July 15, 2025

What business-building tasks do freelance consultants need to prioritize?

In a recent message I pointed out that when you go out on your own as a freelancer or solo consultant, you have started a business in which you are both (1) THE BUSINESS OWNER, and (2) THE SOLE EMPLOYEE.

A fellow list member replied to ask:

Curious to know about that business role, if you can elaborate more on that, or maybe for the next mail.

Fair question!

There are lots of administrative tasks that solopreneurs are responsible for (e.g., writing proposals, invoicing clients, handling taxes, etc), but in my humble opinion, the most important “business owner” items are:

• Marketing
• Innovation

You need both to build a durable business.

Why?

Because:

• Marketing without innovation is selling snake oil
• Innovation without marketing is launching to crickets

Yours,

—J

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