April 21, 2025

Self-Employed and Stuck? 4 Parts of Marketing You Actually Need to Know

April 21, 2025/ Maggie Karshner

Marketing is a big umbrella that covers many, many different things. When coming up with a marketing plan, it can be difficult to focus in on the aspects of marketing that you really need to learn about. This article is for any aspiring self-employed business owner who wants to do it right. This overview will help you to understand all that's involved with a marketing plan, and help you zero in on the stuff you need to learn about.

March 31, 2025

Beat Your Weaknesses: How to Win as a Unique Self-Employed Business Owner

March 31, 2025/ Maggie Karshner

If you've never felt insecure when comparing yourself to others, this article isn't for you. For the rest of us normal people, we need to explore this and how it's impacting our current or future businesses. It's vital for self-employed businesses to understand their competitive advantages and disadvantages. But trying to understand this usually gets us stuck, demoralized, or frozen. Let me reframe competition and the dis/advantages of your business so that you can more easily succeed.

February 26, 2025

How to Find the Spirit of Your Business: 3 Key Aspects to Focus On

February 26, 2025/ Maggie Karshner

You're self-employment curious, but you're not even sure what your business is or does. It's not clear to you what your business does and what it means to know what it does. You want to have confidence in knowing the general form of your business. I'll help orient you to the basics of your business. This also addresses what's required of the Executive Summary and Company Description sections of a business plan.

January 31, 2025

Do You Really Need a Business Plan? Collective Liberation and the Confidence You Crave

January 31, 2025/ Maggie Karshner

Business Plans. Are they archaic? Vital? Confusing AF? This is the first of a series of articles designed for self-employed businesses and people critical of capitalism. This series will go in-depth into each component of a business plan. This first article is an overview going through all the parts of a business plan. By understanding the components, it will become less monolithic. You might realize you know more than you thought, or that you've missed a key thing. Launch your business smartly with a solid plan!

October 28, 2024

Want a Risk-Free Business? Learn 3 Ways to Keep Yourself Protected

October 28, 2024/ Maggie Karshner

This article is for the cautious first-time business owners who don't want to "risk it all" in launching their business. You're struggling with a fear of risk, especially in the case of litigation. You want to move forward and put protections in place confidently. I'll enlighten you regarding the risks you're exposed to. Then I'll further soothe your fears by describing the many methods you can use to protect yourself and your business. By the end of this article, you'll know risk-reducing actions and be able to move forward with confidence!

August 30, 2024

The Prosperous Pyramid: How to Design Offerings to Skyrocket Your Business

August 30, 2024/ Maggie Karshner

This is an article for multi-talented and full of potential self-employed business owners who want to identify their first or next best business offering. Those just starting out will get clarity on what offering to start with, and more established businesses will learn which offerings to expand to. I help you analyze your offering ideas and prioritize your business offerings.

May 29, 2024

Strengthen through Self-Employment: 3 Unique Benefits You're Guaranteed to Get

May 29, 2024/ Maggie Karshner

Anxieties about starting a business abound. Strategic-thinking folks like you seek to distinguish legitimate fears from illegitimate anxieties. What many don't realize is that the outcome of self-employment is not success. Yes, that could be one of the outcomes, but it's not the only or even the most valuable. As I reflect back from my 10th year in business, I share three key outcomes I see all my clients benefit from. I hope my perspective will help reinforce your confidence. And - for those not yet started - encourage you to launch your business!

January 29, 2024

The Scientific Solution to the Chicken and the Egg: How to Apply it to Business

January 29, 2024/ Maggie Karshner

You haven't started your business yet, and you're not sure where to start. It seems like everything is interconnected and all needs to be done at the same time. Is there a starting point? If you do find a starting point, what comes next?

In this article, I provide 4 strategies to guide you through all the paradoxes of an early business's life. If you're a conscientious aspiring self-employed business owner, this will show you how to move through the early stages of your business with more confidence!

September 28, 2023

Spend Money to Make Money: How to Defy Doom and Avoid Bankruptcy

September 28, 2023/ Maggie Karshner

You want to start a business, but you're not sure what to buy now and what to hold off on. You want to make purchases with confidence to launch your business, but you also don't want to end up bankrupt. Starting a business comes with tight budgets and tough spending decisions. Read on as I provide guidance on differentiating between must-have and nice-to-have expenses. Learn when to invest in essential items and when to consider nice-to-haves like virtual assistants or upgraded tools, all while managing your funds effectively.

August 29, 2023

How to Thrive Through Doing: A Guide for Conquering Challenges

August 29, 2023/ Maggie Karshner

This article delves into the common dilemma where meticulous planning meets the unexpected trials of implementation. Discover how embracing the process and seeking external perspectives can empower entrepreneurs to navigate the uncharted waters between knowledge and action.

June 27, 2023

4 Pitfalls of Toxic Masculinity to Overcome for Business Success

June 27, 2023/ Maggie Karshner

Explore the risks of toxic masculinity in entrepreneurship and discover four traits that can undermine your business dreams. This article delves into the importance of open-mindedness, embracing humanity, active listening, and agility in overcoming these traits. Learn how breaking free from toxic masculinity leads to a thriving and inclusive business environment.

May 23, 2023

How to Craft an Effective Elevator Speech for Your Business

May 23, 2023/ Maggie Karshner

How would an elevator speech help your business? This is a blog article for authentic business owners who are struggling to talk about their businesses in a meaningful way. Here I'll illuminate the key objectives of an elevator speech and how it can help you talk about your business. You'll discover how a good elevator speech will help you to promote your business authentically. Authentic promotion is possible whether it's a meeting with investors or a spontaneous casual interaction.

April 27, 2023

Self-Employment and Ethics: How to Use Your Business to Improve the World

April 27, 2023/ Maggie Karshner

A self-employed business is such a small operation, can it really change the world? Your business has more influence than you might imagine at first glance. Let me reveal how your micro-business might be the best tool you have in your fight for social change.

March 24, 2023

Thriving Through Chaos: How to Turn Unexpected Changes into Opportunities for Growth

March 24, 2023/ Maggie Karshner

Do you experience fear in the face of change? Fear is normal but you can still learn to navigate even unexpected changes with serenity. Using my own recent change as a context, I illustrate the steps needed to navigate any change. You can increase your confidence with change by making an informed decision about the best way to move forward. This is such a vital skill in the ever-changing landscape of small businesses!

February 24, 2023

Don't Let Rejection Plunge you into Despair! How to Prevail with Resilience!

February 24, 2023/ Maggie Karshner

This month's blog article is perfect for those of you who want to face rejection without catastrophizing. Rejection is the biggest hurdle for self-employed businesses. Self-employed business owners like you CAN have a more resilient attitude toward rejection. I'll provide a framework by using Daniel Pink's book, "Selling is Human", to analyze the rejection. I'll apply this framework to understanding a personal experience of rejection. Take rejection in a positive light and used it to improve your skills, rather than view it as a failure.

February 14, 2023

Is Starting a Business Worth It? Dare I Say, “Do Your Own Thing”!

February 14, 2023/ Maggie Karshner

Wondering if it’s a good idea to start a business in 2023? Ready to be a business owner but not sure it’s for you? Read for pros, cons, and a new movement idea.

October 29, 2021

3 Lessons to Help You be a Good Self-Employed White Person

October 29, 2021/ Maggie Karshner

For white people, it can be challenging to maintain the momentum of an anti-racist practice. When we think of anti-racism work in our self-employed business we often get even more stuck. Here’s a little update on my own practice and the huge shot in the arm it took over the summer!

April 23, 2021

How to Get Good at Money: Build the Skills You Need for Self-Employment

April 23, 2021/ Maggie Karshner

I don't know who's promoted the idea that business owners are universally good at money. We're not. And even then, those of who are good at it, it's not because of a god-given talent or anything. It's because we learned it. Being "good at money" is a complex set of skills that are rarely taught, but are totally learnable!

March 19, 2021

"Everything is Important" Defines Chaos: How to Launch with Confidence

March 19, 2021/ Maggie Karshner

There are so many things to do when starting a business. Doing the right thing for your stage of the business' development can help conserve energy, bring greater success, and less stress. For those in the just getting started phase, here's what you should be focusing on.

February 23, 2021

How to Conquer Your First Foolproof Marketing Project

February 23, 2021/ Maggie Karshner

Marketing can seem overwhelming for new business owners. In this article, I demystify what works best, and set a clear path for your first marketing project. Plus one more bonus high-return marketing effort.

Jun 26, 2025

How to Do It All (Without Doing It All): Streamline Your Solo Business

This article is for busy self-employed business owners struggling with doing too much. You crave identifying which operations in the business to streamline. Sounds like you need an Operational Plan! I'll help you clarify your priorities and help you feel less overwhelmed by your task list.

May 28, 2025

End Financial Overwhelm: Reliable Results Just Need 3 Things to Balance

You're no dummy. You know a financial plan is a key part of business, even for a self-employed business that's just getting off the ground. You want to have reasonable financial expectations for your business. And it'd be great if you didn't have to overwork to get there. (But is that even possible?) This article is for anyone struggling with overwhelm when trying to understand the money side of their business. Here, I'll help by providing you with clarity and simplifying the mathematical process. This will help you to launch a business with a solid financial footing.

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