October 24, 2025 • 17 mins
You’ve got your solopreneur business humming: systems in place, clients happy, goals aligned...but there’s one crucial piece most of us forget: our own well-being.
In this episode, Carly and Joe get real about the not-so-glamorous (but absolutely essential) side of solopreneurship, balancing your business and your life. From scheduling workouts like meetings to curbing doomscrolling and finding your community, they unpack the habits that keep you sane and successful. Because when you are your business, taking care of yourself isn’t optional, it’s strategy.
Q&As From The Episode
How can solopreneurs maintain work-life balance when their business depends entirely on them?
It starts with designing your business around your life, not the other way around. Schedule movement like it’s a client meeting, set clear boundaries for work hours, and implement repeatable systems so you’re not constantly reinventing the wheel. Remember: you are the business—so maintaining your well-being is maintaining your productivity.
What can solopreneurs do to combat isolation and loneliness?
Working solo doesn’t mean being alone. Join local meetups, online communities, or hobby groups to stay connected. Networking is also one of the most powerful growth tools for solopreneurs—you don’t need a million clients, just meaningful relationships that keep both your business and your mindset thriving.
How can solopreneurs avoid burnout and decision fatigue?
Repetition and routines are your secret weapons. Create standard operating procedures (SOPs) for daily tasks, batch your decisions when possible, and celebrate your wins—big or small. Recognizing progress keeps your motivation high and prevents the constant “what’s next?” pressure from draining your energy.
🌟 Featured Resource: LifeStarr Intro for Solopreneurs
Are you building a business on your own and feeling like you’re going it alone? That stops today. LifeStarr Intro is a free, forever membership built especially for solopreneurs who want real support, real resources, and real community.
When you join LifeStarr Intro, you unlock:
- A vibrant community of like-minded solopreneurs for feedback, encouragement, and connection
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Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Carly Ries (00:00):
Well, guys, we finally did it. After months of
(00:02):
diving deep into the solopreneursuccess cycle, we have finally
reached the finish line. Butbefore we close the loop, we're
tackling one crucial piece thatisn't officially in the cycle,
but it totally determineswhether your business thrives or
burns out, and that is work lifebalance. In this fun and honest
episode, we share what it reallylooks like to stay healthy,
sane, and connected whilerunning a one person business.
(00:26):
From scheduling movement like ameeting, and ditching the doom
scroll to finding community andcelebrating your wins, this
one's a refreshing reminder thatyou are your business.
So take care of the CEO and thatis you. You're listening to The
Aspiring Solopreneur, thepodcast for anyone on the solo
business journey, whether you'rejust toying with the idea,
(00:47):
taking your first bold step, orhave been running your own show
for years and want to keepgrowing, refining, and thriving.
I'm Carly Ries, and along withmy cohost, Joe Rando, we're your
guides through the crazy butawesome world of being a company
of one. As part of LifeStarr, adigital hub dedicated to all
things solopreneurship, we helppeople design businesses that
(01:08):
align with their life'sambitions so they can work to
live, not live to work. Ifyou're looking for a get rich
quick scheme, this is not theplace for you.
But if you want real worldinsights from industry experts,
lessons from the successes andstumbles of fellow solopreneurs,
and practical strategies forbuilding and sustaining a
business you love, you're in theright spot. Because flying solo
(01:28):
in business doesn't mean you'realone. No matter where you are
in your journey, we've got yourback. Joe, we technically
(02:18):
completed the solopreneursuccess cycle in our last sound
bite episode, which is crazy. Ifeel like we've been recording
those episodes for year becausethere was just so much
information.
How do you feel?
Joe Rando (02:30):
Oh, I'm psyched. I'm glad we we did that. I kind of
started doing that, I think, inseason one or maybe it was early
season two. It was a long timeago.
Carly Ries (02:40):
Fifty years ago.
Joe Rando (02:42):
Fifty years ago. Yes. When I was young and my hair was
dark. but then we just gotsidetracked on some stuff, and I
never quite finished it. And nowI feel like, you know, that
feeling of, okay. I did it. Wedid it. Yes. Got it done. I
think it might have been whenyou left. I don't remember if I
was doing it after you left tohave the baby. Maternity leave.
Carly Ries (03:04):
Yeah. And you cranked it up that summer
because I left mid June. Andthen by the time I got back, you
were like, I have a successcycle.
I was like, oh my goodness.
Joe Rando (03:17):
Don't leave me alone for too long. Weird things
happen.
Carly Ries (03:19):
Right? Yeah. I got it. It led to the book, but
while that is a great framework,we don't like calling it
framework or methodology, butwhile it's a great roadmap for
solopreneurs, there's one thingthat isn't really included,
technically included in thesolopreneur success cycle, and
that is balancing work and lifeas a solopreneur. So today I
(03:42):
wanna dive into that.
And honestly, I think it's oneof the most important things,
but it's also one of the mostoverlooked topics of
solopreneur. Would you agree?
Joe Rando (03:51):
I agree, but I disagree with the first part.
Because I think it's kind of instep zero, defining your goals.
Right? So if you're building abusiness to serve your life and
you define the goals that youwant the business to serve to
your life, then it's kind ofimplicit that you would then
have some level of work lifebalance, but I totally agree
(04:11):
that it's really good to havethe conversation explicitly, not
just implicitly.
Carly Ries (04:15):
Yeah. Because your well-being as a solopreneur,
it's not optional. It's I thinkprobably your most valuable
business asset. I think you'dagree with me on that.
Joe Rando (04:24):
Well, I mean, think about working for a company.
Right? If you're working for acompany and you work yourself
into illness. You've got shortterm disability insurance, long
term disability insurance, allthese things, you know.
I don't think you can buy thoseas a solopreneur. the insurance
company's like, no, it's toomuch of a risk. So you don't
(04:46):
have that kind of protection,and you need to protect, I think
it was Stephen Covey that said,it was something like the
production, and he talked aboutthis balance of production and
the ability to produce andkeeping that in balance I think
(05:07):
he talked about, like, killingthe golden goose. The story that
they killed the golden goose toget all the eggs, but there were
no eggs because it was the goosewho was making the eggs. So they
killed the goose, and the ideais, you know, you're able to
produce as long as you take careof the thing that's doing the
producing, which in asolopreneur, it's pretty much
(05:28):
you.
Carly Ries (05:30):
So yeah. Self care component. It's not just a
buzzword. I feel like somepeople are like, oh, yeah. Self
care, work life balance.
But it's the maintenance to keepyour business engine running.
Because you are your business,so if your health crashes like
you were just saying, yourbusiness does too. Usually. I
(05:50):
mean, doesn't run as efficientlyas it can.
So I would say physical healthfirst, scheduled movement, like
it's a meeting. You and I haveboth tried to do that so much. I
feel like I have finally stuckwith it. Do you feel like you're
sticking with doing it
Joe Rando (06:03):
I have been. I was doing really good, and then I
got a little hung up the lastcouple of weeks just with travel
and some other things. Like,this morning, I got up, I lifted
weights first thing. I'mplanning on sneaking out about
quarter of five and taking thedog out for a good long hike in
the woods before dinner. Justhard with him because he knows
it's dinnertime, and he alwayswants to go home. golden
retriever. But yeah. I have beendoing better and continuing to
(06:27):
plan to do even better.
Carly Ries (06:29):
yes. I mean, I've put it on my calendar, on my
personal calendar, and justhaven't moved it. Because it
shows up on my work calendartoo. Nutrition obviously plays a
huge role in energy and focus.We're not here to be your
dietitians or anything, but whenyou eat better, you think
better.
When you drink lots of water,you think better. When you and I
(06:51):
don't know if you and I couldspeak to a caffeine habit. But
if you're prone to caffeinecrashes, maybe lay off the
caffeine a little bit.
Joe Rando (06:59):
Yeah. you know, the arguments are, in moderation.
It's good for you. I mean, therehave been no studies that I
believe, at least.
Now most of the studies showthat moderate caffeine intake is
actually reasonably good foryou. But you don't wanna be
either, number one, drinkingeight cups of coffee in the
morning, and then 02:00 comesaround and you're in a coma. Or
(07:20):
number two, having coffee at04:00 in the afternoon, and then
when it's bedtime, you'revibrating, which that's
something I've done in the past.I don't do well with caffeine
after morning. So I don't dothat.
Carly Ries (07:33):
it's funny when we were at Inbound, I would go back
to my room and I would make acoffee. And when we get back at
like eight, I just love thelittle Nespresso machines. It
doesn't affect me. I did itright before bed, and I was
like, this is just fun being ina hotel room and drinking my
coffee. I don't know if I toldyou that.
Joe Rando (07:52):
No. You didn't, but I read a research report that said
that the people like you thatprocess caffeine really
efficiently get the most healthbenefits from caffeine.
Carly Ries (08:01):
Oh, well then, cheers to that. Here's my
coffee. But we're talking aboutphysical health, and as a
solopreneur, one of the biggestthings we need to talk about is
mental health. I mean, isolationis one thing, and I wanna talk
about that in a second. Youreally need to find a way to
take care of your mind. Don'twake up in the morning and
(08:24):
doomscroll. Don't even wake upin the morning and turn on your
computer. I know I'm not thefirst person to say this. There
are so many experts that saydon't open your laptop
immediately, but really, wakingup and finding a way to just
whether it's meditating,reading, just being present in
the moment, walking our dogs,like start the day in a zen
(08:45):
mindset, I would say, to helpset the tone for the rest of the
day.
Would you agree with that?
Joe Rando (08:51):
Good advice that I'm not following. I get up in the
morning and I read the newsbecause I have to do it early.
Carly Ries (08:58):
That's like the worst thing you can do.
Joe Rando (09:00):
Yeah. I know. if I do it later, then I don't sleep.
Carly Ries (09:03):
Okay.
Joe Rando (09:03):
So I do it early because I can process it over
the course of the day. Butyou're absolutely right. I
should be meditating. I wasdoing meditation for a while.
I've kinda fallen off themeditation wagon lately.
I did do it the other day, butyeah. Okay. I'll do it.
Carly Ries (09:20):
You're homewoke. I'm gonna make you not doom scroll.
I'll Call your wife if I need toto make sure that she is on top
of you.
Joe Rando (09:27):
She's right next to me. Because she won't sleep
either.
Carly Ries (09:30):
If Licia can hear me, no doom scrolling in the
morning. Let's talk aboutsomething every solopreneur,
speaking of mental health,something that so many
solopreneurs deal with isloneliness and isolation. And
I'm gonna say it. It's myfavorite phrase. Working solo or
flying solo in business doesn'tmean you're alone.
So find a community, whetherit's a local meetup, an online
(09:53):
group, if you're a hobby club ofsorts, whatever you're into,
just find that community. Itdoes not need to be a work
related community. In fact,sometimes it's better to have a
community that's not workrelated. Just to kinda fuel
every side of your business.Because again, we're all about a
well rounded business.
That means your personal lifeand your business life. So find
(10:15):
ways to surround yourself withpeople. How do you think you're
doing on that front, Joe?
Joe Rando (10:18):
Well, I mean, I do have a social life. It's not as
robust as some people's, but Ireally don't want it to be. I'm
an introvert. I like my time ofjust kind of doing my thing, but
I have a social life. I do thinkthat one of the interesting
things that I've seen I'mplugged in with a lot of
different solopreneurs indifferent environments, you
(10:39):
know, all kind of social mediabased.
But, one of the things I see isa lot of people saying, yeah, I
got my friends, I got my family,but they don't understand. And
so that's why I kinda feelreally good about having a
community of solopreneurs tocome together because, these are
people that understand, and Ihear that from some of the
people in our community thatsay, it's just so nice to have
(11:01):
somebody else, other people thatget what I'm dealing with and
what I'm doing. So there's alittle bit of a balance. But,
yeah, what you don't wanna be iseighteen hours a day of sitting
in front of your computer just,stressing out over what you're
doing because it's notproductive. You lose
productivity after a while.
Carly Ries (11:20):
Well, what I was gonna say is even if you think
oh, well, I don't need to bearound people. I'm an introvert.
I'm perfectly fine spendingeighteen hours a day at my
house. I mean, even just from abusiness standpoint, you want to
be talking to people to shareyour idea. you don't wanna be
working in a vacuum.
So use that as an excuse to getout of your basement for those
eighteen hours.
Joe Rando (11:39):
You know, the longer we do this, Carly, the more I
realize that for about ninetyeight percent of solopreneurs,
the primary marketing tool isnetworking.
Carly Ries (11:47):
Yes.
Joe Rando (11:48):
it's not SEO. It's not content, you know, inbound
marketing. It's not pay perclick. It's not social media. It
is networking, and you needpeople for that.
Carly Ries (12:03):
You do. Because so many solopreneurs, you don't
need a million clients. a lot ofthem need a handful. So
networking is a great way toapproach that without spinning
your wheels.
I think another big thing that Imean, there are so many things.
I guess I'm gonna do a shamelessplug. If you wanna know our take
on all things work life balance,definitely check out our book,
(12:23):
Solopreneur Business forDummies. But we've talked about
boundary setting in otherepisodes, which is I think is
huge. The power of no, which Ithink is huge for work life
balance.
But I also think just how toavoid burnout and decision
fatigue is huge for well-beingof solopreneurs. I feel like
(12:45):
they're really sneaky pitfallsthat people fall into. Would you
agree?
Joe Rando (12:50):
Yeah. I mean, there are so many places when
you're running your own businessthat it's on you, and you're
constantly making decisions andor even deciding not to decide.
And all these things add up tostress. if it's an easy
decision, great. But a lot oftimes, it's not easy.
And, we live that. You and Ilive tht in our lives and
(13:11):
businesses, and it's very hardto maintain that every workday
of your life.
Carly Ries (13:19):
I think a way that you can try to do that is by
implementing as many systems androutines as possible, like
making repetition your bestfriend so you don't need to
reinvent the wheel on everythingevery single day. Because that
just gets so exhausting, likeyou were saying. I would say
make those SOPs your bestfriend, make those systems your
(13:40):
best friend.
Joe Rando (13:41):
Standard operating procedures. and it's so nice
because when you have a standardoperating procedure and then
something's not working, you cango, what do I need to change
here? Right? You're looking andgoing, oh, that step didn't do
as well as it could, let's dosomething different. Whereas if
you're just kinda winging it allthe time, it's like, oh, I don't
know.
Carly Ries (14:01):
Yeah. So following that, we've also had episodes on
staying productive, which Ihighly recommend people check
out. If you go to our podcast,you'll see the productivity
episodes. But I think somethingthat we haven't talked about
from a work life balancestandpoint in any of our
episodes is celebrating wins asa solopreneur. I figured we
(14:21):
should wrap up on this daybecause let's end on a high
note, shall we? Because you'reyour own boss now, which means
no one is going to be giving youa promotion, nobody's gonna be
handing you best boss award orwhatever, unless you wanna give
that to yourself. You have tocreate your own celebrating
system as a slow beginnerbecause that will just fuel your
motivation, your productivity asyou keep going. So I've heard
(14:44):
people that have kept winsjournals. some people save
client compliments in a specialfolder in their email.
Some people have a victory jarfilled with notes of awesome
compliments. Some people have ajar that every time they
accomplish something they putsomething they'd want in that
jar, and then at the end of themonth they can draw out of that
jar for their celebration.There are just a lot of ways to
(15:05):
celebrate, but don't forget tocelebrate. What you're doing is
hard, and so you don't have towait for the big wins to throw
the confetti. make sure you keepthe momentum going because
you'll need that since you areflying solo.
Joe Rando (15:19):
I'm really glad that you're here because I'm terrible
at this. That's something I'mreally bad at, and so I'm glad
you can help people do it, andyou can help me too.
Carly Ries (15:27):
I'm gonna help you too.
Joe Rando (15:28):
I tend to go, oh, got that. Okay. What's next? And it
takes a little bit of whatshould be fun out of the
process.
Carly Ries (15:36):
Instead of sending you coffee from around the world
for Christmas this year, I'mgonna send you a box of confetti
that when you open it, like,confetti just flies out.
Joe Rando (15:44):
Oh, you know, and Licia will just love that.
Carly Ries (15:47):
Love that. Yeah. You're welcome, Licia if you can
hear me right now. But anyway,so much goes into work life
balance.
We dive into it so much more inour book, but those are just my
thoughts for today. And rememberyou're building a business that
serves your life, not the otherway around. And that's my spiel.
(16:07):
Anything else, Joe?
Joe Rando (16:08):
Nope. All good.
Carly Ries (16:10):
Well, listeners, thank you so much for tuning in.
As always, leave that five starreview. We are gonna give
shoutouts on random episodes, sokeep an eye out for your name if
you do that. Be sure tosubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform, includingYouTube. We will see you next
time on The AspiringSolopreneur.
You may be going solo inbusiness, but that doesn't mean
(16:30):
you're alone. In fact, millionsof people 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 the
conversations atcommunity.lifestarr.com.
Well, guys, we finally did it. After months of
(00:02):
diving deep into the solopreneursuccess cycle, we have finally
reached the finish line. Butbefore we close the loop, we're
tackling one crucial piece thatisn't officially in the cycle,
but it totally determineswhether your business thrives or
burns out, and that is work lifebalance. In this fun and honest
episode, we share what it reallylooks like to stay healthy,
sane, and connected whilerunning a one person business.
(00:26):
From scheduling movement like ameeting, and ditching the doom
scroll to finding community andcelebrating your wins, this
one's a refreshing reminder thatyou are your business.
So take care of the CEO and thatis you. You're listening to The
Aspiring Solopreneur, thepodcast for anyone on the solo
business journey, whether you'rejust toying with the idea,
(00:47):
taking your first bold step, orhave been running your own show
for years and want to keepgrowing, refining, and thriving.
I'm Carly Ries, and along withmy cohost, Joe Rando, we're your
guides through the crazy butawesome world of being a company
of one. As part of LifeStarr, adigital hub dedicated to all
things solopreneurship, we helppeople design businesses that
(01:08):
align with their life'sambitions so they can work to
live, not live to work. Ifyou're looking for a get rich
quick scheme, this is not theplace for you.
But if you want real worldinsights from industry experts,
lessons from the successes andstumbles of fellow solopreneurs,
and practical strategies forbuilding and sustaining a
business you love, you're in theright spot. Because flying solo
(01:28):
in business doesn't mean you'realone. No matter where you are
in your journey, we've got yourback. Joe, we technically
(02:18):
completed the solopreneursuccess cycle in our last sound
bite episode, which is crazy. Ifeel like we've been recording
those episodes for year becausethere was just so much
information.
How do you feel?
Joe Rando (02:30):
Oh, I'm psyched. I'm glad we we did that. I kind of
started doing that, I think, inseason one or maybe it was early
season two. It was a long timeago.
Carly Ries (02:40):
Fifty years ago.
Joe Rando (02:42):
Fifty years ago. Yes. When I was young and my hair was
dark. but then we just gotsidetracked on some stuff, and I
never quite finished it. And nowI feel like, you know, that
feeling of, okay. I did it. Wedid it. Yes. Got it done. I
think it might have been whenyou left. I don't remember if I
was doing it after you left tohave the baby. Maternity leave.
Carly Ries (03:04):
Yeah. And you cranked it up that summer
because I left mid June. Andthen by the time I got back, you
were like, I have a successcycle.
I was like, oh my goodness.
Joe Rando (03:17):
Don't leave me alone for too long. Weird things
happen.
Carly Ries (03:19):
Right? Yeah. I got it. It led to the book, but
while that is a great framework,we don't like calling it
framework or methodology, butwhile it's a great roadmap for
solopreneurs, there's one thingthat isn't really included,
technically included in thesolopreneur success cycle, and
that is balancing work and lifeas a solopreneur. So today I
(03:42):
wanna dive into that.
And honestly, I think it's oneof the most important things,
but it's also one of the mostoverlooked topics of
solopreneur. Would you agree?
Joe Rando (03:51):
I agree, but I disagree with the first part.
Because I think it's kind of instep zero, defining your goals.
Right? So if you're building abusiness to serve your life and
you define the goals that youwant the business to serve to
your life, then it's kind ofimplicit that you would then
have some level of work lifebalance, but I totally agree
(04:11):
that it's really good to havethe conversation explicitly, not
just implicitly.
Carly Ries (04:15):
Yeah. Because your well-being as a solopreneur,
it's not optional. It's I thinkprobably your most valuable
business asset. I think you'dagree with me on that.
Joe Rando (04:24):
Well, I mean, think about working for a company.
Right? If you're working for acompany and you work yourself
into illness. You've got shortterm disability insurance, long
term disability insurance, allthese things, you know.
I don't think you can buy thoseas a solopreneur. the insurance
company's like, no, it's toomuch of a risk. So you don't
(04:46):
have that kind of protection,and you need to protect, I think
it was Stephen Covey that said,it was something like the
production, and he talked aboutthis balance of production and
the ability to produce andkeeping that in balance I think
(05:07):
he talked about, like, killingthe golden goose. The story that
they killed the golden goose toget all the eggs, but there were
no eggs because it was the goosewho was making the eggs. So they
killed the goose, and the ideais, you know, you're able to
produce as long as you take careof the thing that's doing the
producing, which in asolopreneur, it's pretty much
(05:28):
you.
Carly Ries (05:30):
So yeah. Self care component. It's not just a
buzzword. I feel like somepeople are like, oh, yeah. Self
care, work life balance.
But it's the maintenance to keepyour business engine running.
Because you are your business,so if your health crashes like
you were just saying, yourbusiness does too. Usually. I
(05:50):
mean, doesn't run as efficientlyas it can.
So I would say physical healthfirst, scheduled movement, like
it's a meeting. You and I haveboth tried to do that so much. I
feel like I have finally stuckwith it. Do you feel like you're
sticking with doing it
Joe Rando (06:03):
I have been. I was doing really good, and then I
got a little hung up the lastcouple of weeks just with travel
and some other things. Like,this morning, I got up, I lifted
weights first thing. I'mplanning on sneaking out about
quarter of five and taking thedog out for a good long hike in
the woods before dinner. Justhard with him because he knows
it's dinnertime, and he alwayswants to go home. golden
retriever. But yeah. I have beendoing better and continuing to
(06:27):
plan to do even better.
Carly Ries (06:29):
yes. I mean, I've put it on my calendar, on my
personal calendar, and justhaven't moved it. Because it
shows up on my work calendartoo. Nutrition obviously plays a
huge role in energy and focus.We're not here to be your
dietitians or anything, but whenyou eat better, you think
better.
When you drink lots of water,you think better. When you and I
(06:51):
don't know if you and I couldspeak to a caffeine habit. But
if you're prone to caffeinecrashes, maybe lay off the
caffeine a little bit.
Joe Rando (06:59):
Yeah. you know, the arguments are, in moderation.
It's good for you. I mean, therehave been no studies that I
believe, at least.
Now most of the studies showthat moderate caffeine intake is
actually reasonably good foryou. But you don't wanna be
either, number one, drinkingeight cups of coffee in the
morning, and then 02:00 comesaround and you're in a coma. Or
(07:20):
number two, having coffee at04:00 in the afternoon, and then
when it's bedtime, you'revibrating, which that's
something I've done in the past.I don't do well with caffeine
after morning. So I don't dothat.
Carly Ries (07:33):
it's funny when we were at Inbound, I would go back
to my room and I would make acoffee. And when we get back at
like eight, I just love thelittle Nespresso machines. It
doesn't affect me. I did itright before bed, and I was
like, this is just fun being ina hotel room and drinking my
coffee. I don't know if I toldyou that.
Joe Rando (07:52):
No. You didn't, but I read a research report that said
that the people like you thatprocess caffeine really
efficiently get the most healthbenefits from caffeine.
Carly Ries (08:01):
Oh, well then, cheers to that. Here's my
coffee. But we're talking aboutphysical health, and as a
solopreneur, one of the biggestthings we need to talk about is
mental health. I mean, isolationis one thing, and I wanna talk
about that in a second. Youreally need to find a way to
take care of your mind. Don'twake up in the morning and
(08:24):
doomscroll. Don't even wake upin the morning and turn on your
computer. I know I'm not thefirst person to say this. There
are so many experts that saydon't open your laptop
immediately, but really, wakingup and finding a way to just
whether it's meditating,reading, just being present in
the moment, walking our dogs,like start the day in a zen
(08:45):
mindset, I would say, to helpset the tone for the rest of the
day.
Would you agree with that?
Joe Rando (08:51):
Good advice that I'm not following. I get up in the
morning and I read the newsbecause I have to do it early.
Carly Ries (08:58):
That's like the worst thing you can do.
Joe Rando (09:00):
Yeah. I know. if I do it later, then I don't sleep.
Carly Ries (09:03):
Okay.
Joe Rando (09:03):
So I do it early because I can process it over
the course of the day. Butyou're absolutely right. I
should be meditating. I wasdoing meditation for a while.
I've kinda fallen off themeditation wagon lately.
I did do it the other day, butyeah. Okay. I'll do it.
Carly Ries (09:20):
You're homewoke. I'm gonna make you not doom scroll.
I'll Call your wife if I need toto make sure that she is on top
of you.
Joe Rando (09:27):
She's right next to me. Because she won't sleep
either.
Carly Ries (09:30):
If Licia can hear me, no doom scrolling in the
morning. Let's talk aboutsomething every solopreneur,
speaking of mental health,something that so many
solopreneurs deal with isloneliness and isolation. And
I'm gonna say it. It's myfavorite phrase. Working solo or
flying solo in business doesn'tmean you're alone.
So find a community, whetherit's a local meetup, an online
(09:53):
group, if you're a hobby club ofsorts, whatever you're into,
just find that community. Itdoes not need to be a work
related community. In fact,sometimes it's better to have a
community that's not workrelated. Just to kinda fuel
every side of your business.Because again, we're all about a
well rounded business.
That means your personal lifeand your business life. So find
(10:15):
ways to surround yourself withpeople. How do you think you're
doing on that front, Joe?
Joe Rando (10:18):
Well, I mean, I do have a social life. It's not as
robust as some people's, but Ireally don't want it to be. I'm
an introvert. I like my time ofjust kind of doing my thing, but
I have a social life. I do thinkthat one of the interesting
things that I've seen I'mplugged in with a lot of
different solopreneurs indifferent environments, you
(10:39):
know, all kind of social mediabased.
But, one of the things I see isa lot of people saying, yeah, I
got my friends, I got my family,but they don't understand. And
so that's why I kinda feelreally good about having a
community of solopreneurs tocome together because, these are
people that understand, and Ihear that from some of the
people in our community thatsay, it's just so nice to have
(11:01):
somebody else, other people thatget what I'm dealing with and
what I'm doing. So there's alittle bit of a balance. But,
yeah, what you don't wanna be iseighteen hours a day of sitting
in front of your computer just,stressing out over what you're
doing because it's notproductive. You lose
productivity after a while.
Carly Ries (11:20):
Well, what I was gonna say is even if you think
oh, well, I don't need to bearound people. I'm an introvert.
I'm perfectly fine spendingeighteen hours a day at my
house. I mean, even just from abusiness standpoint, you want to
be talking to people to shareyour idea. you don't wanna be
working in a vacuum.
So use that as an excuse to getout of your basement for those
eighteen hours.
Joe Rando (11:39):
You know, the longer we do this, Carly, the more I
realize that for about ninetyeight percent of solopreneurs,
the primary marketing tool isnetworking.
Carly Ries (11:47):
Yes.
Joe Rando (11:48):
it's not SEO. It's not content, you know, inbound
marketing. It's not pay perclick. It's not social media. It
is networking, and you needpeople for that.
Carly Ries (12:03):
You do. Because so many solopreneurs, you don't
need a million clients. a lot ofthem need a handful. So
networking is a great way toapproach that without spinning
your wheels.
I think another big thing that Imean, there are so many things.
I guess I'm gonna do a shamelessplug. If you wanna know our take
on all things work life balance,definitely check out our book,
(12:23):
Solopreneur Business forDummies. But we've talked about
boundary setting in otherepisodes, which is I think is
huge. The power of no, which Ithink is huge for work life
balance.
But I also think just how toavoid burnout and decision
fatigue is huge for well-beingof solopreneurs. I feel like
(12:45):
they're really sneaky pitfallsthat people fall into. Would you
agree?
Joe Rando (12:50):
Yeah. I mean, there are so many places when
you're running your own businessthat it's on you, and you're
constantly making decisions andor even deciding not to decide.
And all these things add up tostress. if it's an easy
decision, great. But a lot oftimes, it's not easy.
And, we live that. You and Ilive tht in our lives and
(13:11):
businesses, and it's very hardto maintain that every workday
of your life.
Carly Ries (13:19):
I think a way that you can try to do that is by
implementing as many systems androutines as possible, like
making repetition your bestfriend so you don't need to
reinvent the wheel on everythingevery single day. Because that
just gets so exhausting, likeyou were saying. I would say
make those SOPs your bestfriend, make those systems your
(13:40):
best friend.
Joe Rando (13:41):
Standard operating procedures. and it's so nice
because when you have a standardoperating procedure and then
something's not working, you cango, what do I need to change
here? Right? You're looking andgoing, oh, that step didn't do
as well as it could, let's dosomething different. Whereas if
you're just kinda winging it allthe time, it's like, oh, I don't
know.
Carly Ries (14:01):
Yeah. So following that, we've also had episodes on
staying productive, which Ihighly recommend people check
out. If you go to our podcast,you'll see the productivity
episodes. But I think somethingthat we haven't talked about
from a work life balancestandpoint in any of our
episodes is celebrating wins asa solopreneur. I figured we
(14:21):
should wrap up on this daybecause let's end on a high
note, shall we? Because you'reyour own boss now, which means
no one is going to be giving youa promotion, nobody's gonna be
handing you best boss award orwhatever, unless you wanna give
that to yourself. You have tocreate your own celebrating
system as a slow beginnerbecause that will just fuel your
motivation, your productivity asyou keep going. So I've heard
(14:44):
people that have kept winsjournals. some people save
client compliments in a specialfolder in their email.
Some people have a victory jarfilled with notes of awesome
compliments. Some people have ajar that every time they
accomplish something they putsomething they'd want in that
jar, and then at the end of themonth they can draw out of that
jar for their celebration.There are just a lot of ways to
(15:05):
celebrate, but don't forget tocelebrate. What you're doing is
hard, and so you don't have towait for the big wins to throw
the confetti. make sure you keepthe momentum going because
you'll need that since you areflying solo.
Joe Rando (15:19):
I'm really glad that you're here because I'm terrible
at this. That's something I'mreally bad at, and so I'm glad
you can help people do it, andyou can help me too.
Carly Ries (15:27):
I'm gonna help you too.
Joe Rando (15:28):
I tend to go, oh, got that. Okay. What's next? And it
takes a little bit of whatshould be fun out of the
process.
Carly Ries (15:36):
Instead of sending you coffee from around the world
for Christmas this year, I'mgonna send you a box of confetti
that when you open it, like,confetti just flies out.
Joe Rando (15:44):
Oh, you know, and Licia will just love that.
Carly Ries (15:47):
Love that. Yeah. You're welcome, Licia if you can
hear me right now. But anyway,so much goes into work life
balance.
We dive into it so much more inour book, but those are just my
thoughts for today. And rememberyou're building a business that
serves your life, not the otherway around. And that's my spiel.
(16:07):
Anything else, Joe?
Joe Rando (16:08):
Nope. All good.
Carly Ries (16:10):
Well, listeners, thank you so much for tuning in.
As always, leave that five starreview. We are gonna give
shoutouts on random episodes, sokeep an eye out for your name if
you do that. Be sure tosubscribe on your favorite
podcast platform, includingYouTube. We will see you next
time on The AspiringSolopreneur.
You may be going solo inbusiness, but that doesn't mean
(16:30):
you're alone. In fact, millionsof people 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 the
conversations atcommunity.lifestarr.com.
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