When you manage a business alone, every minute matters. Working smarter – not longer – is the real game-changer for solopreneurs who want to boost their income without burning out. The most successful solo business owners have mastered specific strategies that maximize both their time and earning potential, creating leverage without hiring employees.
In this article, we’ll reveal the proven tactics and hidden opportunities that help solopreneurs earn more while working less.
Delegate Your Secondary Tasks
Success as a solopreneur doesn’t mean handling everything yourself. Smart delegation of peripheral tasks—such as design work, writing, or support services—frees up your time. This allows you to concentrate on core business activities that drive growth. Modern freelance marketplaces provide access to global talent at competitive rates.
Consider this case study from a paddle sports equipment founder. Their journey to a strong brand identity began with delegating a crucial task to a trusted designer. According to Business Insider, this collaboration started with a strategic questionnaire, which guided their initial consultation. The questions covered:
- Desired brand personality and emotional response
- Inspirational brands they admired
- Potential logo applications
- Future brand expansion plans
- Technical specifications for product branding
The structured discovery process helped crystallize their brand identity. They defined themselves as dynamic, fun-loving, and forward-thinking – qualities their designer successfully captured in their visual identity and color scheme. The total investment of $250 proved to be one of the founder’s most valuable business expenditures.
By delegating this secondary task, they received professional results and clarity in their brand positioning. This ultimately saved time and enhanced their business’s potential for growth.
Leverage the Power of Technology
Automation tools play a crucial role in helping solopreneurs streamline operations and focus on business growth. By using these solutions, entrepreneurs can significantly reduce time spent on repetitive tasks. Key tools include:
- Calendly: Simplifies appointment scheduling.
- Mailchimp: Automates email marketing campaigns.
- QuickBooks: Tracks finances and simplifies bookkeeping.
One standout example is Collective, which recently introduced an AI-powered accounting platform tailored to solo entrepreneurs. As per PYMNTS, the platform addresses common challenges, such as:
- Dealing with tax compliance and bookkeeping without clear or affordable options.
- Providing a hybrid solution that blends AI-driven efficiency with human expertise, offering an alternative to costly accountants or DIY methods.
This emphasis on automated yet human-supported solutions extends beyond accounting. For industries with higher stakes, like legal practices, managing client intake can be particularly complex. Tools like legal intake software come in handy in such cases.
Law Ruler explains that its intake software helps streamline lead management by pre-screening clients quickly and effectively. The software ensures legal teams focus on high-quality leads that align with their practice areas.
Customizable forms tailored to specific legal specialties make client qualification seamless and accurate.
By leveraging these technologies, solopreneurs and professionals in specialized industries can optimize their workflows and prioritize what matters most.
The Power of Time Blocking
Managing time effectively is crucial for solopreneurs who aim to optimize their productivity and maximize earnings. Research has shown that multitasking, often seen as a productivity booster, can disrupt workflow and lower performance.
A study published in Frontiers examined workplace dynamics, focusing on the effects of multitasking. It highlighted how multitasking impacts the state of flow—a deep focus crucial for productivity—and influences perceived job performance.
Key findings include:
- Reduced Flow: High multitasking days were associated with decreased immersion in tasks.
- Lower Task Engagement: Employees perceived their tasks as less challenging, negatively impacting their motivation and focus.
- Daily Engagement Matters: Workers who reported high levels of daily engagement were better equipped to manage the disruptions caused by multitasking.
To combat the negative effects of multitasking, solopreneurs can adopt time blocking—a method of assigning specific hours to individual tasks. This strategy ensures focused attention and reduces the fragmentation of work.
Benefits of time blocking include:
- Enhanced Focus: By dedicating time exclusively to tasks like client work, marketing, or strategy, distractions are minimized.
- Boosted Productivity: Concentrated work sessions lead to higher-quality outcomes in less time.
- Improved Task Management: Prioritizing key tasks ensures critical activities, such as revenue generation, are addressed.
An expert advocates for time blocking, explaining that structured schedules drastically increase efficiency. He told Leaders that a 40-hour time-blocked work week could yield the same output as working over 60 hours without a structured approach.
The Impact of Strategic Task Selection
Managing time as an independent business owner directly influences your success. The key is identifying activities that drive revenue versus those that simply consume time. Core business activities like client development, product innovation, and strategic marketing deserve your primary focus, while support functions can often be delegated or automated.
To implement effective prioritization, start by conducting a thorough assessment of your tasks. Identify truly essential activities, evaluate their revenue potential, and recognize which routines are merely time-draining. This analysis forms the foundation for daily decision-making and resource allocation.
Create a practical framework by categorizing tasks into four key areas:
- Important & urgent (client deadlines, critical issues)
- Important & non-urgent (business planning, skill development)
- Non-important & urgent (minor administrative tasks)
- Non-important & non-urgent (low-value activities)
Select three high-impact priorities each day, focusing on business-growing activities while tracking progress on key objectives.
This structured approach ensures you maintain focus on activities that directly contribute to business growth while managing necessary support tasks efficiently. By consistently applying these principles, you can maximize your productive hours and accelerate business development.
FAQs
-
What core principles guide effective time management?
A: The five P’s framework provides essential time management guidance. Prioritize tasks strategically, plan activities systematically, prepare thoroughly, pace effort sustainably, and persist through challenges consistently. These interconnected principles create a comprehensive approach to maximizing productivity and achieving ambitious goals.
-
How do successful entrepreneurs structure their daily routines?
A: Effective entrepreneurs implement evening planning sessions to prepare for the next day’s success. This includes organizing tomorrow’s tasks, setting clear objectives, planning schedules, preparing meals, selecting attire, and reflecting on daily accomplishments. This proactive approach ensures productive morning starts and focused daily execution.
-
What key challenges do solo business owners face?
A: Solopreneurs frequently struggle with workload management, facing the complex challenge of balancing multiple responsibilities simultaneously. Without effective systems for task prioritization, time management, and delegation, they risk reduced efficiency and increased stress. This can lead to missed deadlines and compromised work quality due to being overstretched.
Success as a solopreneur isn’t about working more hours but mastering the art of leverage. Whether through strategic delegation, automated systems, or ruthless prioritization, the path to greater earnings lies in multiplying your impact while preserving your time.
“How can I do more?” is not the matter at hand. But rather, “How can I create more value with less direct involvement?” Your most precious resource isn’t money—it’s your focused attention. How will you invest it?
This post may contain affiliate links. Financial Panther has partnered with AwardWallet and CardRatings for our coverage of credit card products. Financial Panther, AwardWallet, and CardRatings may receive a commission from card issuers. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers. Compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. The site does not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Opinions, reviews, analyses & recommendations are the author’s alone, and have not been reviewed, endorsed or approved by any of these entities.
More Recommended Ebike/Scooters
Check out these other ebikes and scooters I've reviewed:
- Urban Arrow Ebike – Last year, I made one of the largest purchases I’ve ever made – I bought a $9,000 electric cargo bike from Urban Arrow. In my Urban Arrow review, I will discuss what it is and why I decided to buy this bike, as well as discuss how impactful a bike like this can be on your journey to financial independence.
- Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Ebike – The Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is a fat-tire ebike that I’ve had the pleasure of riding for a while now. It has amazing power, great looks, and awesome range. If you’re looking for a great fat-tire ebike that offers a lot for the price, the Troxus Explorer Step-Thru is definitely one for you to consider. Check out my Troxus Explorer Step-Thru Review.
- Hovsco HovBeta Ebike – The HovBeta is a folding ebike with great specs and a lot of interesting features, and importantly, it’s sold at a good price point. I’ve had a blast commuting with it and using it to do deliveries with DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. Check out my Hovsco HovBeta Ebike Review.
- Vanpowers Manidae Ebike – The Vanpowers Manidae is a fat tire ebike that I’ve been riding as my primary winter commuting bike and have also been using it to do food delivery with apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. After clocking in a decent number of miles with this ebike, I wanted to write a post sharing what my experience with the Vanpowers Manidae ebike has been like. Check out my Vanpowers Manidae Review.
- Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding EBike Review – A Great Value Folding Ebike – The Sohamo S3 Step-Thru Folding Ebike is an entry-level folding ebike that offers a lot of value for the price point. I’ve been riding the Sohamo S3 for a while now, putting the bike through its paces, and I have to say, this bike has exceeded all of my expectations. Check out my Sohamo Review.
- KBO Flip Ebike – The KBO Flip is an excellent bike. I’ve had a great time riding it and think it’s a versatile bike that can be used for a lot of purposes and can fit a variety of lifestyles. It’s worked out great for me as a general commuter bike and as a food delivery bike. Check out my KBO Flip Review.
- Hiboy P7 Commuter Ebike – The Hiboy P7 is an excellent electric commuter bike that’s offered at an affordable price point. The range and speed of this bike are both very good, so you won’t have any trouble getting anywhere you need to go with it. As a food delivery vehicle, this is also good – with how much range it offers, you’ll be able to work all day on a single charge. Check out my Hiboy P7 Commuter Electric Bike Review.
- Himiway Escape Ebike – The Himiway Escape is an interesting bike for anyone looking for a moped-style ebike. If you’re a gig economy worker, the Himiway Escape is particularly interesting and it’s possible to think of it as an investment, especially if you can opt to do deliveries with the Himiway versus using a car. It’s not cheap, but you can definitely make your money back when you compare the mileage you’ll put on your car versus using an ebike. Check out my Himiway Escape Bike Review.
- Espin Sport Ebike – The Espin Sport is a good ebike for someone who is looking for an ebike that feels and rides more like a regular bike. There are many ebikes that are really only bikes in name. In reality, they’re basically electric mopeds. The Espin Sport, by contrast, is a bike you could probably ride without the battery and you’d feel like you’re just riding a regular bike. Check out my Espin Sport Review.
- Varla Eagle One Scooter – The Varla Eagle One is an excellent scooter that can make sense for a lot of people. It can work as a primary mode of transportation. You can use it to work on gig economy apps like DoorDash, Uber Eats, and Grubhub. And it can also be a recreational vehicle if you’d prefer to use it for that. Check out my Varla Eagle One Review.
- Varla Falcon Scooter – The Varla Falcon is an excellent scooter that offers a good amount of power at a lower price point compared to more powerful scooters. It’s not exactly an entry-level scooter, nor is it a high-powered scooter. I think it fits somewhere in-between those two categories – an intermediate scooter if I had to give it a category. Check out my Varla Falcon Review.
- Hiboy S2 Scooter – The Hiboy S2 is an excellent entry-level commuter scooter that's perfect for someone looking to save some money in transportation costs and improve their commute. Check out my Hiboy S2 Review.
- Hiboy S2R Scooter – The Hiboy S2R is one of the more interesting electric scooters I’ve been able to test out. It’s not a high-powered scooter, but for an everyday transport option, it’s very useful, especially given some of the unique features that it has. Indeed, for the price, the Hiboy S2R might be the best value scooter I’ve used. Check out my Hiboy S2R Review.
- Fucare H3 Scooter – The Fucare H3 is a fun scooter and I’ve enjoyed testing it out. For a daily commuter or quick trips or errands, the Fucare H3 is probably the scooter I’ll use. It’s portable and easy to maneuver, so it’s just easier to take on the road when I need it. Check out my Fucare H3 Scooter Review.
More Recommended Investing App Bonuses
For additional investing app bonuses, be sure to check out the ones below:
- M1 Finance ($100) – This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account. Check out my M1 Finance Referral Bonus – Step-By-Step Guide.
- SoFi Invest ($25) – SoFi Invest is an easy brokerage account bonus that you can earn with just a few minutes of work. Use my SoFi Invest referral link, fund your SoFi Invest brokerage account with just $10 and you’ll get $25 of free stock. I also have a step-by-step guide for the SoFi Invest referral bonus.
- Webull (20 free stock shares) – Webull's current promotion gives you 20 free shares valued between $3-$3,000 each if you open an account using my referral link. Here’s a guide I wrote about how to earn your free shares using Webull.
- Moomoo (15 free stocks) – Moomoo is a free investing app currently offering 2 different referral bonuses if you open an account using a referral link. Read my Moomoo referral bonus guide for more information.
- Robinhood (1 free stock) – Robinhood gives you a free stock valued between $2.50-$225 if you open an account using my referral link.
- Public (1 free stock) - Public gives you a free stock valued between $3-$70 if you open an account using my referral link.
More Recommended Bank Account Bonuses
If you’re looking for more easy bank bonuses, check out the below options. These bonuses are all easy to earn and have no fees or minimum balance requirements to worry about.
- Upgrade ($200) – Upgrade is a free checking account that’s currently offering a $200 referral bonus if you open an account and complete a direct deposit. These bonus terms are easy to meet, so it’s well worth doing this bonus as soon as you can. Here’s a post I wrote with more details: Upgrade $200 Referral Bonus – Step By Step Directions.
- Ally Bank ($100) – Of all the banks out there, Ally is, without a doubt, my favorite. At the moment, Ally is offering $100 to customers who open an eligible Ally account and meet the requirements. Here are the step-by-step directions to earn your Ally Bank referral bonus.
- Fairwinds Credit Union ($175) – Fairwinds Credit Union is offering a referral bonus for users that sign up using a referral link. Fairwinds has no fees or minimum balance, so this is a particularly easy bonus to earn. Since this is a smaller credit union, my gut instinct tells me this offer won’t be around long, so if you’re in a position to meet the bonus requirements, grab this bonus before it’s gone. Here is my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Fairwinds Credit Union bonus.
- Chime ($100) - Chime is a free bank account that offers a referral bonus if you use a referral link and complete a direct deposit of $200 or more. In practice, any ACH transfer into this account triggers the bonus. This bonus is easy to earn and posts instantly, so you’ll know if you met the requirements as soon as you move money into the account. I wrote a step-by-step guide on how to earn your Chime referral bonus that I recommend you check out.
- US Bank Business ($900) – This is a fairly easy bank bonus to earn, since there are no direct deposit requirements. In addition, you can open the Silver Business Checking account, which comes with no monthly fees. Check out how to earn this big bonus here.
- GO2Bank ($50) - GO2Bank is an easy bank bonus that I recommend people take advantage of if they have an easy way of meeting the direct deposit requirement. I like that it’s easy to open the account and that the bonus pays out quickly. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your GO2Bank $50 referral bonus.
- Current ($50) – Current is a free fintech bank that’s offering new users a $50 referral bonus after signing up for an account using a referral link. Current is an easy bonus to earn and also gives you access to three savings accounts that pay you 4% interest on up to $2,000. That means you can put away up to $6,000 earning 4% interest. That’s very good and makes Current an account I recommend to everyone. Check out my step-by-step guide on how to earn your Current Bank bonus.
- Novo Bank ($40) - Novo bank is a free business checking account that’s currently offering a $40 bonus if you open a Novo business checking account using a referral link. In addition to being a good bank bonus, Novo is also a good business checking account. It has no monthly fees or minimum balance requirements and operates a good app and website. Indeed, it’s the business checking account I currently use for this blog. Check out my post on how to easily open a Novo account.
- Varo ($25) – Varo is a free fintech banking app similar to Chime or Current. It’s currently offering a $25 bonus to new users that open a new Varo account with a referral link. The bonus for this bank is very easy to meet, all you need to do is spend $20 within 30 days of opening your Varo account. Check out my step-by-step guide to learn how to earn this bonus.
Kevin is an attorney and the blogger behind Financial Panther, a blog about personal finance, travel hacking, and side hustling using the gig economy. He paid off $87,000 worth of student loans in just 2.5 years by choosing not to live like a big shot lawyer.
Kevin is passionate about earning money using the gig economy and you can see all the ways he makes extra income every month in his side hustle reports.
Kevin is also big on using the latest fintech apps to improve his finances. Some of Kevin's favorite fintech apps include:
- SoFi Money. A really good checking account with absolutely no fees. You'll get a $25 referral bonus if you open a SoFi Money account with a referral link, and an additional $300 if you complete a direct deposit.
- 5% Savings Accounts. I'm currently getting 5.24% interest on my savings through a company called Raisin. Opening a Raisin account takes minutes to complete, it's free, and all of your funds are FDIC-insured. I explain how it works, why I'm now using it to store my emergency fund and any other cash savings I have, and why I recommend everyone check it out in this review.
- US Bank Business. US Bank is currently offering new business customers a $900 signup bonus after opening a new account and meeting certain requirements.
- M1 Finance. This is a great robo-advisor that has no fees and allows you to create a customized portfolio based on your risk tolerance. You also get $100 for opening an account.
- Empower. One of best free apps you can use to monitor your portfolio and track your net worth. This is one of the apps I use to track my financial accounts.
Feel free to send Kevin a message here.
Leave a Reply