How Solopreneurship "Mr Miyagi'd" Me

Want to be a writer and make $10k per month?

You can do it! Just sign up to my newsletter, buy my eBook, and read all my online content for weeks at a time….

Only to find out that each week just dangles the promise of the secret sauce.

Of course, that’s one way to do it. And be constantly on the search for new people to snake oil salesman. (Is “to snake oil salesman” someone a real verb?!)

I don’t know if it was the same for you, but as soon I started looking for ways to write online or make money online, your inbox is absolutely loaded with people wanting to “help” you on your way.

It took probably six months of reading nearly every one of these pieces to realize they wouldn’t get me much further in a new career than that.

Encouraging? Absolutely!

Hopeful and emotive? Beautifully written? For sure!

Fluffy? Also yes.

Insightful with long term value? Maybe not so much.

How to go from these fluffy, generic, “you can do it” kind of pieces to the next step took another six months of research.

And what I discovered, on the surface, won’t shock anybody.

You gotta provide value.

But that’s really kind of a fluffy concept, right? How do you nail that one down?

You do it by asking better questions. Here’s what I mean.

When I started looking at “how to make money online” or “how to write online”, that’s very generic but also all about myself. It’s a consumer mindset.

It’s kind of like searching for porn and then wondering why all kinds of X rated stuff pops up in your inbox. Because you let everybody know that’s what you’re into.

Keep reading and researching and cracks start to appear though. A tidbit here, a tidbit there, and you realize the really successful people talk about “providing value” or “solving problems.”

And after awhile, the real magic starts to happen…

You start asking better questions than “how do I make money online” or “how do I write online.” You start asking “how do I provide value” or “how do I solve problems.”

You have gone from the mindset of the consumer to the mindset of the creator. You have gone from a white belt mindset to a yellow belt mindset.

A paradigm shift and only a yellow belt? Really?

Yup.

But you’re now able to ask better questions. This is a foundational skill in the creator’s toolbox.

And that is how the universe will Mr Miyagi you (I’m not sure if “to Mr Miyagi” someone is a verb either, just roll with it).

 The universe will show you the path. Walk you right down it even. But then you must find a way to apply the lessons.

You can either keep mindlessly consuming content in the hopes you’ll one day be a creator. Or you can change your mindset and start creating.

So really… How do you provide value? How do you solve problems? What’s the blueprint?

The first time through the blueprint is the most difficult. But this framework literally would’ve saved me months and I’ve used for niche websites and also writing:

1. Find a problem- lot’s of different tools can do this now without a lot of drama. The trick is to find a problem that balances your skill level with the weight of the problem you’re trying to solve. Not a lot of skill? Solve little problems first.

2. Create a solution- how do you plan on solving the problem? Can the problem be solved with a tool? An app? An ebook? Etc?

a. What do you need to create the solution? Can you create the solution or do you need to hire help?

3. Tell people you have their solution- twitter/reddit/medium/seo/youtube/pick a platform

4. Collect customer information so you don’t have to rely on other platforms for your audience.

5. Use feedback to either tweak existing product or create a new one.

6. Iterate.

And that is how the student becomes the master.

Or maybe at least a green belt.