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As a solopreneur, how much time do you spend building vs. marketing?
As a solopreneur, you've got a lot on your plate.
Building.
Marketing.
Support.
And that's just the surface, to be honest.
Especially in the early stages - if you don't yet have the resources to delegate or outsource, you'll be doing lots of this stuff on your own.
That then begs the question...how much time do you spend building vs. marketing? Do you go through phases and cycles? Spending different days of the week per activity?
Curious to hear your approach!
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Alex von Reiche
I focused on building something small and specific that is good enough to speak for itself. Once I had that, I focused on consistency and content marketing - providing value without asking anything in return.
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As a solopreneur, managing multiple tasks is indeed a significant challenge. Balancing building, marketing, and support responsibilities is crucial, especially in the early stages of a business when resources for delegation or outsourcing are limited.
In terms of time allocation, I often find myself going through phases and cycles, dedicating different days of the week to specific activities. For instance, I may focus on building and product development for a couple of days, then shift my attention to marketing efforts for the next few days. This approach allows me to maintain a level of consistency while also ensuring that each aspect of the business receives the attention it requires.
By structuring my time in this way, I can effectively manage the various demands of running a business as a solopreneur.
I hope to maintain a 50%:50% balance between marketing and building.
I've realized that in the early stages of a product, marketing and user communication are more important than refining the product. Premature optimization is the root of all evil.
Once there is a sufficient user base in the later stages, more time can be allocated to refining the product.
Of course, this is just my personal opinion, and its correctness still needs to be verified over time.
It may take many months to create an application, but marketing is a very important thing and in parallel, my team works on marketing from the very beginning of creation.
The balance between building and marketing as a solopreneur can vary based on your product's stage and goals. In the early stages, prioritize building to create a solid foundation. As you progress, allocate more time to marketing for visibility and user acquisition. A common guideline is an 80/20 split early on (building/marketing) and adjusting based on evolving needs and feedback. Adapt the ratio based on your product's growth stage and priorities.
Not solo, but we are small and lean so will share my exp and thoughts.
1. I am going into cycles.
Building cycles, where 3-4 days are fully on building, and the rest marketing/outreach.
Feedback cycles. 3-4 days focused on outreach / marketing 50-50 the rest building.
2. Cycles changed based on milestones and primary bottleneck.
- no clarity what to build, going in feedback mode.
- gathered enough feedback, than building.
3. Still feels that marketing is underdeveloped on our end 😓