October 9, 2025 • 9 mins
So, you’ve got a business idea you’re excited about. But here’s the big question: does it actually work on paper, or will it drain your bank account before it takes off?
In this episode of The Aspiring Solopreneur, Carly and Joe break down how to test the feasibility of your business idea, spot potential deal-breaking showstoppers, and price your services with confidence (without letting imposter syndrome drag you down).
If you’re ready to stress-test your solo venture before you dive in headfirst, this one’s for you.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carly Ries (00:00):
Think your business idea will work just because
(00:01):
you're passionate about it?Well, you may need to think
again. In this episode of theAspiring Solopreneur, Joe and I
dive into the crucial step oftesting your idea's feasibility
before you sink your time,money, and sanity into it. From
spotting deal breakingshowstoppers early to setting
prices that reflect your valueout falling into the low cost
trap, we'll walk you through howto make sure your solo venture
(00:22):
works on paper and in the realworld. This is the episode to
listen to if you want to avoidcostly mistakes, get confident
about your pricing, and ensureyour business is actually set up
for success.
You're listening to the AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
anyone on the solo businessjourney, whether you're just
toying with the idea, takingyour first bold step, or have
(00:43):
been running your own show foryears and want to keep growing,
refining, and thriving. I'mCarly Ries, and along with my
cohost, Joe Rando, we're yourguides through the crazy but
awesome world of being a companyof one. As part of LifeStarr, a
digital hub dedicated to allthings solopreneurship, we help
people design businesses thatalign with their life's
(01:03):
ambitions so they can work tolive, not live to work. If
you're looking for a get richquick scheme, this is not the
place for you. But if you wantreal world insights from
industry experts, lessons fromthe successes and stumbles of
fellow solopreneurs, andpractical strategies for
building and sustaining abusiness you love, you're in the
right spot.
Because flying solo in businessdoesn't mean you're alone. No
(01:24):
matter where you are in yourjourney, we've got your back.
Hey solopreneurs. Feeling likethe boss, the employee, and the
IT department all before lunch?Well, it's time to get some
backup.
Check out LifeStarr Intro. It'sa free hub built just for one
person business owners like you.You'll get access to a community
of fellow solopreneurs. You'llget access to virtual
(01:45):
brainstorming and educationalsessions to spark new ideas
every month. And you'll getaccess to a weekly newsletter
and blog packed with tips thatactually move the needle.
Oh, and a heads up, there's anew app coming soon to help you
stay productive and organizedbecause let's be honest, sticky
notes aren't a business system,and that will also be included
in LifeStarr intro. So join freetoday at lifestasr.com/intro. we
(02:10):
hope to see you there. Alright,listeners. We are back with
another episode covering thesolopreneur success cycle.
In the past few episodes, we'vebeen talking about the the
planning phase of thesolopreneur success cycle. And
in our last episode we coveredcompetition, We covered defining
(02:31):
your customers and personas.
And today we kinda wanna getinto the nitty gritty. I think
some of this can be kind ofintimidating for some people, so
I'm glad we're addressing thesetopics. When we talk about
feasibility, testing your ideas,and all that jazz, Joe, you are
great at this.
I mean, you're a seasonedentrepreneur. I wanna hear your
take on some of these things.
Joe Rando (02:52):
the whole idea of feasibility is obviously
important. Right? If you don'thave a feasible business, you
don't have a business. So,really, to start with, there are
a lot of people that will say,well, if you're passionate,
you'll make it work. And thatmay be true, but you also might
run out of money first.
(03:13):
So it depends on yourcircumstance. If you're doing a
side hustle, yeah, you canprobably try anything and see
how it goes, and that's great.But if you're either laid off
and deciding to take this pathinstead of finding a job or
decide to just, you know, cutthe cord and get started, you
wanna test the feasibility ofyour idea. So, first thing is
you gotta make it work on paper.You need to do what they call a
(03:36):
pro forma , profit and lossstatement, you know, going in
and looking at the expectedrevenues, what you think you're
gonna spend, are you eventuallymaking money. It usually starts
out losing because, hey, that'show businesses work, but there
should be a clear, andbelievable path to getting
enough profit for you to wannado this. So that's an important
(03:57):
part of this process, forplanning. Because if you can't
get it to work on paper, it'sprobably not gonna work in the
real world.
In fact, it can work on paperand not work in the real world.
Rarely, does it go the otherway? So, when you do these
reviews, you also wanna look forsomething that I call
showstoppers. And showstoppersare things about getting the
(04:18):
business set up that are outsideof your total control.
So if it's, build a website, youcan do that. You can build a
website. You know, anybody cango on and do a nice website and
one of the tools that are outthere. No problem.
That's not a showstopper. But ashowstopper is I need certain
permits to start my business orrun my business out of my house,
(04:43):
or I need, to get acertification. I need to become
a a certified financial planneror something. And if you have to
pass a test. So there are allthese potential things that are
outside of your control. Some ofthem could be expensive. you
need to make a list of all thosethings. We'll make a list of all
the things you need to do tostart the business and look for
those showstoppers.
And from there, you start tosay, okay. How can I mitigate
(05:08):
the risks? How do I reorientthese things so that I can have
the big showstoppers early inthe process so that I know when
to stop and either rethink or,go back to to square one? So
that's important.
In terms of pricing, you'regonna be setting your pricing.
You wanna do that confidently.Solos tend to charge too little.
(05:33):
That's, our impostor syndromekicking in. And impostor
syndrome's okay, but you don'twanna let it drive your pricing.
I always think that you shouldsit down and look at those pain
points. I mean, we haven'ttalked in detail about pain
points here, but, you know,you're solving pain points for
people. Look at those painpoints and figure out how to
position your business aroundsolving those particular pain
(05:56):
points for your personas that wetalked about in the last
episode. And now if you canmessage that effectively, your
prices go up. You can chargemore money. if I say, I'm a life
coach who is gonna make yourlife better. Well, okay. Great.
But if I say, I'm a life coachthat's gonna get you to into
(06:17):
that c suite job that you'vebeen working toward, and I have
a track record of 80% success.Now I'm getting the checkbook
out at that point. So it'sreally important to think
through those, getting intothose pain points that you're
solving, speaking to them, andthen, thinking about what that's
(06:39):
worth to the customer when youstart thinking about your
pricing. So you don't wannacompete on pricing typically,
unless you've got some magicformula because you might be
able to compete against largecompanies and be cheaper than
them because you don't have theoverhead. You're working out of
your spare bedroom, and they'vegot offices, blah blah blah. But
if you're going to undercutother solopreneurs, you better
(06:59):
have some recipe or you're justgonna lose money.
There's a reason these pricesare where they are. And
competing on price only works ifyou have some way of delivering
the product or service at alower price point or lower cost
than your competing solopreneursdo. So keep that in mind. It's
just not a good strategy. It'spainful.
(07:20):
You end up with customers thatare, basically, we call them
bottom feeders. But they can bethe most difficult customers
because they want something fornothing or for cheap. And so,
keeping those prices up can getyou better customers. It gives
you the ability to do a betterjob and have more customer
satisfaction, and it lets youmake a bigger profit. So there's
(07:41):
just a lot of reasons not to tryto be chintzy on the pricing.
I've been talking a lot. Sorry.But I'd love your thoughts on
this, Carly. and your take.
Carly Ries (07:50):
I mean, you've said everything so well. just
pricing, people get so hung upon it. And I think it's also
just okay to, kinda test it alittle bit.
Joe Rando (08:00):
I agree. Just look at the competition too. there's
nothing wrong with matching thepeople that you feel are your
most direct competitors, atleast to start.
But don't undercut them because,like I said, then it's one of
things you learn quickly inbusiness is that if you start at
a high price and lower it, okay.But if you start at a low price,
try to raise it, it's tougher,especially with your existing
(08:22):
customers. So, try to get insomewhere that's, reasonable.
Carly Ries (08:25):
Yep. I think that's just a good reminder for
solopreneurs, especially whenthat impostor syndrome creeps in
because it inevitably will.Well, Joe, anything else you
wanna cover for this this step?
Joe Rando (08:37):
No. Just we should do an episode on impostor syndrome
sometime.
Carly Ries (08:40):
I agree. Well, listeners, thank you so much for
tuning in. As always, pleaseshare this episode with a
friend, subscribe on yourfavorite podcast platform, and
leave a five star review. And wewill see you next time where we
cover more on the solopreneursuccess cycle on The Aspiring
Solopreneur. You may be goingsolo in business, but that
(09:02):
doesn't mean you're alone.
In fact, millions of people arein your shoes, running a one
person business and figuring itout as they go. So why not
connect with them and learn fromeach other's successes and
failures? At LifeStarr, we'recreating a one person business
community where you can go tomeet and get advice from other
solopreneurs. Be sure to join inon the conversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
Think your business idea will work just because
(00:01):
you're passionate about it?Well, you may need to think
again. In this episode of theAspiring Solopreneur, Joe and I
dive into the crucial step oftesting your idea's feasibility
before you sink your time,money, and sanity into it. From
spotting deal breakingshowstoppers early to setting
prices that reflect your valueout falling into the low cost
trap, we'll walk you through howto make sure your solo venture
(00:22):
works on paper and in the realworld. This is the episode to
listen to if you want to avoidcostly mistakes, get confident
about your pricing, and ensureyour business is actually set up
for success.
You're listening to the AspiringSolopreneur, the podcast for
anyone on the solo businessjourney, whether you're just
toying with the idea, takingyour first bold step, or have
(00:43):
been running your own show foryears and want to keep growing,
refining, and thriving. I'mCarly Ries, and along with my
cohost, Joe Rando, we're yourguides through the crazy but
awesome world of being a companyof one. As part of LifeStarr, a
digital hub dedicated to allthings solopreneurship, we help
people design businesses thatalign with their life's
(01:03):
ambitions so they can work tolive, not live to work. If
you're looking for a get richquick scheme, this is not the
place for you. But if you wantreal world insights from
industry experts, lessons fromthe successes and stumbles of
fellow solopreneurs, andpractical strategies for
building and sustaining abusiness you love, you're in the
right spot.
Because flying solo in businessdoesn't mean you're alone. No
(01:24):
matter where you are in yourjourney, we've got your back.
Hey solopreneurs. Feeling likethe boss, the employee, and the
IT department all before lunch?Well, it's time to get some
backup.
Check out LifeStarr Intro. It'sa free hub built just for one
person business owners like you.You'll get access to a community
of fellow solopreneurs. You'llget access to virtual
(01:45):
brainstorming and educationalsessions to spark new ideas
every month. And you'll getaccess to a weekly newsletter
and blog packed with tips thatactually move the needle.
Oh, and a heads up, there's anew app coming soon to help you
stay productive and organizedbecause let's be honest, sticky
notes aren't a business system,and that will also be included
in LifeStarr intro. So join freetoday at lifestasr.com/intro. we
(02:10):
hope to see you there. Alright,listeners. We are back with
another episode covering thesolopreneur success cycle.
In the past few episodes, we'vebeen talking about the the
planning phase of thesolopreneur success cycle. And
in our last episode we coveredcompetition, We covered defining
(02:31):
your customers and personas.
And today we kinda wanna getinto the nitty gritty. I think
some of this can be kind ofintimidating for some people, so
I'm glad we're addressing thesetopics. When we talk about
feasibility, testing your ideas,and all that jazz, Joe, you are
great at this.
I mean, you're a seasonedentrepreneur. I wanna hear your
take on some of these things.
Joe Rando (02:52):
the whole idea of feasibility is obviously
important. Right? If you don'thave a feasible business, you
don't have a business. So,really, to start with, there are
a lot of people that will say,well, if you're passionate,
you'll make it work. And thatmay be true, but you also might
run out of money first.
(03:13):
So it depends on yourcircumstance. If you're doing a
side hustle, yeah, you canprobably try anything and see
how it goes, and that's great.But if you're either laid off
and deciding to take this pathinstead of finding a job or
decide to just, you know, cutthe cord and get started, you
wanna test the feasibility ofyour idea. So, first thing is
you gotta make it work on paper.You need to do what they call a
(03:36):
pro forma , profit and lossstatement, you know, going in
and looking at the expectedrevenues, what you think you're
gonna spend, are you eventuallymaking money. It usually starts
out losing because, hey, that'show businesses work, but there
should be a clear, andbelievable path to getting
enough profit for you to wannado this. So that's an important
(03:57):
part of this process, forplanning. Because if you can't
get it to work on paper, it'sprobably not gonna work in the
real world.
In fact, it can work on paperand not work in the real world.
Rarely, does it go the otherway? So, when you do these
reviews, you also wanna look forsomething that I call
showstoppers. And showstoppersare things about getting the
(04:18):
business set up that are outsideof your total control.
So if it's, build a website, youcan do that. You can build a
website. You know, anybody cango on and do a nice website and
one of the tools that are outthere. No problem.
That's not a showstopper. But ashowstopper is I need certain
permits to start my business orrun my business out of my house,
(04:43):
or I need, to get acertification. I need to become
a a certified financial planneror something. And if you have to
pass a test. So there are allthese potential things that are
outside of your control. Some ofthem could be expensive. you
need to make a list of all thosethings. We'll make a list of all
the things you need to do tostart the business and look for
those showstoppers.
And from there, you start tosay, okay. How can I mitigate
(05:08):
the risks? How do I reorientthese things so that I can have
the big showstoppers early inthe process so that I know when
to stop and either rethink or,go back to to square one? So
that's important.
In terms of pricing, you'regonna be setting your pricing.
You wanna do that confidently.Solos tend to charge too little.
(05:33):
That's, our impostor syndromekicking in. And impostor
syndrome's okay, but you don'twanna let it drive your pricing.
I always think that you shouldsit down and look at those pain
points. I mean, we haven'ttalked in detail about pain
points here, but, you know,you're solving pain points for
people. Look at those painpoints and figure out how to
position your business aroundsolving those particular pain
(05:56):
points for your personas that wetalked about in the last
episode. And now if you canmessage that effectively, your
prices go up. You can chargemore money. if I say, I'm a life
coach who is gonna make yourlife better. Well, okay. Great.
But if I say, I'm a life coachthat's gonna get you to into
(06:17):
that c suite job that you'vebeen working toward, and I have
a track record of 80% success.Now I'm getting the checkbook
out at that point. So it'sreally important to think
through those, getting intothose pain points that you're
solving, speaking to them, andthen, thinking about what that's
(06:39):
worth to the customer when youstart thinking about your
pricing. So you don't wannacompete on pricing typically,
unless you've got some magicformula because you might be
able to compete against largecompanies and be cheaper than
them because you don't have theoverhead. You're working out of
your spare bedroom, and they'vegot offices, blah blah blah. But
if you're going to undercutother solopreneurs, you better
(06:59):
have some recipe or you're justgonna lose money.
There's a reason these pricesare where they are. And
competing on price only works ifyou have some way of delivering
the product or service at alower price point or lower cost
than your competing solopreneursdo. So keep that in mind. It's
just not a good strategy. It'spainful.
(07:20):
You end up with customers thatare, basically, we call them
bottom feeders. But they can bethe most difficult customers
because they want something fornothing or for cheap. And so,
keeping those prices up can getyou better customers. It gives
you the ability to do a betterjob and have more customer
satisfaction, and it lets youmake a bigger profit. So there's
(07:41):
just a lot of reasons not to tryto be chintzy on the pricing.
I've been talking a lot. Sorry.But I'd love your thoughts on
this, Carly. and your take.
Carly Ries (07:50):
I mean, you've said everything so well. just
pricing, people get so hung upon it. And I think it's also
just okay to, kinda test it alittle bit.
Joe Rando (08:00):
I agree. Just look at the competition too. there's
nothing wrong with matching thepeople that you feel are your
most direct competitors, atleast to start.
But don't undercut them because,like I said, then it's one of
things you learn quickly inbusiness is that if you start at
a high price and lower it, okay.But if you start at a low price,
try to raise it, it's tougher,especially with your existing
(08:22):
customers. So, try to get insomewhere that's, reasonable.
Carly Ries (08:25):
Yep. I think that's just a good reminder for
solopreneurs, especially whenthat impostor syndrome creeps in
because it inevitably will.Well, Joe, anything else you
wanna cover for this this step?
Joe Rando (08:37):
No. Just we should do an episode on impostor syndrome
sometime.
Carly Ries (08:40):
I agree. Well, listeners, thank you so much for
tuning in. As always, pleaseshare this episode with a
friend, subscribe on yourfavorite podcast platform, and
leave a five star review. And wewill see you next time where we
cover more on the solopreneursuccess cycle on The Aspiring
Solopreneur. You may be goingsolo in business, but that
(09:02):
doesn't mean you're alone.
In fact, millions of people arein your shoes, running a one
person business and figuring itout as they go. So why not
connect with them and learn fromeach other's successes and
failures? At LifeStarr, we'recreating a one person business
community where you can go tomeet and get advice from other
solopreneurs. Be sure to join inon the conversations at
community.lifestarr.com.
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