Hi Fearless Friend!

Today on Stay Fearless or Die Trying:

1. How to rock being a solo entrepreneur

2. Startups that did it alone!

3. Meet me at London Tech Week in June!

4. And…Harvard in November!

I did it, you can too!

If you told 12-year-old Alexa that her fashion blog would become her career, that she would form an incredible empowerment summit, or start a non-profit, she probably would have fainted! Shoutout to Beth who helps me write this newsletter for hyping me up in the first draft of this piece - LOL. P.S. she’s incredible and is part of the reason we’re able to drop a thorough piece of Stay Fearless or Die Trying every week!

At 12 years old, dealing with bullying and feeling stuck in my small-town life, I could have never imagined I’d be here today. As I write this newsletter from Malta, I remember how difficult the journey of being an entrepreneur still is. Even when you see success, you’re faced with new obstacles. The road wasn’t and continues to not be easy, that’s for sure. Whenever you choose something different with your life, you have no roadmap to getting to the next level. You just keep running.

How can I help someone in a similar boat as me, pursuing entrepreneurship on their own? How can I make this journey easier to navigate for someone else? I’ve compiled some tips to share that might help a solo entrepreneur get one step ahead in this process.

1. Automate, automate, AUTOMATE!

There will never be enough hours in the day to get done what you set out to do at 6 am when you make your to-do list over coffee. Taking some tasks off your list and making the computer work for you is essential. I don’t have a family / kids, so I get to choose what I need to get done in a day on my own. If you have kids and a family, you’ll have to modify some of this process. Setting up automations is a huge part of streamlining your work process. Here are some resources to look into (none are sponsored, I want to help you grow!)

Beehiiv: A great resource for email automation. You can set up welcome emails, product recs, order notifications, and more! This is a perfect resource especially if your brand focuses on a specific product, or something physical. Have you ever received one of those “You still have items in your cart” emails? Beehiiv can do that too!

Hootsuite: This platform is perfect for setting up social media automation. With all the stuff you’ll have going on, it’ll be hard to find time to post consistently on social media throughout the day. Hootsuite allows you to schedule social media posts on all major platforms, as well as compiles viewer data so you only have to look at one place. My suggestion? Pick a day every week or so dedicated to getting as many posts done and scheduled as possible. This way your social media task is covered, and you can focus on all the other things that will make your startup great.

QuickBooks/Freshbooks: It’s hard to be a CEO, CFO, marketer, and everything else that comes with running a business. Freshbooks and QuickBooks make it a lot easier. I personally use Freshbooks because the intro offer is great - it’s very cheap for close to a year whereas QuickBooks is pricier upfront. Both can automate recurring invoices, send out reminders for overdue bills, and allow your customers to make automatic payments. They can also link your bank accounts and do much of the accounting process for you automatically, saving you precious time.

2. Think small to grow big!

Ah, minimalism. Keeping life simple will help you from going crazy! Your workspace is a great example of this. For me, it is as simple as my laptop and my phone. This way I can work from anywhere. One of my clients was talking to me the other day about how overwhelmed she feels looking at the big calendar of due dates that sits above her desk at all times. It makes her feel like she will never get every task done. My advice? Throw it out! Move over to a digital calendar that will remind you of the important stuff as it comes up, so you aren’t overwhelmed with every task all at once. I enjoy having a personal calendar on my wall in my apartment but I use everything else work related on my Google cal.

More than just clearing out clutter at your desk, you have to think about what you can manage as just one person starting. Yes, it’s great to get consistent posting across all social media sites to grow your reach. But, picking one that gives you the best output for your brand and putting most of your social media effort there is going to allow you to shape your brand. Eventually, you’ll have a foolproof method for posting that can be used across social media sites and you won’t feel exhausted from stretching yourself across them.

Relate this to your products. If you’re doing this on your own, it’s too much to expect yourself to put out more than you can realistically create. Yes, it would be awesome to have your product available in 17 colors right away, but is that realistic? Start with 1-3, wait for demand to come in, and expand as you grow. Don’t forget to kick the bucket on the product that isn’t selling. It’ll look way worse if you have to cut your options in half after two weeks because you can’t maintain growth.

3. Use “micro” movements

Similar to minimalism, micro-movements are small ways to inform yourself and grow. I use 3 micro-movements daily to keep me sane and help me avoid burnout.

• Micro-Learning: Take 15 minutes or so a day to learn something about the business world. While you’re drinking your coffee, going on a jog, or driving to an appointment, you can put on a podcast or listen to an audiobook about a certain aspect of growth. Don’t know where to start? You could always listen to my New Unfiltered podcast, watch business Ted Talks, or even put on a “For Dummies” audiobook.

• Micro-Networking: Networking doesn’t have to mean attending big events, taking hours at a time. Micro-networking is as simple as reaching out to a creator on social media with a similar market to yours and connecting with them in some way. Or, reaching out to someone on LinkedIn who could potentially fill a role you need and just asking about their work. These tasks can take less than 10 minutes and can help you grow your network without ever leaving the house.

• Micro-Breaks: The most important one, in my opinion. Take little breaks throughout your day to avoid getting overwhelmed and burning out. Create transition time between tasks to help clear your head and shift your focus. Just finished a meeting? Take 10 minutes to scroll social media, play your favorite iPhone game, or watch a silly YouTube video (did you know there’s a whole playlist of cute animals?) All the work you have to do won’t go anywhere while you’re centering yourself!

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Startups that did it ALONE!

It’s easy to get discouraged when embarking on this solo journey. I thought I’d include some examples of people who grew from nothing all by themselves to show you it’s possible! Here are some of my favorite companies by self-made founders.

• Spanx: Sarah Blakely revolutionized the shapewear game with just $5,000 in personal savings and an idea. Her prototype? She cut the feet off a pair of pantyhose and ran with it. Sarah Blakely probably had no idea that in 2000 she was on her way to becoming the youngest female self-made billionaire.

• Tumblr: For those deeply familiar with the blogging world, this one may come as no surprise. David Karp started Tumblr in 2007 in his bedroom while desperate for a user-friendly blogging platform. Years later, it is still incredibly popular, and he made a small fortune selling it to Yahoo! for approximately 1.1 billion dollars.

• Under Armour: Very similar to the other examples, former college football athlete Kevin Plank started in his grandmother’s basement, experimenting with moisture-wicking material. Since he started in 1996, the brand has grown exponentially and is nearly as much of a household name as Nike. As of May 2024, the business is worth almost 3.5 million dollars.

The answer to the question “Can it be done alone?” is a resounding YES! Not only can it, but it already has been done time and time again. Work hard, follow your plan, and don’t give up!

4 places to find leads for public speaking opportunities:

1. 100+ brands list (here) - use this list to cold pitch to corporate companies who are looking for speakers

2. Cold pitch a YMCA or Boys & Girls Club (they are always looking for guest speakers)

3. Schools like Fusion Academy

4. Brands like Be Fearless and Female Founder Collective (they pull from members for future speaking opportunities so make sure you become a member)

This week on The New Unfiltered:

Probably the best career advice you’ll get for free.

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Plus, catch me speaking in 2024 below:

Meet me at London Tech Week here.

And stay tuned for my Harvard talk in November with updates here!

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