Let’s talk about something that doesn’t get nearly enough attention in the online business world: your business foundation. Not the shiny stuff like your social media posts or fancy branding — but the solid, under-the-surface structure that supports and guides EVERYTHING (yes, I mean everything!) you do in your business.
If you’ve been in business for a while, but you can’t seem to break through to the next level (your progress has stagnated, you’re getting worn down, or you’re lacking the pizazz and fun that once drew you to your business), then guess what? As a solopreneur productivity coach, I can tell you — it’s time to give some attention to your business foundation.
Maybe you skipped this step when you started your small business — or maybe you’ve never really been sure what a “foundation” even means when it comes to solopreneurship — or maybe you thought it was too boring and tedious, so you rushed through the creation of your business foundation when you started.
That’s okay. In fact, it’s really common to be in any of those positions!
But it’s important to know that the stronger your business foundation is, the more successful your business will be, and the easier it is to grow or pivot or scale your business (without everything toppling over), and the more enjoyment you’ll get from your business, and the more productive you’ll be in your business, and the more confident and fulfilled you’ll be as a small business owner, and the more satisfied (and raving!) your clients will become.
Read that again!
Starting to see why an awesome business foundation matters A LOT?
I thought so 😉
Let’s break it down…
What Is a Business Foundation?
Your business foundation is the core structure and guiding framework behind your work. It’s not just a checklist of tasks to get done — it’s the why, the how, and the who behind what you’re building.
Think of it like the roots of a tree. You can’t always see them, but they determine how strong and sustainable the growth above the surface will be.
Your business foundation is also unique to your business. It’s not something you can copy and paste from someone else — if you do that, it simply won’t be effective.
When I talk about having a strong business foundation with my productivity coaching clients and the solopreneurs I work with, it’s not just a business plan or a marketing strategy or an ideal client avatar.
It runs so much deeper than that: Your business foundation is the core and essence of your business. For example, what makes that the right marketing strategy for you? Why are those people the ones you most want to work with as your clients and customers?
Your business foundations have the answers to all of that and more.
An Example of Going Deeper
Let’s say you’re a bookkeeper. In that instance, when building and/or assessing your foundations, you’ll want to explore strategic questions. Your thought process might look like this:
- What made you become a bookkeeper? I love numbers.
- You could have become a statistician or a financial analyst or any number of different careers — why a bookkeeper instead? I enjoy helping people.
- You could have become a math teacher or an accountant or all kinds of other jobs that involve working with people — why the bookkeeping industry? I find the act of getting inside people’s businesses fascinating.
- What about it makes it so fascinating to you? I’m like Marie Kondo but with finances — I love mess! It gives me a fun little rush when I fix errors.
- …and so on!
We can get much deeper with each of these answers to investigate them more deeply, and there are many other paths to explore here as well (e.g. What is it that you love about numbers? Why done-for-you services rather than an online course? etc), but as you can see, you are starting to get a lot more clarity and focus on the purpose and motivations of your business.
All of these questions help you to better understand what you do and don’t want for your business, so that you don’t make the mistake of creating unaligned products/services or working with a type of client you aren’t actually interested in working with, etc.
You can see here that when you neglect your business foundations, you also prevent yourself from creating products and services that both you and your clients LOVE.
It also helps you to start to see the assumptions you’re making about your industry, so that you can break the mould and do business on your own terms. My freelance editing client Toni is a wonderful example of this: In our very first session working together, she shared with me that she wanted to create story sheets for clients, BUT she assumed no one would buy it. She assumed that because it wasn’t on the market, it wasn’t desired. This couldn’t be farther from the truth!
Since then, she’s built out unique offerings as a freelance editor that are unlike the vast majority of her industry — filling an important niche that’s bringing more clients to her now than ever before.
What’s Usually Included?
The specifics can vary depending on your industry and goals, but here are some key elements most solid business foundations include:
- Your Purpose & Motivation
Why does your business exist? Who are you here to serve? What do you believe in? This might sound lofty, but clarity here guides everything from your offers to your tone of voice. These include your mission statement, vision, and values. - Core Offerings
What are you actually selling — products, services, a combination of them? What specifically does each product/service do for your clients, and what makes you uniquely qualified to offer it? Whatever it is, your foundation should include clear, well-defined offers that solve real problems. - Ideal Client Profile
You don’t need to write a whole novel about your dream client, but you do need a clear sense of who they are, what they need, and how you help them. What type of position will a person be in when they decide to hire you and purchase your services/products? That can then drive the ways in which you conduct your marketing and sales. - Brand Messaging & Positioning
Every business is unique. Highlight that about yourself! What sets you apart and makes you and your offerings different? How do you talk about your work? How are you showing up in your space in a way that’s true to you? - Business Structure, Systems & Processes
How are you operating your business on a day to day basis? What do your workflows look like? These behind-the-scenes operations and administrative details typically seem not-so-glamorous when you aren’t doing it right. If this part isn’t much fun for you, then you might need to shift your approach to it or your mindset toward it!
Again, it’s important that your business foundation goes beneath the surface in each of these instances. For example, are you choosing a particular type of offer or ideal client because that’s what you see others do in the industry, or because that’s what you think you “should” do?
Neither of those are good enough reasons to do it — and unless you go deeper, your business foundations will be rocky.
How Do You Build a Business Foundation?
Start small. You don’t need to do all of this at once — foundations can be built brick by brick. Follow these steps for the best method to build your business foundation:
- Get Clear on Your Why
Reconnect with your reason for starting this business: What drives you? Who do you want to help, and why does it matter? - Define Your Offer(s)
Choose one core service or product to build around. Don’t worry about making it perfect—focus on clarity and real value. - Create a Schedule that WORKS for You
This includes setting things in place for taking breaks and time off between working (including what you'll do to navigate productivity guilt), putting together burnout management & prevention plans, and honouring your internal clock (in other words, don’t force yourself to start the workday at 6am if you aren’t a morning person). - Map Out Your Strategies
This includes creating goals for yourself and a plan of action for how to make that happen — plus implementing time management techniques so you can get more done in far less time. - Get Organized
You deserve better than to be in a constant state of putting out fires and running your business on pure adrenaline! Get yourself organized and set up task management methods that work for your unique business. - Create an Epic Client Experience
Listen to your clients and customers, and set it up so they have an incredible experience from start to finish (this includes clearly communicating the parameters of your work together, making their life easier throughout your work together, onboarding and offboarding them, providing opportunities to receive and integrate their feedback, etc). - Establish Your Processes & Systems
Set up all of your behind-the-scenes administrative systems and general operations for day-to-day running of your business (these could include payment systems, email marketing platforms, basic automations, calendar tools, etc). Choose them based on function over fancy: it’s most important that they work for you and your needs. - Develop Your Intrapersonal Skills
If you struggle with how to overcome perfectionism, procrastination, overwhelm, imposter syndrome, visibility, etc, your business will suffer as a result. You need to ensure you are continually developing skills like self leadership, self trust, self honesty, confidence, etc (e.g. start by doing a self honesty assessment), so that you can be the most effective leader for yourself and your business. - Revisit and Refine Over Time
Your business will grow and shift, so your foundation can (and should!), too. Come back to it often. Strengthen the weak spots. Replant where needed.
An Example of This in Action
Let’s say you’re an artist and graphic designer. You’ve been offering social media graphic design services to corporations, but you’re starting to burn out and feel scattered. You work with any industry who will hire you, and there is no structure to how many social media graphics you create or the length of time you work with a client.
You pause to strengthen your foundation, and...
- You define your why: You love the creative process of taking someone’s idea and bringing their vision to life, and the opportunity to stretch your skills as an artist. When you dig deeper, you realize that a couple of your favourite clients to work with were creating book cover designs and promo graphics for indie authors.
- You get clear on your ideal client: Indie authors in the fantasy genre who are already established and want to get more serious about marketing their books.
- You refine your offer: Instead of general social media graphic design services, you now work solely with authors — and you create a high-end version of your offer that includes book cover design and character art alongside social media graphics.
- You align your messaging: You write website copy and social posts that speak directly to those clients and their needs.
- You create simple systems: Online booking, a welcome email sequence that guides clients into the process, and processes for creating and submitting your finished product to clients.
Now everything is more cohesive. You and your clients are clearer, your business has structure, and you have more fun!
How Do You Know When You Have a Strong Business Foundation?
These are three indicators that you have a strong business foundation:
- Your systems and methods are replicable and scalable — your business can sustain its growth as more clients come to you, and as you expand your offers.
- You are able to take time off work without your business “breaking” when you step away from it (including both planned AND spontaneous time off).
- Your business supports and works in conjunction with your personal goals, lifestyle wants/needs, personality, and unique brain (rather than competing against them for your attention, time, and energy).
When you assess your business foundations against each of those 3 indicators of a successful, strong business, how does your business stack up?
If you are lacking in any of these areas, you can 100% benefit from getting solopreneur productivity coaching for customized 1:1 support, guidance, and strategy in strengthening your business foundations.
Tips for Building a Strong Business Foundation
- Don’t overcomplicate it. Start with what you know and build from there.
- Focus on clarity. If it’s not clear to you, it won’t be clear to your audience.
- Practice beats perfection. A steady presence goes a long way — and you won’t be able to improve on what you’ve got until you start taking action on it and testing out different methods and routines.
- Let it evolve. You’re not locked in — your foundation can (and should) grow with you.
- Ask for support. You don’t have to do it all alone. Whether it’s a coach, mentor, or a co-working buddy, leaning on others can help you see your blind spots.
A strong foundation doesn’t mean having everything set in stone. It means you’ve built something stable enough to support your next step — and flexible enough to evolve with you.
Wherever you are in your business journey, it's never too late to create or strengthen your foundation. Whether you're starting fresh or reworking the structure underneath years of content, this work will make every next step feel more grounded, intentional, and sustainable.
