Running a one-person business means making hundreds of decisions every week with no one to bounce ideas off.
You're in your head all day. Second-guessing pricing. Wondering if that marketing strategy will work. Staring at a proposal for the third time, unsure if you're positioning yourself right.
Most solopreneurs and consultants think they should have all the answers. But here's what I learned after building multiple seven-figure businesses: the fastest way to grow isn't working harder—it's working with someone who's already solved the problems you're facing.
Business coaches give you leverage by helping you avoid mistakes and focusing your effort. That's not theory. That's a fact.
In this guide, I'll show you exactly how the right business coach accelerates your solopreneur journey from grinding alone to strategic growth with clear direction.
1. Avoid wasting time on common mistakes
The biggest cost of going solo isn't what you spend—it's what you lose.
Every month you spend testing the wrong marketing channel is a month you're not building the right one. Every client you take at below-market rates trains the market to see you as cheap. Every system you build wrong costs twice as much to fix later.
Coaches help you skip the painful, expensive lessons that slow down most solopreneurs.
When I work with clients, I see them repeat the same patterns I made 15 years ago. The difference is they don't have to learn from those mistakes—they can learn from mine.
A good coach has a catalog of what doesn't work. They've seen hundreds of solopreneurs make the same mistakes. They know which paths lead to dead ends and which shortcuts work.
2. Multiply your time and energy
Coaches don't just give advice—they give you focus.
Most solopreneurs spread themselves across too many initiatives. They're posting on LinkedIn, building a website, networking, cold emailing, and trying to optimize their existing client delivery all at once.
Without someone to help you prioritize, you end up busy but not productive. You're working harder but not getting closer to your real goals.
A coach helps you identify the 20% of activities that drive 80% of your results. They allow you to say no to good opportunities so you can say yes to great ones.
Focus on what moves the needle instead of spreading yourself too thin.
The difference between a scattered solopreneur and a focused one isn't talent—it's clarity about what matters right now.
3. Think clearly when everything feels fuzzy
Decision-making becomes exponentially harder when you're the only person in the room.
When you're stuck choosing between two client opportunities, deciding whether to raise your rates, or figuring out which marketing channel to double down on—having someone to think through these decisions with you changes everything.
For example, Nausheen Chen, a public speaking consultant, could have offered generic communication training, but I helped her see the real opportunity.
Instead of competing in a crowded market, she focused on the specific pain point that resonates with ambitious professionals: "You know who gets the most clients and promotions? The person who can speak the best." This clarity allowed her to work with over 500 entrepreneurs and executives at companies like Google, Amazon, and IBM.
Clarity is your biggest competitive advantage. While other solopreneurs are paralyzed by options, you're making confident decisions and moving forward.
Coaches help you find that clarity faster.
They ask the right questions. They help you see patterns you miss. They provide frameworks for making tough choices without endless deliberation.
Here's a blueprint "on me" to help you build the ideal business for your lifestyle:
4. Stay accountable and follow through
Knowing what to do and doing it are completely different challenges.
Most solopreneurs have a list of projects they've been "meaning to get to" for months. Update the website. Systemize the client onboarding. Reach out to that potential referral partner. Create a content calendar.
Without external accountability, these important but not urgent tasks never happen.
A coach creates structure around your commitments. Knowing someone is tracking your progress keeps you moving forward, even when motivation dips.
The best part about coaching accountability is that it's positive pressure. You're not reporting to a boss who's micromanaging your day. You're checking in with someone who wants to see you succeed.
This external expectation transforms internal commitments into real-world actions.
5. Earn back your investment fast
Great coaching pays for itself—often within the first few months.
When you work with someone who helps you position your offer correctly, you can charge 30-50% more for the same work. When they help you identify your ideal client profile, you stop wasting time on prospects who will never buy.
Take Lara Acosta, a personal branding consultant who was unemployed in 2022 and trying to get into a master's program.
After working with me and focusing on a clear offer, she became the #1 female creator on LinkedIn and built multiple six-figure revenue streams—all within three years. She turned her experience into LA Digital (a ghostwriting agency) and Literally Academy (teaching personal branding).
When coaching or mentorship helps you build systems that save two hours per week, you get 100+ hours back per year to focus on revenue-generating activities.
- I've seen this pattern repeatedly: solopreneurs who invest in coaching end up earning more while working less. The investment becomes the catalyst for everything else they want to achieve.
The question isn't whether you can afford coaching. It's whether you can afford to keep struggling with the same challenges month after month.
6. Start showing up like your next-level self
Most solopreneurs underestimate their own value.
They price their services based on what they think people will pay rather than the actual value they deliver. They position themselves as "affordable" rather than premium. They apologize for their expertise instead of owning it.
Danny DelVecchio, a video marketing consultant, spent 14 years in corporate sales before recognizing he could transform those skills into something much more valuable.
Instead of staying stuck in traditional sales roles, he leveraged his understanding of business development and client relationships to build "Video On Easy Mode"—now generating $50K months by solving a specific problem for LinkedIn creators.
Coaches challenge how you see yourself and help you play a bigger game.
They help you recognize patterns of thinking small. They push you to consider possibilities you've been avoiding. They allow you to step into the version of yourself that your business needs you to become.
It's practical identity work that directly impacts your business results.
When you start seeing yourself as the expert you are, your pricing, positioning, and client interactions all shift accordingly.
7. Test ideas out loud before you waste time
Your internal dialogue isn't a strategy session.
When you're brainstorming alone, you miss obvious flaws in your thinking. You get attached to ideas that sound good in your head but won't work in reality. You spend weeks building something before realizing it doesn't solve the right problem.
Strategizing in your own head is a slow process. A coach helps you pressure-test ideas faster.
They've seen similar approaches succeed and fail. They can spot potential problems before you invest time and energy. They help you refine concepts before you commit resources.
This external perspective saves you from building the wrong solution or pursuing the wrong opportunity.
8. Spot what's holding you back
You can't see your blind spots.
You may be attracting the wrong clients because your positioning is unclear. Or your sales conversations aren't converting because you're not qualifying prospects properly.
For instance, Nick Broekema, a content design consultant, ran a design agency for six years that relied entirely on word-of-mouth marketing. This created a painful feast-and-famine cycle where he worked with every client that came his way, constantly hustling and putting out fires with no time to focus on building his business.
It wasn't until he worked with a mentor that he recognized the fundamental flaw in his approach. In 2022, he pivoted to content design for LinkedIn, creating systematic lead generation instead of waiting for referrals. Now, he helps founders and CEOs attract leads consistently through strategic content.
Blind spots kill momentum—a coach helps you uncover and fix them.
They notice patterns you miss. They hear things in your language that reveal underlying assumptions. They see gaps between what you think you're communicating and what's coming across.
Getting this external perspective is like getting your business prescription updated. Suddenly, things that were blurry become clear.
9. Make tough decisions without spinning
Some business decisions don't have obvious right answers.
Should you drop that longtime client who pays consistently but demands too much of your time? Should you pivot your service offering based on one client's feedback? Should you turn down a big opportunity that doesn't align with your long-term vision?
Coaches bring an outside perspective so you stop second-guessing yourself.
They help you weigh options objectively. They provide frameworks for thinking through complex trade-offs. They help you make decisions based on your actual goals rather than fear or short-term pressure.
This reduces the mental energy you spend cycling through the same questions and frees you up to act on your decisions confidently.
10. Protect your calendar like a CEO
Time is your most valuable asset as a solopreneur.
But without someone helping you think strategically about how you spend it, you end up reactive. You take meetings that don't advance your goals. You work on projects that don't move the needle. You say yes to requests that drain your energy.
Coaches help you make strategic choices about your time allocation.
They keep your focus on high-leverage actions, not distractions.
They help you recognize when you're spending time on activities that feel productive but don't generate results. They allow you to build boundaries that protect your most important work.
11. Upgrade your standards and expectations
Most solopreneurs accept mediocre results because they don't know what's possible.
They think 10% conversion rates are good because they've never had 30%.
They think working 50 hours a week is normal because they've never built systems that allow them to work 30 hours.
They think feast-or-famine cycles are inevitable because they've never developed consistent lead generation.
Pascalle Bergmans, a paid speaking coaching consultant, could have stayed in her corporate role at companies like Databricks and Russell Investments. But working with me helped her see that her unique combination of corporate experience and performance training from musical theater could solve a specific problem for executives who needed to improve their speaking impact.
Coaches don't let you coast. They hold you to the level you say you want.
They've worked with solopreneurs who've achieved what you're trying to achieve. They know what's realistic but challenging. They help you raise your standards gradually but consistently.
This recalibration of expectations often leads to breakthrough results that felt impossible before.
12. Borrow playbooks that already work
You don't need to reinvent everything from scratch.
Every challenge you're facing has been solved by someone else. Every system you need to build has been built before. Every mistake you're tempted to make has been made by others.
Matt Barker, a LinkedIn ghostwriter, didn't try to create something completely new. He took his marketing skills from the corporate world and scaled his 1:1 digital writing offer first.
Then he layered in digital products and coaching using what I call a "Portfolio of Offers"—multiple complementary offers serving the same type of Lighthouse Client. As a result, he’s earning more than six figures each year with a lean operation.
A good coach brings proven strategies that you can adapt to your situation.
They have frameworks for client acquisition, templates for proposal writing, systems for project management, and processes for pricing conversations. You don't need to figure these out through trial and error.
This borrowed expertise accelerates your progress dramatically. Instead of spending months developing your approach, you can implement something that's already proven to work.
13. Stack wins and keep momentum
Progress feeds on itself—but only if you're tracking it properly.
Most solopreneurs focus on what's not working rather than building on what is. They discount small improvements and lose sight of cumulative progress. They get discouraged by temporary setbacks instead of recognizing overall trends.
A coach helps you identify wins and keep momentum going.
Even small progress compounds when you're intentional about building on it. A coach helps you recognize patterns of success and replicate them. They help you celebrate milestones that keep you motivated through longer-term challenges.
This positive reinforcement loop makes growth feel sustainable rather than exhausting.
14. Show yourself you're serious
Investing in coaching is investing in your future self.
It signals to yourself and others that you're committed to growth. It creates a financial incentive to follow through on changes you've been avoiding. It demonstrates that you see your business as worth investing in.
When you invest in yourself at this level, you start making other decisions from that same place of commitment. You raise your rates. You upgrade your systems. You start positioning yourself as the expert you are.
The investment becomes a catalyst for treating your business more professionally overall.
15. Break out of the loneliness of it all
Building a business alone doesn't mean you have to figure it out alone.
The isolation of solopreneurship affects your decision-making, motivation, and mental health. When you're carrying the weight of every business decision without external input, it becomes overwhelming.
You don't have to figure it out alone—coaches are your sounding board.
They provide the thinking partnership that employees get naturally, but solopreneurs miss. They're someone to celebrate wins with and problem-solve challenges alongside.
This human connection around your business goals makes the entire journey more sustainable and enjoyable.
The compound effect of solopreneur coaching
Here's what most solopreneurs don't realize: coaching benefits compound over time.
The clarity you gain in month one helps you make better decisions in month three. The systems you build in month two save you time in month six. The confidence you develop in month four helps you close bigger deals in month eight.
Each benefit builds on the others, creating momentum that becomes self-sustaining.
The solopreneurs who grow consistently aren't the ones with the most talent or the best ideas. They're the ones who get the right support at the right time and use it to build systematic, sustainable growth.
You've already proven you can build a business. Now, it's time to build the right support system to scale it.
And if you're ready to take the next step and work with a business mentor who has been in the trenches, reach out to me below:
If you're still unsure, here's a blueprint "on me" to help you build a successful solo business:
