Seasons in a Solo Business

In a solo business, ideas and projects take on different qualities over time, much like the seasons of the year. Recognize the patterns for better decision-making.

To everything turn, turn, turn

There is a season turn, turn, turn

And a time to every purpose under Heaven.

— Lyrics by Pete Seeger, popularized by The Byrds, originally from Ecclesiastes 3

---

As a solopreneur, are you stronger at developing or executing ideas? Do you find value in letting some projects lay fallow before returning to them? Do some projects have you on fire, consuming every waking moment?

Welcome to the seasons in a solopreneur business.

I recognized this pattern several years into my solopreneur journey. Ideas and projects take on different qualities over time, much like the seasons of the year. Recognizing these natural phases can help you navigate their development and keep you on track for success.

Meet the seasons

Spring is the time of new ideas. You have the inkling of an idea or the early stages of a project. You’re planting seeds for future harvest. Don’t rush. Create good growing conditions. What’s the equivalent of enough water, nutrients, and sunshine for your project?

Summer is the growth season. Your days are long, and demands are high. Elements come together in your favor. Expansion and momentum rule. How can you maximize the opportunities that this season presents?

Fall is harvest. You reap the rewards of your foundational work, care, and effort. You delight in the crop and store reserves for future use. How can you capture the maximum value from your efforts?

Winter is the fallow season. It’s a time of rest and reflection. On the surface, it may seem as if nothing is happening. Yet in the dormancy, critical natural processes of renewal are taking place. The cycle is ending, preparing for the coming spring.

Variable timeframes, multiple stages

Unlike the seasons of nature, the seasons of solopreneur ideas and projects are not bound by 90 days. Some spring seasons may last only a few weeks as ideas take flight. A summer season of growth could last an entire year. Harvest may come in stages. And ideas may lay fallow for months or even years before returning to life.

Similarly, you may have multiple projects in different seasons in your solo venture. One may be just budding while another is in full-push summer or completing its life cycle.

What are the seasons in your solo business?

Take a moment to reflect upon the many projects you’re tackling in your solopreneur journey, and which season may match their development stage.

Are you in winter and need to be patient? Or is this summer, and you know it’s time to push ahead, hard? Do you have seedlings of ideas that need planting in rich soil? Or is it time to prepare for harvest and a chance to celebrate the results of all your efforts?

Most solopreneurs juggle multiple seasons in the work they do. Recognizing which season a project is in can bring clarity to your decision-making, your efforts, and your results.

This mental model can also apply to the arc of a solo business as a whole — an idea I’ll be exploring in a future newsletter.

Thanks for being a reader, and have a great week.

Until next time, make something happen.

— Terri