Being the "Everything" Person

Let’s begin by posing a question. Would you rather work for someone, or with someone? I’d be willing to bet that most, if not all of you would prefer with. You would prefer to feel like a colleague, be treated like a partner, be respected as the expert in your particular field or position, and have the authority to make or contribute to major decisions. 

When you are in that type of environment, you bring your a-game because you know that everything you do is making an impact on the project at hand. 

Which leads me to the topic of this post: How to be successful as the “one man/woman show”. 

I own 4 operational businesses and a number of “on paper companies” that do nothing… yet. I have zero overhead, and am able to deal in multi-person and even multi-team projects and six figure contracts all year round. I often win bids in competition with companies significantly larger than mine (mine being just… me), and I have never spent a dime on advertising or soliciting clients. As far as anyone can tell, I am a one woman show / the jack of all trades / the rockstar. 

How in the heck do I pull this off?! I invest in my network. 

Instead of having people who work for me, I have an enormous network of talented individuals who work with me. I can hand pick the right people for any gig from that huge pool of talent. 

For an entrepreneur a strong and diverse network will always be extremely valuable. It will give you the ability to win any bid, adjust or pivot in any direction, and deliver on any requirement.

So, how to be successful as the “one man/woman show”: don’t. 

By all means, build your personal brand. Be the rockstar. Close deals for your business. Be the go-to, the jack of all trades for your clients. But don’t actually be a one man/woman show. 

There is an expert for everything. Find those people and develop a relationships with them. Treat them with respect. Take their advice. And bring them in on your projects when their particular skill set or knowledge is appropriate. 

Take it from someone who has done this both ways - - invest in your network and don't go it alone. Your clients will be better off for it, and so will you!