Welcome to Issue #011 of SoloLIVE! Each week, I’ll share practical tips to streamline your solo business, right from my desk, to help you escape the grind and create a life on your terms.
Consistency Isn’t a Talent—It’s a System
Every solopreneur knows the anxiety of an empty calendar and the rush of overbooked weeks. One month, your inbox is full, next month, it’s tumbleweeds. But what if you could sidestep the emotional rollercoaster for good? Consistency isn’t about luck or talent. It’s about systems, and in 2025, that means making AI work for you.
Why Predictable Results Matter—Now More Than Ever
When you’re building a solo business, you can’t afford unpredictable stretches. The world’s economies keep shifting; algorithms change overnight; buyers ghost just as fast as they appear. The truth? Hope isn’t a plan. Solopreneurs who want to escape the 9-5 for good need reliability, especially when you’re your only safety net. Thankfully, you’re living in the golden era for solo operators: AI makes dependable systems possible, even when you’re a team of one.
The Feast-or-Famine Trap
Let’s talk reality: when work dries up, so does momentum. Feast-or-famine cycles cause more than cash flow problems. They drain your energy, make strategic thinking impossible, and feed the voice in your head that says “maybe I should just get a real job again.” Maybe you’ve landed a big project and neglected outreach, or maybe a client churns, and you spend weeks scrambling for a replacement. It’s not just stressful—it’s unsustainable. The real pain? You feel out of control, asking yourself: “Is this just the price of independence?”
How Phil McParlane Automated His Way to Stability
Phil McParlane wanted freedom from the grind, a corporate job with a 3-hour daily commute left him burned out, but when he quit to launch 4dayweek.io, the solo path wasn’t smoother at first. He soon felt the feast-or-famine pressure: unpredictable job board revenue, side gigs piling up, and the sense that “solopreneur” mostly meant “doing everything, all the time.” Phil’s turning point? Realizing most of his week vanished into mundane, repetitive work—manual job postings, sorting emails, chasing leads. Instead of doubling down on hustle, he doubled down on leverage.
Step by step, Phil began “outsourcing” to AI and automation:
Custom GPTs handled content review, flagged errors, and drafted emails.
SOPs with Notion AI, automated workflows with Zapier.
Coding and minor technical fixes sped up with GitHub Copilot.
Everyday messaging and scheduling filtered with Raycast, Things, and Texts.
The result? Phil pulled away from the rollercoaster. His week shrank to 25-30 hours while his business grew more stable and income leveled out. With the grind delegated to bots, and a few freelancers for support - he found the freedom he actually wanted: to pursue new ideas, stay energized, and build for the long run. Phil’s story isn’t about overnight fortune. It’s about incremental progress, automating the anxiety out of solo business, one system at a time.
Building Your Own “Consistency Engine” with AI
You can apply the same approach Phil used—no tech wizardry required.
Here’s how to start:
Map Your Time: List where your work week actually goes. What’s repetitive, low-skill, or draining?
Automate the Wobbliest Step: Pick one task (prospecting, content scheduling, responding to leads) and research an AI or automation tool that can handle 80% of it.
Examples: Use Zapier or Make for automating email sequences. Schedule content in batches with Typefully AI. Route and score inbound leads with ChatGPT or Notion AI databases—no code needed.
Measure and Iterate: Track results (time saved, errors reduced, more stable outreach). Refine as you go.
Stack Systems: As you get comfortable, automate the next biggest bottleneck. Stepwise progress wins every time.
The secret: you don’t have to overhaul overnight. Every solo creator’s “consistency engine” looks different. But with each workflow you automate, the ups-and-downs smooth out—and the “what if nothing comes in next month?” fear starts to fade.
Your Turn - Simple Steps to Start Today
Identify one area in your pipeline where inconsistency is hurting you most.
Choose a tool or automation to test (start simple: email templates, autoresponders, or scheduled posts).
Set it up this week - don’t tinker, just try and observe.
Document what happened: Did you save an hour? Land an extra conversation? Was the follow-up easier?
Small wins build real momentum. You only need one or two “set-and-forget” systems to see the difference.
Consistency Is a Choice - Will You Make It Yours?
AI won’t transform your solo business overnight, but every bit of automation frees up creativity, focus, and calm—and gets you closer to reliable income. Challenge yourself: Try one new system this week. Report back—share your results, flops, and questions. Let’s replace hustle-anxiety with build-smart consistency.
That’s all for today. See you next week.