Of Solopreneurs and Supertemps

These days, you have probably heard the term “micro trend.” Basically, a micro trend is when up to 1% of the population moves in a certain direction, by purchasing a certain product, using a certain tool, etc. Once a micro trend is underway and 1% of the population begins to move toward that trend, there is a momentous shift. The power and influence of that micro trend can actually change culture. 

There is a micro trend going on right now. I’ve talked about it in a couple of different ways, but in the last month I have gotten a tremendous amount of input from some very sophisticated sources like Deloitte, Touche and the Harvard Business Review. The trend today is how small and medium-sized businesses are acquiring the talent they need to get things done. I would like business owners and decision makers to really pay attention to this. Those of us who adopt this quickly will have a strategic advantage over our competition. Being innovative is not being the first to have an idea. It’s being the first to have an idea that gets implemented completely. So, how are businesses bringing people on board? Business owners should ask themselves a few questions:

·      What could my business accomplish if I had the best talent?

·      How could I outpace my competition? 

·      What could I accomplish if I could afford the best talent available?

Think about how you could get “ahead of the game” and how you could outpace your competition if you had the best talent available. Once you’ve answered that, the only thing left is to find the talent to implement your objective. The good news is that the talent is out there and you may find it to be a bargain! 

I’ve been talking a great deal lately about solopreneurship. A solopreneur is someone who takes their years of experience and knowledge capital and finds ways to leverage it into several businesses, rather than just one. The May issue of the Harvard Business Review called this micro trend “the next big idea.” What HBR is calling the “supertemp” is synonymous with the term solopreneur. HBR explain that businesses are becoming extraordinarily comfortable with just-in-time talent. The old model was to hire people permanently to drive initiatives; however, the new model is to define the initiatives, create a project and bring in a supertemp (or solopreneur) to get it done. 

The challenge for business owners is this: First, you need to shift your thinking on your talent acquisition strategy. We run so many decisions through an old filter of the way things used to be, but things just aren’t that way anymore. Next, understand that consultants who drive these strategic initiatives are no longer exclusively a domain of the Fortune 500. This type of brainpower is available for small to medium-sized businesses. No longer do you need to hire some big consulting firm to tackle these huge projects. What was probably true 15 years ago is no longer the case anymore. Another important thing business owners and decision makers need to understand is that they can bring in talent to attack their initiatives and outpace their competition. There is no doubt about that. 

There was a time when you needed to be in a company, a major consulting firm or in a corporate situation. But somewhere along the way, many talented people began to realize they were spending too much time in useless meetings and political infighting. This atmosphere didn’t allow them to do what they were passionate about doing, so they stepped out on their own. 

Just to be clear, I’m not talking about outsourcing talent from an IT standpoint. We all know that trend has been going on for a long time. I’m talking about professional management, executive leadership, outsourcing CPAs, and supervisory skills. As a business owner, you don’t need to look to major consulting firms to get this kind of extraordinary talent. This talent is available, and even the Harvard Business Review is talking about it. It is no longer just available for the Fortune 500s. Today, hiring solopreneurs is the best strategy for business owners who have specific projects in need of just-in-time knowledge and experience.The businesses that adopt this talent-acquisition strategy are going to outpace their competitors significantly! 

Interested in learning more from Buddy? You can take advantage of the many free consulting resources available here on our website, including an excellent, info-packed eBook, which you can download here. We also encourage you to sign up for our weekly newsletter, which will keep you up-to-date with all of the latest news and information from Ex3 Matters.