If you’ve ever wondered how other successful solopreneurs actually run their businesses day to day, this episode kicks off a new kind of conversation.

In this first installment of our How I Run This series, Marcia sits down with photographer Elle Yeon to talk about what it really looks like to build and lead a one-woman business with intention.

Elle shares how she launched her photography business full-time from the beginning, the mindset that led her to invest early in mentorship and a physical studio space, and how she thinks about leadership as a solopreneur.

This conversation isn’t about step-by-step advice.

It’s about perspective.

You’ll hear how Elle makes decisions that protect her time and family, why she believes in investing ahead of where you are, and how she thinks about being her own boss in a one-person business. She also talks candidly about boundaries, client experience, and the systems she uses to create clarity so she isn’t constantly available.

This is a grounded look at how one solopreneur leads herself, structures her business, and builds something sustainable without a team.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Why Elle launched her business full-time from day one

• Investing early in mentorship and business education

• The decision to lease and renovate her own studio

• What leadership means in a one-person business

• How she protects her time and family life

• Creating clear client systems to reduce constant back-and-forth

• Hiring out weaknesses to stay in your zone of genius

• The power of community and peer support for solopreneurs

If you’re building a business alone and wondering how to lead it more intentionally, this conversation offers a real example of what that can look like.

🌿 Keep the conversation going in the Solopreneur CEO free community at thesolopreneurceo.com.

If you’ve ever hesitated to invest in yourself because you couldn’t calculate the return, this episode might shift how you think about growth.

As solopreneurs, it’s easy to justify investing in tools, programs, or tactical solutions. Those feel measurable and practical. But investing in visibility, branding, proximity, and the rooms you put yourself in can feel different. It can feel indulgent, unnecessary, or even premature.

In this episode of The Solopreneur CEO Podcast, Carin and Marcia reflect on their recent experience participating in the 40 Over 40 branding campaign and attending the gala, and what being in that room revealed about leadership, identity, and environment.

They unpack why certain investments don’t just improve your business, they expand how you see yourself. You’ll hear how proximity shifts standards, why visibility reinforces identity, and how being surrounded by other ambitious women changes what feels possible. They also talk honestly about the friction of growth, the emotional highs and lows of being a solopreneur, and why environment often shapes leadership more than discipline ever will.

This is a grounded conversation about investing in yourself, stepping into bigger rooms, and understanding that the return on identity investments compounds over time.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Why investing in yourself feels different than investing in tactics
• How branding experiences reinforce identity, not just visuals
• The power of proximity and being “in the room”
• Why environment shapes confidence and leadership standards
• The emotional friction that comes with growth
• The difference between expense and identity investment
• Why borrowing energy and courage accelerates momentum

If you’ve been feeling stuck, disconnected, or hesitant to step into bigger rooms, this episode will help you see why the environments you choose matter more than you think.

🌿 Keep the conversation going in the Solopreneur CEO free community at
thesolopreneurceo.com

If you’ve ever felt busy, productive, and still oddly stuck, this episode might explain why.

As solopreneurs, it’s easy to believe that working harder or refining more details will move the business forward. You tweak landing pages, adjust messaging, polish graphics, and optimize endlessly, all while telling yourself you’re making progress.

But not all effort moves the needle.

In this episode of The Solopreneur CEO Podcast, Carin and Marcia talk candidly about why smart, capable solopreneurs often pour energy into the wrong things and how that pattern quietly keeps businesses from growing.

They unpack how busywork can become a form of leadership deflection, why perfectionism and over-optimization feel productive but rarely change outcomes, and how focusing on the wrong priorities drains energy without delivering real results. You’ll also hear why many solopreneurs stay stuck not because they lack skill or discipline, but because they’re operating from an operator mindset when the business requires CEO-level decisions.

This is a grounded conversation about focus, leverage, and learning to direct your time and energy toward what actually matters.

In This Episode, We Talk About:

• Why busy doesn’t always mean effective
• How smart solopreneurs accidentally fix the wrong things
• The difference between needle-movers and comfortable busywork
• Why over-optimizing details often stalls growth
• How leadership deflection shows up in day-to-day decisions
• Why backend systems matter more than front-end polish
• How CEO-level focus creates momentum and clarity

If you’ve been putting in real effort but still feel like the business isn’t moving the way it should, this episode will help you see where your attention might be costing you progress.

🌿 Keep the conversation going in the Solopreneur CEO free community at thesolopreneurceo.com.