#478 Adriana Tica - Founder, Strategic AF

Episode 478 features Adriana Tica, Founder of Strategic AF, to share her in-depth State of Solopreneurship Report for 2025 and why it matters for your business in 2026.

Chapters: 

00:00 — Adriana returns + why solopreneur data matters 01:00 — Why she built the report (bad benchmarks + “MrBeast metrics”)

02:18 — Rapid Fire 1: fortune cookie message (unique like everyone else)

04:17 — Rapid Fire 2: her next “Just Get Started” (community in 2026)

07:15 — Rapid Fire 3: silencing the inner critic 0

9:43 — Rapid Fire 4: Perfectionism, delayed launches, typos, and the Pratt-Fall effect

12:00 — Rapid Fire 5: Do you learn more from wins or losses? (and the role of timing)

15:03 — The newsletter correlation: why top earners all have one

23:43 — LinkedIn drives revenue… but “owned channels” are the 2026 focus

26:14 — CTA strategy: reverse planning your content around offers

33:04 — Services as the cash cow + why products require massive trust/audience

36:36 — Revenue bragging vs profit reality (margins matter) 38:49 — The 2 biggest levers: owned channels + pick your business model

42:57 — Why you start with services, then productize from patterns

46:09 — Wrap-up + where to find Adriana

Solopreneurship can feel like you’re building in a vacuum until you realize you’ve been benchmarking your “pilot episode” against someone else’s “season three.” In this episode, Adriana Tica returns to break down her State of Solopreneurship Report. Why she built it (spoiler: rage), what the data actually says about making money as a solo operator, and the uncomfortable truth about chasing algorithms, “six-figure launches,” and creator-business hype.

What you’ll learn:

If you’re tired of marketing fluff and want real-world levers you can pull in 2026—this one’s for you.

• Why most solopreneur “benchmarks” are fake (and mentally expensive)

• The common thread among $500K–$1M+ solopreneurs (hint: newsletters)

• LinkedIn vs “owned channels” and how to stop renting your audience

• How to build CTAs that don’t feel gross (and actually convert)

• Services vs products: traffic game vs relationship game

• Why “7-figure business” talk is meaningless without margins
  

👋 Go connect with Adriana:

Website: https://adrianatica.com/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/adrianatica/

X: https://x.com/adriana_tica

Medium: https://medium.com/@adrianatica

Download Adriana’s State of Solopreneurship Report: (https://www.adrianatica.com/the-state-of-solopreneurship-report-is-here-anniversary-edition-saf-156)

👋Say Hi to your host, Brian!

Web: https://brianondrako.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianondrako/ 

Or, if you’re an early-stage B2B Founder, join the Sales Skills For Founders newsletter and learn to “un-suck” at sales, one newsletter at a time.

📨 https://salesskillsforfounders.beehiiv.com/subscribe