They are working harder and longer, but with little to show for it. Counter-intuitively, if you learn to rest, you would be more successful.

16. No one tells you this. But it gets lonely at times.

When it’s just you, you do everything. You are C.E.O. - Chief Everything Officer. But somehow, you need to build some time to build
a community of fellow ‘It’s Just Me’s.

17. Understand the difference between marketing and selling.

When you chase demand, you are a slave to what people want. And people are fickle. Fashions come. And go. Become a demand creator. Do something people need, even if they didn’t know. Create less but create something with more meaning.

18. Why do people buy from you?

You have to know the answer to this. And you won’t have anything to worry about. But most people have not figured it out. Clarity will get what you want. The lack of clarity will keep you busy.

19. Yup, that sound like you.

Writing like you talk is a skill. Learn it. The more you can sound like you, the less you sound like anyone else. Be vulnerable. Be honest. But most of all, be you. Your community is here because you made them feel something. That keyboard in front of you is a connection device.
All you need to do is to rearrange
those 26 letters in the right order.

20. Wake up, then wake yourself up.

Prime yourself each morning. You want to arrive at your desk ready to do your best work. And that won’t happen unless you put yourself into a peak state. A morning routine is the best
way I know how to do that.

21. Enjoy the ride.

There will be good days. And tough days. But they are all your days. And, remember, you chose this path. You don’t have to do this.
You get to do to this. Some days need you to do more learning than others. That’s the deal.

22. Purpose matters.

Most ‘company of one’s’ don’t know why they are in business, and it shows. The energy required to get to build our company is directly proportional to how much it matters to you. Only commit to things that matter. That way, you will protect your energy for what matters most.

23. Be you.

Everyone is trying to be perfect. Everyone is trying to be something they aren’t. When everyone is doing the same thing, it no longer stands out. It does the opposite. It blends in. Perfection becomes the status quo. And then being your imperfect self stands out because no one is prepared to show their faults.

You know how to be you. You can’t fake it. You know your strengths. You know your weaknesses. You got this. You have the monopoly on being you.