June 10, 2025 • 26 mins
If you've ever felt like your to-do list is running you instead of the other way around, this episode is your reset button. Business coach Diane Helbig joins us to share real-world strategies for managing time, setting boundaries, and replacing pushy sales tactics with genuine relationship-building. From why smaller calendar blocks are a secret weapon to how to bounce back from setbacks without spiraling, Diane offers mindset shifts and actionable tips that every solopreneur needs to hear.
Being a solopreneur is awesome but it’s not easy. It's hard to get noticed. Most business advice is for bigger companies, and you're all alone...until now. LifeStarr Intro gives you free education, community, and tools to build a thriving one-person business. So, if you are lacking direction, having a hard time generating leads, or are having trouble keeping up with everything you have to do, or even just lonely running a company of one, be sure to check out LifeStarr Intro!
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Carly Ries (00:00):
If you've ever tried to do your taxes at 2AM while
(00:03):
responding to client emails,this episode is for you. Diane
Helbig joins us to tackle theeveryday chaos of
solopreneurship with real,actionable strategies. From
ditching old school salestactics and mastering time
blocks to turning anxiety intoproductivity. You'll laugh, nod
furiously, and probably schedulea room for opportunity break on
(00:25):
your calendar by the end of it.So don't miss this one.
It's like a TED talk and therapysession rolled into one for solo
business owners. You'relistening to the Aspiring
Solopreneur, the podcast forthose just taking the bold step
or even just thinking abouttaking that step into the world
of solo entrepreneurship. Myname is Carly Ries, and my
(00:46):
cohost, Joe Rando, and I areyour guides to navigating this
crazy but awesome journey as acompany of one. We take pride in
being part of LifeStarr, adigital hub dedicated to all
aspects of solopreneurship thathas empowered and educated
countless solopreneurs lookingto build a business that
resonates with their life'sambitions. We help people work
(01:07):
to live, not live to work.
And if you're looking for a getrich quick scheme, this is not
the show for you. So if you'reeager to gain valuable insights
from industry experts on runninga business the right way the
time around or want to learnfrom the missteps of
solopreneurs who've paved theway before you, then stick
around. We've got your backbecause flying solo in business
doesn't mean you're alone.Diane, we are so excited to have
(01:32):
you on the show today because weI feel like our lines of work
are just so similar. We try tohelp solopreneurs and small
businesses.
And in what we do day in and dayout, there are patterns that we
see solopreneurs face in intheir daily operations, their
marketing, whatever. So we kindof have a wide array of topics
(01:56):
that I wanna cover today, but Ithink they're the ones that
solopreneurs need to hear aboutthe most. So if it's okay with
you, we'll just dive right in.But welcome to the show.
Diane Helbig (02:04):
Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Carly Ries (02:07):
on that note, and talking about many, many topics,
one of the things solopreneursstruggle with is that they have
multiple roles. you are so goodabout putting systems and
processes in place for yourclients. what do you recommend
solopreneurs do to get those inplace to manage their business
efficiently and effectively?
Diane Helbig (02:27):
Yeah. It's such a great question, and this really
is one of the biggest thingsthat we all deal with as
solopreneurs. My suggestion isto figure out those things that
don't require you. So there arethings that need to be done in
the business but not necessarilyby you. And then take a look at
(02:51):
what sort of automation is outthere.
You're not gonna be able toautomate everything, but there
are a lot of things that you canput in place so that someone
else is or something else isdoing the lion's share of
whatever the function is,whatever the task is. And so you
look at those things and thenyou go looking for the resource.
(03:12):
And there are plenty ofresources out there these days.
Joe Rando (03:14):
I love that. you know, you're preaching to the
choir here. We totally agreewith that one. But, you know,
things like, sending an emailreply to a form submission or
something. It's so easy now tofind tools to do that for you.
If it's just a kind of a generalfollow-up, then you can
follow-up personally after. Butto get that quick response,
because you know, you're busydoing something and you wait
(03:37):
twenty four hours, that canreally reduce the engagement
rate. So those kinds of thingsare magic.
Diane Helbig (03:42):
And one of the things that I hear a lot is,
well, I have to check my email.Well, not unless you're a
neurosurgeon. You know, youdon't. I know we feel like we're
gonna miss something. But if youput an autoresponder on your
email that says, I got it.
(04:03):
Because that's really whatpeople wanna know, that it
didn't vanish into thin air.They just wanna be sure that you
got it. And if you say,currently working with clients,
just want you to know got youremail, I'll be responding,
whatever. Now they know what toexpect. It's setting the
expectation for the peopleyou're engaging with and using
(04:23):
folders and things so that youknow what's going where.
Joe Rando (04:27):
I love that auto response idea. That's great. You
only check emails at 10AM and3PM,
Carly Ries (04:34):
Yeah. Setting those boundaries. It's key.
Diane Helbig (04:37):
Setting boundaries. Right.
Carly Ries (04:39):
It's huge. And I'm so glad you said that because I
feel like that's a great way ofbuilding rapport with people and
building those relationships,which this is something else
that I love that you do. You'rebig on relationship building
over, like, traditional selling.And I was actually on a podcast
yesterday, and the guy was like,what do solopreneurs need to do
(05:00):
more of that they aren't? I'mlike, they get trapped in the
traditional selling tactics, thetraditional marketing tactics,
when really as a company of one,you need to focus on
relationship building.
So you are big on that too. Howcan solopreneurs kind of
cultivate genuine connectionsthat lead to business growth
instead of always be closing?
Diane Helbig (05:19):
they need to let go of the whole idea of selling.
Because we have been trainedthat selling means a certain
thing. And when we are focusedon selling, and I get it. We
need revenue. We you know, wehave bills to pay and all of
that.
But that puts us in a positionof desperation which is
(05:40):
detracting. It's not attracting.So if we just let go of this
whole idea of selling becauseselling doesn't work, and we
really focus on learning,getting to know the individual
across from us. Number one, wewill actually sell more. We will
(06:00):
sell more of the right things tothe right people and we will get
more meaningful referrals overtime.
So this is the way we build ourbusiness for the long haul
instead of the short quick game.
Joe Rando (06:17):
I love that. People think selling is this kind of
speaking skill, and it really isa listening skill.
Diane Helbig (06:24):
That's exactly right.
Carly Ries (06:27):
Yeah. Well, and then you just come off as, like,
genuinely helpful. I feel likethe connotation with something,
I have started to notice that itis changing. I don't think it's
the sleazy car salesman approachthat it used to be. And it's
funny because we've had somedoor to door salesmen come to
our house.
And I'm like, kudos to you forhoofing it and doing but man,
(06:51):
this is not how you sellanymore. I saw this reel on
Instagram, and it was like howboomers handle door to door
salesman, how millennials andhow Gen Zers is Gen Z below me?
And for millennials and GenZers, millennials like hide
under their couch when thedoorbell ring. And is gen z the
(07:11):
one just below me? I think so.
They just ignore it and continuedoing whatever. But that's just
not how people are sold to.
Joe Rando (07:18):
What were they selling, Carly?
Carly Ries (07:21):
Window Window replacement.
Joe Rando (07:24):
Window replacements.
Carly Ries (07:27):
Yeah. Like, no. Thank you. I don't wanna
interact this way.
Joe Rando (07:30):
Can't find that on the web, I guess.
Diane Helbig (07:34):
Or on the TV. Right. It's because this is how
they're trained. It is so bad,
My belief system is that youcan't really sell anything to
anybody. So we have to get ridof this idea of, Joe, as you've
said that, you know, it'stelling, it's talking, it's not.
People will buy from you whenthey trust you and when they
have a need. And so lately I'vebeen calling it the triad of
(08:00):
sales. Trouble, timing andtrust. they have to have the
trouble that you solve. Thetiming has to be right and they
have to trust you. And if thosethree things aren't there,
you're not gonna close a dealwith anybody.
Carly Ries (08:17):
I just went through a home remodel last year with
brand new windows. So I don'tneed it. Timing is off. And what
was your one? Trust.
Joe Rando (08:26):
Trust.
Carly Ries (08:26):
Trust. I don't know you.
Joe Rando (08:30):
You should have offered to clean your windows
for free, then maybe you'd trustthem
Diane Helbig (08:33):
Yeah.
Carly Ries (08:36):
If you're the ones cleaning my windows, that I will
do.
Joe Rando (08:38):
But the one question I have about the timing aspect
is that I have heard from somesmart people, and I'm referring
specifically to a guy named ChetHolmes, who was one of those
kind of old fashioned salesguys, but very smart, very
skilled, maybe, a littleprogressive for his time, which
(09:01):
was, you know, twenty years ago.But he had this whole concept
that he used to talk about thecore story, And how sometimes
with the right core story, youcan make people realize that the
timing is better than they wouldthink it was. You know? And I
remember him using the exampleof carpet cleaning.
And his core story for thisbusiness was educating people
(09:25):
that your carpets are actuallycleaning your air, but only till
the point where they get dirty.And there was like eighteen
months or something. But I said,it doesn't always work, but I
thought that was an interestingapproach to kind of thinking
through trying to overcome thetiming issue with certain kinds
of businesses.
Diane Helbig (09:42):
So I totally get that. I think what's key is that
before you decide to tell peoplethat, you have a bunch of
questions you need to ask sothat the door is open for you to
that. It's more of a response tosomething that they've said than
it is to you just, I've gotthese talking points that I need
(10:03):
to make sure I get out. And ifI'm good enough at it, you'll
get it, and you'll buy from me.It's just it you know, forget
it.
Joe Rando (10:10):
I've literally seen salespeople like, I have a
question, and they wouldliterally talk over me to get
their next point out. It's like,no. Don't do that.
Carly Ries (10:19):
You guys, I'm so happy that we're talking about
timing because just to kindapivot a little bit, time
management is another thing thatsolopreneurs struggle with
because they're selfaccountable. a lot of times you
will need those external, peopleand accountability partners to
get done. So how can, in youropinion, Diane, how can
solopreneurs structure their dayto maximize productivity without
(10:42):
burning out because it's so easyto do?
Diane Helbig (10:45):
Yeah. And I experienced this when I started
my business, my CPA had said tome, being a business owner means
you can work any twelve hoursyou want to. End the day, right?
And I believed it and I waslike, yeah I've got all this
time. And then I realized Iwasn't being productive because
(11:07):
I kept thinking I've got time,right?
I can do it later. I've got tillI go to bed at night. And what I
learned was you still need tokeep most of your activity in a
regular work day. Part of thekey to that is figuring out when
(11:29):
you're on based on whatever youdo, when you should be doing
certain things. So some peopleare morning people.
Some people are afternoonpeople. Some people are evening
people. I totally get it. You'regonna be networking in the
evening. So I'm not talkingabout that.
I'm talking about thosefunctions that you have to get
done. You gotta figure out whereyou're putting them in the day,
(11:52):
and then you gotta hold to it,and you gotta take breaks. So
you sort of have to pretend likeyou're working for someone else.
Right? I had to learn to take alunch break because I would sit
at my desk all day long.
You lose productivity when youdo that. The other thing I would
(12:13):
say is I do this thing calledsiloing where I have like three
initiatives at most. And I havesilos where I put my the things
that I need to get done for eachof those in their own silo. So I
can just look at it and say,this is something I need to
(12:34):
accomplish. And then the key isthen I transfer it to the
calendar.
This is something thatsolopreneurs do not do very well
in my experience. They don't putthese functions on the calendar.
There's a variety of reasonswhy. But if you don't put it on
the calendar, you're not gonnaget it done until you absolutely
have to, and then it's probablygonna be an all night, you know,
(12:57):
it's cramming for a test kind ofthing.
Joe Rando (12:59):
Question. Just to clarify . So when you talk about
putting these things on thecalendar, you're talking about,
like, recurring kinds of tasks,like balancing the checkbook or
sending out invoices, Or are youtalking about project based
things?
Diane Helbig (13:13):
I'm talking about both.
Joe Rando (13:15):
Okay. Now how far out do you go with the project based
things?
Diane Helbig (13:19):
Well, okay. I believe that projects are
linear. And so you put thecouple of steps on your calendar
and then once you've hit them,it sort of informs the next
couple of steps. So then you'llput those there. what I tell my
clients is take your calendarand put in all of the things
(13:42):
that you already have scheduled.
Like those meetings that aremonthly or those meetings that
are weekly, whatever it is. Putall these things on there,
whatever these appointments are.And then there's white space.
And there better be white space.And in that white space, some
people there isn't.
That's all of the problem. Inthat white space, just put half
(14:04):
hour blocks. Because the otherthing people do is they say,
This is a huge project. I needto block out a day or I need to
block out two hours. And thenthat time comes and they say, I
can't afford two hours.
I can't afford a day. So theydon't do the thing, right? If
you break that thing downbecause every big thing is
(14:25):
individual steps. If you breakit down into those little
individual steps and you say,you know what? Just for a half
an hour on Tuesday morning, I'mgonna work on this.
And I'll see how far I get, andthen I'll plug in the next one.
If we can get ourselves into ahabit like that, what we
realize, two things happen. One,we're actually checking things
off, and it's motivating becausewe are actually accomplishing
(14:49):
these things and getting themdone. So we're more likely to
continue that process.
Joe Rando (14:52):
What I love about that is that next step thinking.
Because that's what holds up alot of projects is people aren't
thinking, what's the next thingthat has to happen to move this
forward? And if you just breakit into a small step like that,
and maybe it's a half an hour,maybe it's forty five minutes,
maybe it's ten minutes. Boom.You know, you take a step
forward, and now you've gotmomentum.
Carly Ries (15:11):
Yeah. Can I tell you a trick that my husband uses to
trick me that I think is helpfulfor those breaks and that white
space? So I am one of thosepeople that if I see I have
thirty minutes, oh, I can plugthis in. I can figure it out? My
calendar looks ridiculousbecause of this.
And so about a year ago, Istarted seeing time blocks on my
(15:33):
calendar that says room foropportunity. And my husband's
like, now you have somethingscheduled that you have to stick
to on your calendar and you'renot allowed to plan anything.
And it's just that breather thatI need. He's put it on our
family calendar. Just be like,cool your jets.
Don't touch your computer. It'son the calendar so you have to
(15:56):
stick with it. It must trick mybrain because I feel like, oh, I
do have time there, but reallydon't. And if you over schedule,
you wind up having things comeup that you can't avoid, and now
you're like, oh, my whole day'sshot. And it's like if you leave
room for those things to justcome up, somebody has a problem
or, the dog needs to go to thevet because he ate something
(16:20):
stupid like it's not like thewhole day is destroyed.
Diane Helbig (16:26):
Exactly right. And when you have smaller blocks,
it's easier to reschedule them.So in the event something like
that happens, like I have twoadult kids. Even though they're
adults, I cannot tell you howmany times I have gotten that
emergency call where I've had todrop everything and go. I don't
get all up in my head about itbecause whatever I had scheduled
(16:49):
is so small that it's easy tomove.
So I still feel like I'm incontrol. Right? I mean that's
really what we're looking for isnot feeling like our day is
running us, but we're runningour day.
Joe Rando (17:03):
No. I'm just like, I'm really psyched because, you
know, we've been doing thisprobably how many 100 and
something episodes, Carly?Almost at 200 episodes. And that
is a point nobody has ever madebefore of of time blocking in
smaller quantities to make iteasier to juggle when something
comes up. That's that is a newconcept for me.
(17:24):
I love getting new ideas. Thankyou.
Carly Ries (17:27):
At the end of the day, this is all kind of a
mindset shift. Like, yeah, we'retalking about calendar blocking,
but it's also that we can kindof reframe our minds, if we're
being honest. So that's anotherbig thing that solopreneurs
struggle with. why do you thinksome mental shifts are, that
solopreneurs can make to thrivein their businesses? Aside from
(17:48):
this time management thing, whatelse can they be doing?
Diane Helbig (17:51):
So one of the biggest mindset shifts is about
selling, which we've talkedabout. I mean, you just you have
to let it go. it's a terriblething. Another one is that they
have to have all the answers.They already need to know the
answers to questions thathaven't even presented
themselves yet.
(18:12):
The truth is no one has all theanswers ever. And that's not
your job. But your job is toidentify the question and go
find the answer. Like a lot ofpeople, it's not really that
their ego is in the way, it'sthat they have this mindset,
this belief system that, youknow, I'm a business owner and
(18:34):
therefore. Well, no. you can'tpossibly have experienced
everything in the world andstuff's gonna happen. And so
it's really a matter of beingflexible with that and being
curious, right? Being morecurious than rigid. So you know,
(18:54):
that would be something. Andhere's another big one.
Feeling like they can't let goof functions because it's going
to make them vulnerable. Becausethe truth is the exact opposite.
You are vulnerable if you do nothave layers, if you do not have
some sort of depth, if you donot have things in writing, if
(19:18):
you do not have other people whoyou can hand VAs, you know, hand
off stuff to so that you canfocus on what a lot of people
call your zone of genius. Youknow, the thing that only you
can bring to the business. Thenyou're vulnerable.
It's not the other way around.
Joe Rando (19:39):
You get sick and now not only can you not produce,
you can't even send invoices,you can't, you know, it's so
important. I totally agree. Ilove it.
Carly Ries (19:50):
Joe is fresh off of like a ten day stint of having
the cold of the year.
Joe Rando (19:54):
Yeah. Was more than a cold. you know, colds don't
usually get me horizontal forthat long, but I have a great
group of people I work with, youknow, solopreneurs and, other
companies that help me withcertain aspects of the business.
And yeah, a few things sloweddown, but it didn't end.
Carly Ries (20:14):
Right. With a little engine I could, this kept going.
It's big Maybe you can. So that,I mean, all of those are such
wonderful points.
And people can do their best tothe mental resilience and change
how they think about everything.But, like we were just talking
about, that's all great, butevery solopreneur faces
(20:39):
setbacks. And as great as theyare mentally, those setbacks,
whether it's being sick, we werejust talking about, or slow lead
gen funnel, or they've havingthey're having to dip into their
sales. Like those are reallyhard, that's really hard to
bounce back from. So how do youadvise people handle those
setbacks, whether they'refinancial or something else, to
(21:01):
continue their little enginethat could business journey?
Diane Helbig (21:06):
So I guess it's a twofold thing. One, don't think
of them as setbacks, think ofthem as opportunities because
stuff happens, know. And there'sthat saying, it's not what
happens to you that matters,it's what you do with what
happens to you that matters. Sothe great thing is we have
(21:27):
choice and we get to decide howwe're gonna deal with these
things. The other thing is this,take action.
Take some sort of action.Because I learned from a
psychologist years ago that whenwe're anxious, we're in the
future, but when we're takingaction, we're in the present. So
you can't be anxious if you'retaking action. I can tell you
(21:52):
firsthand knowledge, if I wakeup in the middle of the night
and my brain starts going and Istart thinking about holy cow,
you know, have a client who'sdone or two clients or you know,
whatever it is, I get up. And Imean this is the other good
thing about being a solopreneur,I can go back to bed, right?
(22:14):
But I get up and I do somethingin my business. I write an
article, I Google something. Icreate a plan of action. I do
something forward moving in mybusiness because it's that
activity that generates moreactivity in your business.
Carly Ries (22:37):
And can I just add to that? Like, that doesn't mean
you have to go write yourbusiness plan. That could be as
easy as listening to a podcast.Sure. It's relevant to your
business.
You said you Google stuff, butit could just be something to,
okay, I'm educating myselfbecause continuous learning is
so important. Just those littlethings. You don't need to go
write your next marketingstrategy. You could write a to
(22:59):
do list.
Diane Helbig (22:59):
I mean, literally, you could just, here's what I'm
gonna do in the morning orhere are some things I wanna
whatever. It's doing the dump.It's getting that stuff out of
your head. But it's also, fromwhat I've learned, it has to be
something that is moving yourbusiness forward.
You know, you're not gonna makephone calls, you're not gonna
(23:20):
send emails, whatever. And onceagain, there are tools. I can
send emails in the middle of thenight because I can use
something like Boomerang thatwon't actually send it until the
morning. Right? So I can goahead and do all of that and get
it out and be done.
And then you feelaccomplishment, and you feel
like you are doing somethingpositive in the face of
(23:44):
something negative.
Carly Ries (23:47):
Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Diane, you just you
have so many nuggets of wisdom,and I just love that we've
covered a variety of topicsbecause that is the day of a
solopreneur. Like, one momentyou're focusing on time
management, the next you'retalking about sales, and this
and that. Then you're waking upat 2AM like we're kind of
talking through the life of asoul of work where you're just
(24:07):
bouncing all over the place.
So, no pressure for, this lasttidbit that I wanna ask you, but
if you could give one piece ofadvice to someone considering
this crazy world, crazy awesomeworld of solopreneurship, what
would that one piece of advicebe?
Diane Helbig (24:25):
I think it would be embrace the idea that you can
do anything you want, you justcan't do it all at the same
time.
Joe Rando (24:33):
That one hit me hard. I can tell. Where were you last
year? Or twenty years ago?
Carly Ries (24:43):
Well, if that's your, parting wisdom, what is
your favorite quote aboutsuccess? Now I'm intrigued by
that.
Diane Helbig (24:50):
Okay. it'll be interesting to see what you
think of this. So I would say myfavorite is, because I think it
speaks to all of these things,is wealth like happiness is not
achieved when sought afterdirectly. It is a byproduct of
providing a valuable service.Henry Ford.
Carly Ries (25:08):
He has such good quotes.
Diane Helbig (25:10):
Oh I know. Tons of them. But that one totally
resonates with me. Because itspeaks to this whole don't go
after the sale, build therelationship, get to know
people, be curious, be good atwhat you do, provide something
of value because that the moneywill come.
(25:30):
But if you focus on the money,it'll never come. So shift.
Carly Ries (25:33):
Well, Diane, you are just a source of a great source
of knowledge. Where can peoplefind you if they wanna learn
more about you?
Diane Helbig (25:41):
Sure. The easiest thing is just to go to my
website, helbigenterprises.com.
Joe Rando (25:46):
So that's helbigenterprises.com.
Carly Ries (25:49):
And that will be in the show notes. Well, Diane,
thank you so so much for comingon today. we've been
anticipating this conversationand I'm so happy we made it
happen.
Diane Helbig (25:59):
You too.
Carly Ries (25:59):
And it was wonderful. So thank you.
Diane Helbig (26:01):
Thank you.
Carly Ries (26:02):
And listeners, thank you so much for tuning in today.
As always, leave that five starreview. We would really love it
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And we will see you next time onThe Aspiring Solopreneur. You
may be going solo in business,but that doesn't mean you're
(26:23):
alone. In fact, millions ofpeople are in your shoes,
running a one person businessand figuring it out as they go.
So why not connect with them andlearn from each other's
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.
Be sure to join in on theconversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
If you've ever tried to do your taxes at 2AM while
(00:03):
responding to client emails,this episode is for you. Diane
Helbig joins us to tackle theeveryday chaos of
solopreneurship with real,actionable strategies. From
ditching old school salestactics and mastering time
blocks to turning anxiety intoproductivity. You'll laugh, nod
furiously, and probably schedulea room for opportunity break on
(00:25):
your calendar by the end of it.So don't miss this one.
It's like a TED talk and therapysession rolled into one for solo
business owners. You'relistening to the Aspiring
Solopreneur, the podcast forthose just taking the bold step
or even just thinking abouttaking that step into the world
of solo entrepreneurship. Myname is Carly Ries, and my
(00:46):
cohost, Joe Rando, and I areyour guides to navigating this
crazy but awesome journey as acompany of one. We take pride in
being part of LifeStarr, adigital hub dedicated to all
aspects of solopreneurship thathas empowered and educated
countless solopreneurs lookingto build a business that
resonates with their life'sambitions. We help people work
(01:07):
to live, not live to work.
And if you're looking for a getrich quick scheme, this is not
the show for you. So if you'reeager to gain valuable insights
from industry experts on runninga business the right way the
time around or want to learnfrom the missteps of
solopreneurs who've paved theway before you, then stick
around. We've got your backbecause flying solo in business
doesn't mean you're alone.Diane, we are so excited to have
(01:32):
you on the show today because weI feel like our lines of work
are just so similar. We try tohelp solopreneurs and small
businesses.
And in what we do day in and dayout, there are patterns that we
see solopreneurs face in intheir daily operations, their
marketing, whatever. So we kindof have a wide array of topics
(01:56):
that I wanna cover today, but Ithink they're the ones that
solopreneurs need to hear aboutthe most. So if it's okay with
you, we'll just dive right in.But welcome to the show.
Diane Helbig (02:04):
Thanks for having me. I'm excited to be here.
Carly Ries (02:07):
on that note, and talking about many, many topics,
one of the things solopreneursstruggle with is that they have
multiple roles. you are so goodabout putting systems and
processes in place for yourclients. what do you recommend
solopreneurs do to get those inplace to manage their business
efficiently and effectively?
Diane Helbig (02:27):
Yeah. It's such a great question, and this really
is one of the biggest thingsthat we all deal with as
solopreneurs. My suggestion isto figure out those things that
don't require you. So there arethings that need to be done in
the business but not necessarilyby you. And then take a look at
(02:51):
what sort of automation is outthere.
You're not gonna be able toautomate everything, but there
are a lot of things that you canput in place so that someone
else is or something else isdoing the lion's share of
whatever the function is,whatever the task is. And so you
look at those things and thenyou go looking for the resource.
(03:12):
And there are plenty ofresources out there these days.
Joe Rando (03:14):
I love that. you know, you're preaching to the
choir here. We totally agreewith that one. But, you know,
things like, sending an emailreply to a form submission or
something. It's so easy now tofind tools to do that for you.
If it's just a kind of a generalfollow-up, then you can
follow-up personally after. Butto get that quick response,
because you know, you're busydoing something and you wait
(03:37):
twenty four hours, that canreally reduce the engagement
rate. So those kinds of thingsare magic.
Diane Helbig (03:42):
And one of the things that I hear a lot is,
well, I have to check my email.Well, not unless you're a
neurosurgeon. You know, youdon't. I know we feel like we're
gonna miss something. But if youput an autoresponder on your
email that says, I got it.
(04:03):
Because that's really whatpeople wanna know, that it
didn't vanish into thin air.They just wanna be sure that you
got it. And if you say,currently working with clients,
just want you to know got youremail, I'll be responding,
whatever. Now they know what toexpect. It's setting the
expectation for the peopleyou're engaging with and using
(04:23):
folders and things so that youknow what's going where.
Joe Rando (04:27):
I love that auto response idea. That's great. You
only check emails at 10AM and3PM,
Carly Ries (04:34):
Yeah. Setting those boundaries. It's key.
Diane Helbig (04:37):
Setting boundaries. Right.
Carly Ries (04:39):
It's huge. And I'm so glad you said that because I
feel like that's a great way ofbuilding rapport with people and
building those relationships,which this is something else
that I love that you do. You'rebig on relationship building
over, like, traditional selling.And I was actually on a podcast
yesterday, and the guy was like,what do solopreneurs need to do
(05:00):
more of that they aren't? I'mlike, they get trapped in the
traditional selling tactics, thetraditional marketing tactics,
when really as a company of one,you need to focus on
relationship building.
So you are big on that too. Howcan solopreneurs kind of
cultivate genuine connectionsthat lead to business growth
instead of always be closing?
Diane Helbig (05:19):
they need to let go of the whole idea of selling.
Because we have been trainedthat selling means a certain
thing. And when we are focusedon selling, and I get it. We
need revenue. We you know, wehave bills to pay and all of
that.
But that puts us in a positionof desperation which is
(05:40):
detracting. It's not attracting.So if we just let go of this
whole idea of selling becauseselling doesn't work, and we
really focus on learning,getting to know the individual
across from us. Number one, wewill actually sell more. We will
(06:00):
sell more of the right things tothe right people and we will get
more meaningful referrals overtime.
So this is the way we build ourbusiness for the long haul
instead of the short quick game.
Joe Rando (06:17):
I love that. People think selling is this kind of
speaking skill, and it really isa listening skill.
Diane Helbig (06:24):
That's exactly right.
Carly Ries (06:27):
Yeah. Well, and then you just come off as, like,
genuinely helpful. I feel likethe connotation with something,
I have started to notice that itis changing. I don't think it's
the sleazy car salesman approachthat it used to be. And it's
funny because we've had somedoor to door salesmen come to
our house.
And I'm like, kudos to you forhoofing it and doing but man,
(06:51):
this is not how you sellanymore. I saw this reel on
Instagram, and it was like howboomers handle door to door
salesman, how millennials andhow Gen Zers is Gen Z below me?
And for millennials and GenZers, millennials like hide
under their couch when thedoorbell ring. And is gen z the
(07:11):
one just below me? I think so.
They just ignore it and continuedoing whatever. But that's just
not how people are sold to.
Joe Rando (07:18):
What were they selling, Carly?
Carly Ries (07:21):
Window Window replacement.
Joe Rando (07:24):
Window replacements.
Carly Ries (07:27):
Yeah. Like, no. Thank you. I don't wanna
interact this way.
Joe Rando (07:30):
Can't find that on the web, I guess.
Diane Helbig (07:34):
Or on the TV. Right. It's because this is how
they're trained. It is so bad,
My belief system is that youcan't really sell anything to
anybody. So we have to get ridof this idea of, Joe, as you've
said that, you know, it'stelling, it's talking, it's not.
People will buy from you whenthey trust you and when they
have a need. And so lately I'vebeen calling it the triad of
(08:00):
sales. Trouble, timing andtrust. they have to have the
trouble that you solve. Thetiming has to be right and they
have to trust you. And if thosethree things aren't there,
you're not gonna close a dealwith anybody.
Carly Ries (08:17):
I just went through a home remodel last year with
brand new windows. So I don'tneed it. Timing is off. And what
was your one? Trust.
Joe Rando (08:26):
Trust.
Carly Ries (08:26):
Trust. I don't know you.
Joe Rando (08:30):
You should have offered to clean your windows
for free, then maybe you'd trustthem
Diane Helbig (08:33):
Yeah.
Carly Ries (08:36):
If you're the ones cleaning my windows, that I will
do.
Joe Rando (08:38):
But the one question I have about the timing aspect
is that I have heard from somesmart people, and I'm referring
specifically to a guy named ChetHolmes, who was one of those
kind of old fashioned salesguys, but very smart, very
skilled, maybe, a littleprogressive for his time, which
(09:01):
was, you know, twenty years ago.But he had this whole concept
that he used to talk about thecore story, And how sometimes
with the right core story, youcan make people realize that the
timing is better than they wouldthink it was. You know? And I
remember him using the exampleof carpet cleaning.
And his core story for thisbusiness was educating people
(09:25):
that your carpets are actuallycleaning your air, but only till
the point where they get dirty.And there was like eighteen
months or something. But I said,it doesn't always work, but I
thought that was an interestingapproach to kind of thinking
through trying to overcome thetiming issue with certain kinds
of businesses.
Diane Helbig (09:42):
So I totally get that. I think what's key is that
before you decide to tell peoplethat, you have a bunch of
questions you need to ask sothat the door is open for you to
that. It's more of a response tosomething that they've said than
it is to you just, I've gotthese talking points that I need
(10:03):
to make sure I get out. And ifI'm good enough at it, you'll
get it, and you'll buy from me.It's just it you know, forget
it.
Joe Rando (10:10):
I've literally seen salespeople like, I have a
question, and they wouldliterally talk over me to get
their next point out. It's like,no. Don't do that.
Carly Ries (10:19):
You guys, I'm so happy that we're talking about
timing because just to kindapivot a little bit, time
management is another thing thatsolopreneurs struggle with
because they're selfaccountable. a lot of times you
will need those external, peopleand accountability partners to
get done. So how can, in youropinion, Diane, how can
solopreneurs structure their dayto maximize productivity without
(10:42):
burning out because it's so easyto do?
Diane Helbig (10:45):
Yeah. And I experienced this when I started
my business, my CPA had said tome, being a business owner means
you can work any twelve hoursyou want to. End the day, right?
And I believed it and I waslike, yeah I've got all this
time. And then I realized Iwasn't being productive because
(11:07):
I kept thinking I've got time,right?
I can do it later. I've got tillI go to bed at night. And what I
learned was you still need tokeep most of your activity in a
regular work day. Part of thekey to that is figuring out when
(11:29):
you're on based on whatever youdo, when you should be doing
certain things. So some peopleare morning people.
Some people are afternoonpeople. Some people are evening
people. I totally get it. You'regonna be networking in the
evening. So I'm not talkingabout that.
I'm talking about thosefunctions that you have to get
done. You gotta figure out whereyou're putting them in the day,
(11:52):
and then you gotta hold to it,and you gotta take breaks. So
you sort of have to pretend likeyou're working for someone else.
Right? I had to learn to take alunch break because I would sit
at my desk all day long.
You lose productivity when youdo that. The other thing I would
(12:13):
say is I do this thing calledsiloing where I have like three
initiatives at most. And I havesilos where I put my the things
that I need to get done for eachof those in their own silo. So I
can just look at it and say,this is something I need to
(12:34):
accomplish. And then the key isthen I transfer it to the
calendar.
This is something thatsolopreneurs do not do very well
in my experience. They don't putthese functions on the calendar.
There's a variety of reasonswhy. But if you don't put it on
the calendar, you're not gonnaget it done until you absolutely
have to, and then it's probablygonna be an all night, you know,
(12:57):
it's cramming for a test kind ofthing.
Joe Rando (12:59):
Question. Just to clarify . So when you talk about
putting these things on thecalendar, you're talking about,
like, recurring kinds of tasks,like balancing the checkbook or
sending out invoices, Or are youtalking about project based
things?
Diane Helbig (13:13):
I'm talking about both.
Joe Rando (13:15):
Okay. Now how far out do you go with the project based
things?
Diane Helbig (13:19):
Well, okay. I believe that projects are
linear. And so you put thecouple of steps on your calendar
and then once you've hit them,it sort of informs the next
couple of steps. So then you'llput those there. what I tell my
clients is take your calendarand put in all of the things
(13:42):
that you already have scheduled.
Like those meetings that aremonthly or those meetings that
are weekly, whatever it is. Putall these things on there,
whatever these appointments are.And then there's white space.
And there better be white space.And in that white space, some
people there isn't.
That's all of the problem. Inthat white space, just put half
(14:04):
hour blocks. Because the otherthing people do is they say,
This is a huge project. I needto block out a day or I need to
block out two hours. And thenthat time comes and they say, I
can't afford two hours.
I can't afford a day. So theydon't do the thing, right? If
you break that thing downbecause every big thing is
(14:25):
individual steps. If you breakit down into those little
individual steps and you say,you know what? Just for a half
an hour on Tuesday morning, I'mgonna work on this.
And I'll see how far I get, andthen I'll plug in the next one.
If we can get ourselves into ahabit like that, what we
realize, two things happen. One,we're actually checking things
off, and it's motivating becausewe are actually accomplishing
(14:49):
these things and getting themdone. So we're more likely to
continue that process.
Joe Rando (14:52):
What I love about that is that next step thinking.
Because that's what holds up alot of projects is people aren't
thinking, what's the next thingthat has to happen to move this
forward? And if you just breakit into a small step like that,
and maybe it's a half an hour,maybe it's forty five minutes,
maybe it's ten minutes. Boom.You know, you take a step
forward, and now you've gotmomentum.
Carly Ries (15:11):
Yeah. Can I tell you a trick that my husband uses to
trick me that I think is helpfulfor those breaks and that white
space? So I am one of thosepeople that if I see I have
thirty minutes, oh, I can plugthis in. I can figure it out? My
calendar looks ridiculousbecause of this.
And so about a year ago, Istarted seeing time blocks on my
(15:33):
calendar that says room foropportunity. And my husband's
like, now you have somethingscheduled that you have to stick
to on your calendar and you'renot allowed to plan anything.
And it's just that breather thatI need. He's put it on our
family calendar. Just be like,cool your jets.
Don't touch your computer. It'son the calendar so you have to
(15:56):
stick with it. It must trick mybrain because I feel like, oh, I
do have time there, but reallydon't. And if you over schedule,
you wind up having things comeup that you can't avoid, and now
you're like, oh, my whole day'sshot. And it's like if you leave
room for those things to justcome up, somebody has a problem
or, the dog needs to go to thevet because he ate something
(16:20):
stupid like it's not like thewhole day is destroyed.
Diane Helbig (16:26):
Exactly right. And when you have smaller blocks,
it's easier to reschedule them.So in the event something like
that happens, like I have twoadult kids. Even though they're
adults, I cannot tell you howmany times I have gotten that
emergency call where I've had todrop everything and go. I don't
get all up in my head about itbecause whatever I had scheduled
(16:49):
is so small that it's easy tomove.
So I still feel like I'm incontrol. Right? I mean that's
really what we're looking for isnot feeling like our day is
running us, but we're runningour day.
Joe Rando (17:03):
No. I'm just like, I'm really psyched because, you
know, we've been doing thisprobably how many 100 and
something episodes, Carly?Almost at 200 episodes. And that
is a point nobody has ever madebefore of of time blocking in
smaller quantities to make iteasier to juggle when something
comes up. That's that is a newconcept for me.
(17:24):
I love getting new ideas. Thankyou.
Carly Ries (17:27):
At the end of the day, this is all kind of a
mindset shift. Like, yeah, we'retalking about calendar blocking,
but it's also that we can kindof reframe our minds, if we're
being honest. So that's anotherbig thing that solopreneurs
struggle with. why do you thinksome mental shifts are, that
solopreneurs can make to thrivein their businesses? Aside from
(17:48):
this time management thing, whatelse can they be doing?
Diane Helbig (17:51):
So one of the biggest mindset shifts is about
selling, which we've talkedabout. I mean, you just you have
to let it go. it's a terriblething. Another one is that they
have to have all the answers.They already need to know the
answers to questions thathaven't even presented
themselves yet.
(18:12):
The truth is no one has all theanswers ever. And that's not
your job. But your job is toidentify the question and go
find the answer. Like a lot ofpeople, it's not really that
their ego is in the way, it'sthat they have this mindset,
this belief system that, youknow, I'm a business owner and
(18:34):
therefore. Well, no. you can'tpossibly have experienced
everything in the world andstuff's gonna happen. And so
it's really a matter of beingflexible with that and being
curious, right? Being morecurious than rigid. So you know,
(18:54):
that would be something. Andhere's another big one.
Feeling like they can't let goof functions because it's going
to make them vulnerable. Becausethe truth is the exact opposite.
You are vulnerable if you do nothave layers, if you do not have
some sort of depth, if you donot have things in writing, if
(19:18):
you do not have other people whoyou can hand VAs, you know, hand
off stuff to so that you canfocus on what a lot of people
call your zone of genius. Youknow, the thing that only you
can bring to the business. Thenyou're vulnerable.
It's not the other way around.
Joe Rando (19:39):
You get sick and now not only can you not produce,
you can't even send invoices,you can't, you know, it's so
important. I totally agree. Ilove it.
Carly Ries (19:50):
Joe is fresh off of like a ten day stint of having
the cold of the year.
Joe Rando (19:54):
Yeah. Was more than a cold. you know, colds don't
usually get me horizontal forthat long, but I have a great
group of people I work with, youknow, solopreneurs and, other
companies that help me withcertain aspects of the business.
And yeah, a few things sloweddown, but it didn't end.
Carly Ries (20:14):
Right. With a little engine I could, this kept going.
It's big Maybe you can. So that,I mean, all of those are such
wonderful points.
And people can do their best tothe mental resilience and change
how they think about everything.But, like we were just talking
about, that's all great, butevery solopreneur faces
(20:39):
setbacks. And as great as theyare mentally, those setbacks,
whether it's being sick, we werejust talking about, or slow lead
gen funnel, or they've havingthey're having to dip into their
sales. Like those are reallyhard, that's really hard to
bounce back from. So how do youadvise people handle those
setbacks, whether they'refinancial or something else, to
(21:01):
continue their little enginethat could business journey?
Diane Helbig (21:06):
So I guess it's a twofold thing. One, don't think
of them as setbacks, think ofthem as opportunities because
stuff happens, know. And there'sthat saying, it's not what
happens to you that matters,it's what you do with what
happens to you that matters. Sothe great thing is we have
(21:27):
choice and we get to decide howwe're gonna deal with these
things. The other thing is this,take action.
Take some sort of action.Because I learned from a
psychologist years ago that whenwe're anxious, we're in the
future, but when we're takingaction, we're in the present. So
you can't be anxious if you'retaking action. I can tell you
(21:52):
firsthand knowledge, if I wakeup in the middle of the night
and my brain starts going and Istart thinking about holy cow,
you know, have a client who'sdone or two clients or you know,
whatever it is, I get up. And Imean this is the other good
thing about being a solopreneur,I can go back to bed, right?
(22:14):
But I get up and I do somethingin my business. I write an
article, I Google something. Icreate a plan of action. I do
something forward moving in mybusiness because it's that
activity that generates moreactivity in your business.
Carly Ries (22:37):
And can I just add to that? Like, that doesn't mean
you have to go write yourbusiness plan. That could be as
easy as listening to a podcast.Sure. It's relevant to your
business.
You said you Google stuff, butit could just be something to,
okay, I'm educating myselfbecause continuous learning is
so important. Just those littlethings. You don't need to go
write your next marketingstrategy. You could write a to
(22:59):
do list.
Diane Helbig (22:59):
I mean, literally, you could just, here's what I'm
gonna do in the morning orhere are some things I wanna
whatever. It's doing the dump.It's getting that stuff out of
your head. But it's also, fromwhat I've learned, it has to be
something that is moving yourbusiness forward.
You know, you're not gonna makephone calls, you're not gonna
(23:20):
send emails, whatever. And onceagain, there are tools. I can
send emails in the middle of thenight because I can use
something like Boomerang thatwon't actually send it until the
morning. Right? So I can goahead and do all of that and get
it out and be done.
And then you feelaccomplishment, and you feel
like you are doing somethingpositive in the face of
(23:44):
something negative.
Carly Ries (23:47):
Yeah. Oh, absolutely. Diane, you just you
have so many nuggets of wisdom,and I just love that we've
covered a variety of topicsbecause that is the day of a
solopreneur. Like, one momentyou're focusing on time
management, the next you'retalking about sales, and this
and that. Then you're waking upat 2AM like we're kind of
talking through the life of asoul of work where you're just
(24:07):
bouncing all over the place.
So, no pressure for, this lasttidbit that I wanna ask you, but
if you could give one piece ofadvice to someone considering
this crazy world, crazy awesomeworld of solopreneurship, what
would that one piece of advicebe?
Diane Helbig (24:25):
I think it would be embrace the idea that you can
do anything you want, you justcan't do it all at the same
time.
Joe Rando (24:33):
That one hit me hard. I can tell. Where were you last
year? Or twenty years ago?
Carly Ries (24:43):
Well, if that's your, parting wisdom, what is
your favorite quote aboutsuccess? Now I'm intrigued by
that.
Diane Helbig (24:50):
Okay. it'll be interesting to see what you
think of this. So I would say myfavorite is, because I think it
speaks to all of these things,is wealth like happiness is not
achieved when sought afterdirectly. It is a byproduct of
providing a valuable service.Henry Ford.
Carly Ries (25:08):
He has such good quotes.
Diane Helbig (25:10):
Oh I know. Tons of them. But that one totally
resonates with me. Because itspeaks to this whole don't go
after the sale, build therelationship, get to know
people, be curious, be good atwhat you do, provide something
of value because that the moneywill come.
(25:30):
But if you focus on the money,it'll never come. So shift.
Carly Ries (25:33):
Well, Diane, you are just a source of a great source
of knowledge. Where can peoplefind you if they wanna learn
more about you?
Diane Helbig (25:41):
Sure. The easiest thing is just to go to my
website, helbigenterprises.com.
Joe Rando (25:46):
So that's helbigenterprises.com.
Carly Ries (25:49):
And that will be in the show notes. Well, Diane,
thank you so so much for comingon today. we've been
anticipating this conversationand I'm so happy we made it
happen.
Diane Helbig (25:59):
You too.
Carly Ries (25:59):
And it was wonderful. So thank you.
Diane Helbig (26:01):
Thank you.
Carly Ries (26:02):
And listeners, thank you so much for tuning in today.
As always, leave that five starreview. We would really love it
if you would do that. Share thisepisode with a friend. Subscribe
on your favorite podcastplatform, including YouTube.
And we will see you next time onThe Aspiring Solopreneur. You
may be going solo in business,but that doesn't mean you're
(26:23):
alone. In fact, millions ofpeople are in your shoes,
running a one person businessand figuring it out as they go.
So why not connect with them andlearn from each other's
successes and failures? AtLifeStarr, we're creating a one
person business community whereyou can go to meet and get
advice from other solopreneurs.
Be sure to join in on theconversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
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