217. Don't Skip This Step: The Secret To Building A Solo Business You'll Love

If you’re ready to create a business that supports your life instead of running it, this is the episode you need.

Carly and Joe dive into Step Zero of the Solopreneur Success Cycle: Defining Your Goals, and spoiler alert: it’s way deeper than “make money” or “gain freedom.”

You’ll learn how to uncover your true why, build goals that actually guide your decisions, and avoid creating a business you secretly resent. From toddler-style questioning to "change charts" and accountability hacks, this episode is your blueprint for building a business you actually like.

Whether you're dreaming, pivoting, or feeling stuck, press play before you plan another move.

Okay, this might be the craziest offer we’ve ever made. We’re giving away a solopreneur platform that normally costs five hundred dollars a year…For twenty-five bucks. And not for a month, not for a year… forever.

All you have to do is pre-order our new book: Solopreneur Business for Dummies.

When we first went solo, we thought we could just Google our way through it. But the advice out there?

It was built for startups with teams and money, not someone trying to do it all themselves. We kept thinking: “There’s gotta be a better way.”

So we made one. LifeStarr Premier is the system we wish we had back then: the tools, the strategy, the community, all in one place.

Go to book.lifestarr.com to lock it in.

This deal goes away when the book drops, October 6, 2025, and it’s not coming back.

Pre-order the book. Upload your receipt. You’re in. For good.

Episode Transcript

Carly Ries (00:00):
Before you build the business of your dreams, ask

(00:02):
yourself, why are you even doingthis? In this episode, we
continue our special seriesdiving into the solopreneur
success cycle, starting with theoften skipped but absolutely
necessary step zero, definingyour goals. Not the vague, more
freedom kind, but the crystalclear, why do you really want
this goals that guide everydecision you'll make. You'll

(00:22):
hear stories, practical tips,and a whole lot of real talk
about building a business thataligns with your life, not the
other way around. If you've everwondered how to say no with
confidence or avoid building abusiness you secretly resent,
this episode is your startingpodcast for those just taking
the bold step or even justthinking about taking that step

(00:45):
into the world of soloentrepreneurship.
My name is Carly Ries and mycohost Joe Rando and I are your
guides to navigating this crazybut awesome journey as a company
of one. We take pride in beingpart of LifeStarr, a digital hub
dedicated to all aspects ofsolopreneurship that has
empowered and educated countlesssolopreneurs looking to build a

(01:06):
business that resonates withtheir life's ambitions. We help
people work to live, not live towork. And if you're looking for
a get rich quick scheme, this isnot the show for you. So if
you're eager to gain valuableinsights from industry experts
on running a business the rightway the first time around or
want to learn from the misstepsof solopreneurs who've paved the
way before you, then stickaround.

(01:27):
We've got your back becauseflying solo in business doesn't
mean you're alone. Alright,listeners. You just heard me

(02:35):
talk about our crazy offer thatwe are giving in correlation
with our book launch in October,early October twenty twenty
five. And as part of the launch,we are doing a series kinda
discussing the solopreneursuccess cycle, which is what the
book is based on. We are notgiving away everything in the
book.
These episodes are quickoverviews. They'll still provide
value, so even if you don't buyit, which you should, you'll

(02:58):
still get something. But wedefinitely dive further into
these topics. In our lastepisode, we discussed the
solopreneur success cycle. Wekinda gave it an overview.
You can find it in our shownotes. But today we wanna dive
into what we call step zero. Andthat is the whole section on
defining your goals. I know whatyou're thinking. You're like,
well yeah, I have goals.

(03:19):
Well we all have goals on NewYear's Eve. And then we don't
stick to any of those goals.Obviously those goals are
important, but the biggest thingwhen it comes to goals is your
why. Because when you are flyinga solo business, you're gonna
take directions you don'tnecessarily wanna take. You're
gonna make decisions you don'tagree with, and then you

(03:39):
backtrack on.
It's just kinda you're all overthe place as a solopreneur. You
can be unless you have thatnorth star to drive all of your
decisions towards. And that isyour why, and that should be the
basis of all of your goals. Soif you're like, should I take
this offer? Well, does it alignwith my goal? Does it not align
with my goal? No. And as you'recreating these goals, you'll

(04:02):
start to understand the power ofno. And Joe, we talk about the
power of no frequently in ourepisodes, on our webinar, on our
live events, and everything.
But the more focused you can getin your goals, the more focused
you can be in all the decisionsand efforts you make with your
business, and you'll stopspinning your wheels because
that is something that we seesolopreneurs run into time and

(04:23):
time again. So when I say yourwhy, I don't mean, oh, because I
want time back in my day. I wantyou to get really, really
specific. I call it the toddlerrole, where you're like, why?
Why?
Why? And so you say, well why doI want more time back in my day?
Because I want to hit my fitnessgoals. Well why do you wanna hit

(04:44):
your fitness goals? Because Iwanna have enough energy to play
with my grandkids when I reachthat point.
Joe, you look like you're gonnasay something.

Joe Rando (04:52):
Well, just you and grandkids. Nah. No.

Carly Ries (04:55):
I mean, I'm trying to throw you into the
conversation too, Joe.
but why do you wanna play withyour grandkids? Because that
fills your cup. That brings youjoy, and that at the end of the
day is what everything is allabout.
Bingo. So when you are makingthese decisions, if the ultimate

(05:18):
decision you're making doesn'talign with you ultimately
playing with your grandkids,because you're in great shape,
and you're aligned with thatgoal that you set, I just lost
my train of thought. Buteverything needs to line up to
that decision. Joe, chime inhere.

Joe Rando (05:34):
Yeah. I totally agree with everything that you're
saying. The thing to keep inmind is that one of the risks of
not doing this is building abusiness you don't like running.
So as you're defining thebusiness later on in this
process, you're gonna be lookingat these goals and making sure.
So, you wanna get in bettershape so that you can play with

(05:54):
your grandkids. But if thebusiness you build involves a
lot of traveling, well, youknow, maybe you could get into
shape because there's, a gym inthe hotel, but, you know, you're
gonna be away from home and notbeing able to spend time with
the grandkids. So there's just,making this set of goals front

(06:17):
and center when you're definingwhat the business is gonna be
like is really important. I havebuilt businesses I don't like
running, and it's not fun. Youknow? It's less fun when they're
not successful.
But even when they'resuccessful,
I've seen a lot of people tryingto sell businesses, and they're
like, I've got, 2,000 members inmy online community, and it's

(06:37):
making this much revenue, butI'm just done. Because that's
not what they wanted. And sothat's really important to kind
of do that. And also, justanother thing I wanna point out
is that it's really important tocreate goals that are realistic.
I might have a goal that my dogwon't bark during the podcast
recording.
You might have a goal that yourkids are quiet during the

(06:58):
podcast recording. Never gonnahappen. So don't make it a goal.
You know? You are gonna just befrustrated.
So, anyway, I don't know if youheard barking, but, anyway.

Carly Ries (07:09):
Should be timely like this episode, And them
barking and making a noiseduring this.

Joe Rando (07:14):
So just keep it real. The whole why thing is awesome.

Carly Ries (07:18):
Well, I think also the important thing for setting
goals, because this is a stepthat so many people miss. Or
they think about it, but theydon't put honest effort into it.
And our whole point is you, thisis step zero before you do
anything with your business.This includes planning. you need
to plan your goals.
You need to document your goals.And yeah, could be your north

(07:40):
star, but also you wanna trackyour progress. And your goals
may change. I would say writeyour goals down, your specific
goals down.
I mean, many of you have heardof SMART goals, and I feel like
we keep talking about parts ofthe acronym. But write those
goals down, put them somewherefront and center, and then track
your progress with them. Likeare your efforts reaching those

(08:02):
goals? And we like to call it achange chart where you can see
where you started, and see whereyou're going and see if your
goals are still aligned. It'sokay if your goals change over
time, but you need to be able tosee where you stand with them as
you create your business.
So I would say frequent checkins. I think monthly to check-in
on these goals. That depends onyour business, sure. But just

(08:23):
have honest conversations withyourself. And the other thing
is, we've talked to so manysolopreneurs and their goals are
financial. I mean in one way oranother. It's I wanna make x
amount of dollars, or I wannapay off my mortgage, or I wanna
save for my kids' college, whichlooks great. Like, obviously

Joe Rando (08:39):
You need financial goals. Yeah. Definitely.

Carly Ries (08:40):
This is a business. You need to support your
lifestyle. But you forget tosay, I have a goal of waking up
in the morning relaxed. Becauseso many people wake up with
their business and they're like,fire alarms are going off and
it's crazy. What are your goalsof how you feel?
What are your goals of how youspend your day? What are your

(09:01):
goals of who you surroundyourself with? really think
through your ideal lifestyle,and then think through how your
business relates to that. Sodon't forget other areas. I mean
we are so big on intertwiningyour life and your business,
don't let it take over. you wantto create a business that works

(09:22):
for you, not that you work forit. And think of those personal
goals as they relate to yourbusiness, and your business as
they relate to your personalgoals. And put a lot of time and
effort into it. it's actuallyfun. I love that phase of the
journey.

Joe Rando (09:36):
I'm assuming that anybody that's starting a one
person business, I mean, you'vedone it, great, but if you're
gonna start one, your life isn'texactly what you want. I mean,
if you had a perfect life rightnow, why would you change
something? So there's somethingyou want to have to be
different. And so the changechart is just writing down where
you are now in these variouscategories that are important to

(09:58):
you, and then where you wantthem to be when you've
successfully implemented thisone person business and made
these changes to your life.
And that's what you were talkingabout with the change chart,
it's a really powerful exerciseto do, and I highly recommend
it. the other thing I just wannapoint out because you kind of

(10:18):
said it, but accountability iscrucial to this because, you
know, if you don't hold yourselfaccountable to keep, maintaining
your goals, it's not gonnahappen. And the other thing is
that having other people aroundyou, to help keep you
accountable can be a reallypowerful tool toward sticking to

(10:40):
this because you know, we'resocial beings. And when we tell
somebody else we're doingsomething, then they go, how's
that going? You feel a lot morepressure than if it's just you.
And this is one of the thingsabout being solo. That it's
harder to be accountable becauseyou don't have a boss or
coworkers relying on you. You'rejust relying on yourself.

Carly Ries (11:00):
Accountability and reminders. So I'm not gonna show
my phone screen because, well, Idon't know if it'll come
through, but two, I havepersonal stuff on it that I
won't show. But my home screenincludes my goals. I have
pictures on there on my screenbecause we all look at our
phones a gazillion times a day.So every time I grab my phone,
my goals, there are eightpictures.

(11:22):
And it's different things thatI'm working towards. And if the
things that I'm presented withdon't align with those, it's
easier to say no. Which is myfull tie back to the beginning
of this episode.

Joe Rando (11:31):
Very good. Well done.

Carly Ries (11:34):
Thank you so so much for tuning in. Again, this is
part of a series that we'regoing through over the
solopreneur success cycle, so besure to tune in to the other
episodes. But in the meantime,please share this episode with a
friend, subscribe on yourfavorite podcast platform, leave
that five star review, and wewill see you next time on The
Aspiring Solopreneur. You may begoing solo in business, but that

(11:56):
doesn't mean you're alone. Infact, millions of people are in
your shoes, running a one personbusiness and 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 the
conversations atcommunity.lifestarr.com.