This is “Featured Solopreneur,” an ongoing series that gives all of us a glimpse at how other solopreneurs operate their small businesses. Click Here to read more Solopreneur Success Stories.
Name of solopreneur:
Jim Sheard, Ph.D.
Name of business and city:
Beyond the Score (previously called In His Grip Resources); Owatonna, Minnesota
Web site address:
www.beyondthescore.net (ready in mid-November 2010); also a shared Web site www.fingerprintsoffaith.org
with coauthor Lenore Else
Type of business:
I write books and develop related products, including paraphernalia for golfers with my logo and/or words of inspiration. I have coauthored eight books. The first one, In His Grip,
was a bestseller for inspirational gift books (sold 750,000 copies). Most of my books have been Christian devotionals for golfers, yes, golfers (Google my name to see them; or go to amazon.com). With a Ph.D. in industrial/organizational psychology, and 30 years as a consultant and executive, I also have insights to offer about work and life.
When did you officially go into business?
No official start, but I began writing books nearly 20 years ago.
Why did you start your own business?
I retired early at age 55 due to my bi-polar disorder, and I needed something to occupy my mind and time. It has become a passion I pursue at home and at a local coffee shop I call my “office.” Mine is more of an avocation than a business.
What was the best thing you did when you were starting up your business?
I was able to do what I most enjoyed doing. I coauthored with people who had insights beyond my own.
What is a mistake that you made that you have learned from?
I failed to get started exercising and eating properly until just recently. It led to some health risk factors.
What is your biggest current challenge in the business and what are doing to try to solve it?
Marketing the books I self-publish. I am applying the lessons of “relational marketing” (a plug for the book I coauthored with Larry Keltto) to my own situation.
What are your goals for the next 12 months?
1. Focus on marketing my three most recent books (Beyond the Score: Relationship Keys for Golf and Life; Fingerprints of Faith; and Relationship Marketing for Solopreneurs)
2. Build traffic and sales on my new website.
3. Coauthor some blogs and a revolutionary new product to encourage solopreneurs and others in their “niche” of life.
Where do you want to be with the business in five years?
I want to be well-known and appreciated for the things I have written and the products I have developed. I want “beyond the score” to be understood as a lifestyle in which relationships are more important than winning or losing; my logo to be recognizable to a large segment of the population, especially golfers. I want my colleagues, family, friends, and readers to feel they have benefited from what I have shared with them.
What are your main software programs?
Microsoft Word is what I use as a writer.
What lifestyle choices have you had to make to stay in business?
I spend way too much time alone…as a divorced, single, solorpeneur/writer.
What are your strategies for staying competitive?
I do not compete. I just try to be the best “me” possible.
Do you need a second household income to support your lifestyle? (Is the business primary, or supplemental to the household?)
Fortunately I have a good retirement plan. At times this has been “an expensive hobby.”
If your business should fail, what is your fallback position?
Frankly, I would have to play more golf and get more exercise.
If you could start your career all over again, what would you do differently? Why?
I would go to more school conferences, kids’ events, and get home from work earlier, if at all possible. I would tell more people, especially my family, how much I appreciate (love) them.
What’s your advice for aspiring solopreneurs?
Don’t be in a hurry to give up your “day job” until you have the skills and expertise to proceed on your own. Listen to the advice of people who can coach you in the areas you do not know. Narrow your niche.
Are you glad you became a solopreneur? Why or why not?
To retire early to do this was one of the great blessings of my life. I am glad I did not have live off of what I was able to earn doing it.
Thank you for contacting me.
I will get back to you as soon as possible
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