I’ve been learning how to play golf.
I have yet to set foot on an actual course, but at this point I’ve had about five lessons with Dave and have been to the driving range on my own about as many times.
Given how many friends play, not to mention the inevitable and ever-setting sun of my basketball playing days, golf seems like a reasonable next step.
So far, I’m liking it.
Although, as I have quickly learned, golf is like no sport I have ever been involved in.
The stance is unnatural. The ball doesn’t move. Nobody plays defense. There’s a lot of whispering.
Plus, whatever claims you may have to being strong, flexible, or in excellent aerobic shape – the building blocks upon which most sports are constructed – these traits appear to be more or less beside the point.
It took me a while to put my finger on it, but I finally realized what learning golf reminds me of – learning to work as a solo professional.
It’s a Different World
I began working for myself in 2000.
I was far from a superstar in my old company, but I was in charge of this and that, had a staff and budget at my disposal, and had been around for a while.
I thought, “How hard could this working for yourself thing be?”
As it turned out, it wasn’t that it was harder … it’s that it was different. Completely and totally different.
Like learning to play golf, little of what I had absorbed in my years playing the “sport” of employee had anything to do with succeeding in this new world.
So, under the heading of “What I know now that I wish I knew then,” I share with you three insights…
#1. Branding is a Distraction
Most companies of size spend a lot of time developing “brand elements” – things like logos, taglines, typography, imagery, and the company name itself.
Those things matter when your customer acquisition is highly dependent on advertising and you’ve got lots of people on board who need to at least appear to share a common vision.
You and I, on the other hand, have ourselves – we are the brand. So while the way in which we present ourselves matters a lot, the other things really don’t.
Of course, you don’t want to appear sloppy or unprofessional. But asking one more person to weigh in on the wording of your tagline is wasting precious time. Decide on something and move on.
#2. Effort is Not Rewarded
In most companies, in most roles, it’s pretty hard to measure individual contribution; it’s a team sport with few reliable player stats. So they give you a salary and hope for the best.
As an employee living within that squishy soup of uncertainty, it makes sense that to boost your stature, you should do things that seem to correlate with having an impact: getting started early in the day, speaking up in meetings, volunteering for projects, being available after hours, etc.
Your clients, as it turns out, don’t much care about how hard you work.
Yes, if you bill by the hour, time and compensation are connected. But that’s really just a convenient way to keep track of things and stay within scope.
And even then, it’s not the hours that clients are buying. It’s whatever result you promised.
The good news is that if you can figure out how to provide a high quality whatever, whether that’s painting someone’s house or building their web site, you are free to work how, where, and in whatever way you like at whatever pace you prefer.
Try to focus on the outcomes, not the performance.
#3. It Starts and Ends With Money
I overstated that just to get your attention.
Because I know, you probably didn’t go into business for yourself just for the money. Me neither.
But … if you can’t figure out a way to earn a reasonable living doing whatever it is you want to do, it’s game over. You’ll need to go get a job and the world will be forever robbed of whatever more worthwhile contribution you had hoped to make.
All of which means your number one focus has to always – I said always – be on finding a continual stream of people who will pay you money to provide your product or service. Everything else is secondary.
I know, it seems kind of obvious.
But when I left my job all those years ago to work on my own, it honestly didn’t occur to me that getting clients would be an important activity, let alone the most important one.
After all, up until that point, the work just showed up on my desk every morning.
Here’s the bottom line.
A lot of this comes down to time – when you’re a solo or an otherwise tiny firm, you just don’t have a lot of it. So we need to pay close attention to what really matters (and try to avoid the rest).
And if you are new to all this, try not to be too influenced by what may have worked before. You are playing a different game.
Fortunately, as my golfing buddies have promised me, you just have to keep practicing.
Discussion Questions:
- What’s the most difficult sport you’ve ever tried to learn?
- Have you ever been within the squishy soup of uncertainty? Give examples.
- What lessons have you learned in working for yourself?
Share your answers below…
As a solo-practice statistician/researcher, I have learned that clients’ propensity to get me referral business is very unpredictable. It does not seem to relate strongly to
*how well I thought I performed for them;
*how well the results I generated matched their expectations or hopes;
*how positively they reacted to my work; or
*whether they rehired me.
Getting more referrals, then, seems to be a matter mostly of getting more clients.
That makes sense. And yes, it can feel very random.
(1) Every sport I’ve tried. I’m a left handed uncoordinated klutz, and was always the last chosen for a team. That prepped me well for life’s inevitable disappointments, but made me appreciate the small victories. .
(2) Each time I changed jobs, including starting a solo engineering practice (OK, with a partner) 37 years ago. One thing that prepped me well was 10 years as a sales engineer, where results are visible. Nobody cares how hard you worked — just make your numbers. Almost like being on your own.
(3) As a business mentor once said, “If you don’t have customers, you don’t have a business.” It is all about attracting the business (no, the won’t beat a path to your door) and then delivering the results.
But have fun. My business mantra has long been “Do some good — have some fun — make some MONEY!” My solo years have been a blast. So much better than my previous life as a corporate rat.
You have always been a great example of the fun part, Daryl!
My hardest sport to learn? Tennis hands down
I’ve been in many times of squishy uncertainties
1.not knowing how a writing course would turn out after joining
2. Not knowing how a person’s reaction would be
What lessons have I’ve learned from working for myself? Not there yet, almost
I have not played much tennis!
Michael, Look I’ve warned you before about sending me a newsletter that makes me think. Clearly I need a more effective restraining order.
Here’s what you got me thinking about… and (your fault) it’s from a marketer… a Harvard Marketing Prof no less… Theodore (call me Ted) Levitt. His “Marketing Myopia” was published in July 1960, and getting a copy is still behind HBR’s paywall. That’s how seminal it is.
Essentially he says that there’s a powerful, yet subtle, difference in making your business successful by understanding the distinction between “what is it that you do?” and “what business are you in?” The first bit is from your perspective, while the second bit is from the customer’s perspective. Clearly our blind-spot is that we focus on “what we do” and tell everyone how clever we are.
This distinction is best shown by Charles Revson (Revlon Cosmetics fame) who said, “In the factory we make cosmetics; in the stores we sell hope.”
OK. Let this be your last warning.
Warning noted! In the future, I will do my best to send mindless fluff.
And thanks for pointing out that article and the overall concept. I have definitely found that having to build a business by getting clients has a way of focusing your attention on what matters in a way that “doing a good job” as an employee never really did!
Hey Michael, Hot enough for you?
I can’t tell you how many of my early years in business were spent telling anyone who would “listen” how clever I (and my offerings) was/were.
It wasn’t until I took Ted to heart and started asking myself “what business am I… and by extension, my target clients..in?
I knew I was onto something when I saw that their eyes didn’t glaze over….. “Have you ( I target Sales Managers) ever spent hours/days coaching a rep only to find that the next day (back on the job) that NOTHING CHANGED?
What business was I , and my Sales Managers, in? Yep… change.
I sell Medicare insurance, well today I mostly maintain the business that started years ago. 90% of it is in Oregon, which I left for Idaho in 2017. When you recognize good customers just keep doing what you’ve always done, answer their questions, find the best priced coverage and offer to switch plans to save $20 or $30 a month. They get older every year and premiums go up, and so do commissions. But the principles you discuss are the same. Be personable, respect that senior, understand their issues, provide options and ask for their business. You are their expert. Empathize with their needs. That’s long term stability in a crazy world.
That sounds like a very solid approach!
Is getting business a sport? If so, it’s the hardest one yet! I have a nasty habit of putting all my eggs in one basket. When I’m full up on work it’s easy to forget that if I lose a big client it’s game over. It can be a lonely world when you’re a freelance, so it’s great to share what we havve in common
And a contact sport at that!