Solopreneurship Insights: Inspiration & Strategy

Published 11 months ago • 4 min read

Morning and Happy Saturday!

If you're new here, welcome!

This email list exists so that I can share my progress as a VP Sales for an AI services organization while building my personal business (Microsoft sales consulting - ie helping Microsoft partners create pipeline and close deals with Microsoft) -- all with the intention of inspiring you to chart our path to building your own business so that you live a the life of freedom you've always wanted.

If that's you - love it and I'm glad you're here.

If it's not, all good and you can unsub - nobody needs to hear from someone they don't resonate with.

Been a great week. Let's dive in:

At Echelix I was able to:

  1. get my first MSA ("Master Services Agreement) signed - ie the grounds to do business with any large enterprise
  2. start the process of another MSA with another client
  3. put together a proposal for a manufacturing client who's interested in an "AI maintenance assistant" to help them reduce maintenance costs and reduce the probability of outages. We'll likely use Fabric, Copilot Studio and Azure AI Foundry, which will make Microsoft very happy (expect $3-7k/mo Azure spend increase initially).
  4. in partnership with a SMC AE & Cloud/AI specialist (ie Microsoft sellers), garner interest from 7 organizations to do an AI workshop (ie the step before creating pipeline)

While helping build an organization in its infancy is tough, you start to realize that, everyone, including the orgs you were at before, are just figuring it out as they go. So, in my opinion, it makes sense to go somewhere where you enjoy who you work with and you have a high level of confidence you're going to deliver an exceptional client experience. That way, when you sell, you know that repeat business is nearly guaranteed. Keep this in mind as you are considering career changes.

I know the economy is funky right now - but do what you can to avoid being miserable...life is too short.

I want to highlight that there's so much demand out there from clients but it just feels like IT consulting orgs are too caught up with internal crap. The amount of internal process, chats, paperwork etc just takes time and energy away from doing what's most important: talking to partners and clients. I am witnessing the effects of NOT having to waste time on useless process over here and it's really refreshing. Keep this in mind as you are considering career changes.

Onto Barron Tech (i.e. my Microsoft consulting business) - yes it's kind of a lame name but I formed the LLC many years back and maybe I'll create a dba or something:

  1. I lost my first deal to a client that ultimately I think is making the wrong organizational decisions (i.e. not hiring enough US sales reps). That sucked but wasn't a complete shock TBH.
  2. Signed a $2,700/mo client to help them build our their Microsoft Co-Sell motion in a different solution area and provide sales leadership
  3. Signed another client for $4,800/mo to help them build out their Microsoft Co-Sell motion, grow their brand on LinkedIn and provide sales leadership
  4. I have another proposal out for $6,000/mo for a more comprehensive set of services for another interesting client who knows they need to lean in on the Microsoft channel.

Watching the Stripe notification come in for #1 above was a great feeling...not because of the dollar amount necessarily but because market demand is validating what I thought would provide value.

It's not all sunshine and rainbows though -- just a week ago, I was feeling anxious about whether any of these deals were going to close or not. I still firmly believed there was value in what I had to offer, I just wasn't sure if I was communicating it properly and the harsh reality of realizing that literally nobody outside of my previous employer (aside from MSFT) knows that I can help orgs create pipeline and sell. I can say it all I want, but they just don't know and when they don't know, they don't trust you and there's apprehension.

It was a feeling of: "I know I can provide significant value, but how do I get clients to realize that?"

I walked away from significant commission checks at my previous employer, so closing that gap this week (< 2 months after leaving my last job) has been really relieving.

Which has me thinking....I want to really highlight that most organizations are not using LinkedIn to its full potential.

Becoming visible there through your own writing, along with engaging with your ICPs content is such a powerful way to stay top of mind with your prospects.

A comment, a like or profile view serves as another touchpoint in the sales process.

Before Echelix, I didn't have time to dedicate myself to learning the craft of LinkedIn and Sales Nav - now I'm becoming a student of the platform and the game there.

It's wildly overlooked and there's so much to gain.

I hope you've had a great week and would love to get your thoughts on any of the topics above - I read every reply!

And if you're ready to turn your ideas into income, my 30 Minute Game Plan call is an excellent place to start. First 3 folks to use the code 20TODAY gets $20 off.

$125.00

From Idea to Income: 30-Minute Game Plan

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To your solopreneur success,

Matt Barron

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