The Solo Grind
Welcome to the solo grind. Your weekly coffee break with a fellow solo entrepreneur who's right there in it with you. I am Teresa Schlup the original caffeine creative and this is where real business meets real life. No hype just honest conversations about building a business on your own terms. We talk mindset, strategy, burnout, breakthroughs, and everything in between because going solo doesn't mean doing it alone. Grab a cup of coffee, find your favorite spot, and let's talk about what it really takes to do this thing solo.
Episodes
I’m not going to lie… this was a tough one to record. I’ve loved every minute of the two years I’ve spent with you here on The Solo Grind, but as I share in today’s episode, it’s time for me to start a new season.
What started as a 10-episode experiment turned into something much bigger than I ever imagined. But a recent, simple question I asked ChatGPT made me realize I was accidentally sabotaging the business I rea...
I love today’s topic because it’s something I feel so strongly about: you can be driven and ambitious without sacrificing your life to the "hustle."
I see two common ideas of what it means to be successful in business, and honestly, I don't agree with either one of them. Whether it’s the "work yourself weary" hustle culture or the "two-hour workweek on a beach" fantasy, I think most...
Have you ever had a tiny little experiment completely shift the way you see your business? Because apparently I have.
Today, I am following up on the conversation we started last week about what AI is saying about you. What started as a whim... asking a brand new AI window one simple question... turned into a full blown realization that I was unintentionally sabotaging the direction of my business.
We are al...
A few weeks ago I decided to have a little fun at the end of a long workday and asked ChatGPT one simple question: "What can you tell me about Teresa Schlup?" I’ve Googled myself for years out of curiosity, so this felt like a natural progression. The results were fascinating! AI saw me not just as a web designer, but as a "translator" between a business and its audience.
It got me thinking... If ...
Last week, we talked about the cost of pretending and how sometimes we just have to "try things on for size" to find our true niche in the world. Well, this week, we have someone who has found her niche. She went from pretending to be "Positively Powerful" to living through the "Schmidts" in a very real, genuine, and authentic way. Her business has blossomed in more ways than you can im...
Today I’m getting real about a piece of advice we hear all the time in business: "fake it till you make it." Honestly? I hate that advice. After seeing a totally staged, AI-generated post on social media from an acquaintance, I started thinking about the high price we pay when we pretend to be someone we aren’t.
In this episode, I’m sharing my own journey of tossing out the "different hats" I felt...
Boundaries sound simple… until you actually start paying attention to how they show up in your day-to-day life.
In this episode, we’re playing a little game: Are you the boundary pusher… or the boundary eraser? Through real-life scenarios you’ll probably recognize immediately
We will be taking a closer look at the small, everyday moments where boundaries get tested, ignored, or quietly disappear. Some of these mi...
Have you ever experienced something that looked amazing… but didn’t actually work?
I have and today I am sharing a little behind the scenes of my trip to coast that sparked a bigger conversation about something I see all to often in business... Good ideas with good intentions, but poor execution.
I'm sharing everything from the beautiful design details, incredible cookies, and sketchy bathroom that made it ...
Have you ever caught yourself waiting for a "magic bean" or a "glass slipper" moment to finally catapult your business to the next level? I've been there, and even when it does happen it is never as great as we think it will be.
Today, I’m taking a trip down fairytale lane to look at how the stories we loved as kids, and the ones we still tell ourselves today, that might be messing with our b...
One of the things I hear the most from new potential clients is, "I just don't know that I... have enough... am enough... to have a good website." And from my seat at the computer looking in I see how much modesty is getting in the way of letting them shine!
Most of us are way better at what we do than we give ourselves credit for, and yet we sometimes still play small and hide waiting for "one d...
We often think of transformation as this magical moment when everything beautifully falls into place, but for me transformation is far from beautiful. It is messy, ugly and comes with lots of doubts and tears, and yet, I continue to seek out change because on the other side of that ugly transformation is always something better. If you are going through your own transformation or just thinking about it, today’s epis...
Do you have what it takes to make your dreams happen? This is a question a lot of us struggle with, when building our business, especially building a business solo. And we often hear well intentioned encouragement that says something like... "You can do anything you put your mind to."
That is sweet and kind of true, but it takes a lot more than will power to make this dream of running a business come true, ...
I recently had a fascinating conversation about the Hero's Journey by Joseph Campbell? It has been years since I really did anything with this, but I admit it is one of those concepts that has stuck with me. Just in case you haven’t heard about it, or need a refresher, it is a journey of struggle, triumph and transformation that we all go through. One where the hero overcomes incredible obstacles to become thi...
AI is not your employee, it is not your friend. It's the suck up ass kisser who will tell you whatever you want to hear, without ever looking at the real you.
Today I am here to encourage you to recognize that you are so much more amazing than your AI counterpart.
Only you can…
- Show the world the real you… that your dream clients love working with.
- Bring your knowledge, experience and intelligence into what...
How often do you stop to appreciate your brain? I know this wasn’t something I always thought of, but our brains are pretty remarkable. They help shape the people we become, store our knowledge and expertise, and come up with creative solutions when we are stuck. With all the things our brains do, why do we keep pushing them to deliver even more? Today we are going to give a little love to our overworked brains and ...
Boredom for me is a very dangerous thing! During times of boredom I have said yes to opportunities I regret, made commitments I dread, and started and invested tons of money into hobbies that were only mildly interesting. And as a solo business owner I have spent hours upon hours on busy work that did nothing… and I mean nothing… to actually build my business.
Just this morning I was feeling a little bored and rathe...
Looking at our competition is normal, it can even be healthy and a strategic way to grow your business. It can help you better understand shifts and changes in your industry, and inspire you to try new approaches or even new services.
But taking a look at the competition can be a slippery slope my friends, as I am sure you have already discovered for yourself. If we aren’t careful our strategic looksie into what the...
There are a lot of "rules" out there in the business world, and I am someone who liked to challenges the rules, when they don't make sense. Today I am sharing 3 Business Rules I decided to break that actually helped pave the way for my success in some really big ways.
What I hope you take away from today's episode...
- There really aren't that many "rules" for business we have to...
Joining me today is KJ Blattenbauer, a publicist with 30 years of experience, who has seen just about everything when it comes to visibility. KJ and I talk about why so many of us hide behind our screens, and she shares what it actually looks like to step into your expertise without feeling awkward or salesy.
What I hope you take away from today's episode...
- Visibility isn’t a “nice to have.” It’s an asset th...
Your business needs to evolve to carry the weight of business growth. Let's move from survival to sustainable and get your house in order.
Early on in our business there was this clear path to follow. It may not have felt clear, but looking back we can see there was a checklist of sorts to complete that put systems in place that would support us so we could officially say, “I am open for business.” Once that ch...
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