This is the first of several interviews in a series called "One Entrepreneur's Journey," where I'll be talking with solo entrepreneurs about their successes (and failures) along the path of entrepreneurship.

When I contacted Betsy Talbot of Married with Luggage about being interviewed, she said that she wasn't sure she'd be considered a "success story," since over the past year, she's been more like someone who's running away from the "traditional" definition of an entrepreneur, but that there was probably a lesson in that somewhere.  I agreed.  I think you will, too.

We began by talking about how she defined herself now and how she's following her own path these days.

You can be a business owner in a lot of different ways.  That's the important lesson I've learned.  I do want to have my own business.  I do want to control my own schedule.  I want to contribute, and I want to help people, but I want to help people from a distance.  I want to do it as a solo-person business, and I want to be able to produce information that's going to help.  I don't necessarily want to consult one-on-one or in groups or through training classes.  I want to be mobile in my own life, but still give a lot to other people.  That was a big realization for me in my business, that even if I became wildly successful financially [through former plans], it just wasn't the right fit for me.

What's something that you wish you would have known starting out?

One thing I wish I would have invested more time and effort into is other opportunities to make revenue, like affiliate programs.  You work so hard trying to get customers and build your own stuff, and it's almost like you feel like you're cheating if you use something else.  You think, "Well, I'm not really into PR.  Why would I have a publicity affiliate thing?"

The thing is, you can't be everything to your customers, but by bringing in those outside people, not only can you offer more and make yourself seem like a one-stop shop, but you're helping those other businesses and your own bottom line.  It's truly a no-brainer, and I wish I would have spent more time and effort developing that than I did.

It's a two-sided thing that you don't realize until well down the road.  Not only should you take advantage of other people's affiliate programs, but you should also create an affiliate program for your own business, too.  Also, as early on as possible, create content around whatever it is that you're passionate about and whatever it is that you're doing and then set up those affiliate programs, both for yourself and using those that are already available to you.

It's amazing how long it takes for it to gel, but once it does, it's the tipping point.  You don't have to do anything to keep the momentum going.  That's one other thing that I would say to any other entrepreneur is start your content early and expect it to take a while, but once it does, you're sitting pretty.  Don't go into business and say, "In two years, I'll start my blog."

"Because then I'll have something to talk about."  You have something to talk about right now.

Exactly.  That blog can also be turned into an informational product later on or into a classroom series.  When you're doing that work, it's not for nothing, and I think a lot of people think that about a blog, "Well, I'm just giving my stuff away."  No, you're not.  You're creating something and drawing attention to your expertise.  Another thing, everything you do should be able to be used in more than one way.

Right, it took me a long time to figure out that my newsletters should be housed online.  You're writing this content.  Why would you not maximize your efforts and use it so that search engines can pick it up?  By sticking it in an email campaign manager, it's not searchable.  It's going out to a bunch of emails, but search engines can't see it.  You've just created content that no one else but your readers is going to see - ever, but if someone searches for a term that you wrote about in one of your newsletters (that you house online), they'll be able to find it and come across your site.  That took a while for me to figure out.  You're creating this content, but not maximizing it.  It's the same with podcasts.  You should transcribe each episode so that the content is searchable.  Plus, some people want to listen, some people want to watch, and some people want to read.  Why not cover all of them?  You can use the same piece across all media.  It's just amazing how long it takes for those lessons to stick.

The funny thing is, you have to learn the lesson yourself to get it.

Any other lessons you wish you would have learned earlier?

I wish I would have learned how to fail fast.  It's a double-edge sword.  You need to be able to stick with something long enough that it's going to work, but you also need to learn to cut your losses and move on when something's not.  There's a fine line, but I do think that I stuck with things longer than I should have, accepting the status quo, when I should have said, "You know, this isn't quite right.  I should move on to something else."  On the other hand, there were things that I tried that I should have just given more time.  They were working, but slowly, and I just needed to ramp it up, and I didn't.

Never be satisfied with your results.  Always question that and say, "Is this something that is going to get better over time?  If so, I should really stick with it and put the effort into it.  Or, is this something that was just a pipe dream, and I'm glad I tried it, but it's just not working, so I should dump it and move on to something else?"

Do you think those things that you should have dropped because they were wrong for you, that there was a gut instinct or feeling about them, as opposed to those things that you should have just stuck with longer?

I do think that, and there's also this thing, "I've already invested x dollars, told this many people, or done this marketing campaign.  If I pull out now, it's going to look stupid, or I'm going to be mad that I spent this money."  We talk ourselves out of it due to a personal feeling, not a business feeling.  That's where I made the mistake, in taking things too personal.  Nobody's as interested in your business as you are.

Everybody tries something that doesn't work, and I think only the smart ones learn how to fail fast and move on.

How can we learn to fail faster?

Sometimes we get ideas in our heads, and we don't have someone else to enhance them or shoot them down.  That's one of the drawbacks of being a solo entrepreneur.  You get these ideas, and they don't ever get properly fleshed out, if you don't have a sounding board.  You can easily have a fantastic idea that, with the help of someone else, could be a monumental, great idea, but because you never seek that out, it never happens.

And seeking the right person's feedback.

Absolutely.

If I approach anyone in my immediate circle, family or friends, they're not going to be able to give the support I need for my business.  I need someone who understands it and is interested in it, so you have to find fellow entrepreneurs for support. 

You just have to know where you can go to get the help that you need and to provide help to other people.  It's really important for people to reach out and become involved in a professional organization that is in alignment with what they're doing and that attracts the kind of people they want to emulate or learn from.  Then it's easier to find someone to be, if not your accountability partner, then at least an informal board of directors, three or four people who you can call and say, "Listen, I've got this question.  I want to run this by you."  We all need that, especially when we're working alone, and too few people reach out to do that.

Any final advice for solo entrepreneurs?

Learn to fail fast.  Seek out a board of directors to be your trusted advisers.  Also, stick with something, especially your content.  Your content should always be out there, promoting you as either becoming an expert or being the expert.  You can't wait to develop your relationships online.  Online it takes a lot longer.  Start doing that now.  Lastly, and most importantly, know what kind of lifestyle you want to live and find out if the business you started is in alignment with that, because you will continue to put roadblocks in your way to success, if it starts to interfere with the way you want to live your life.  Make sure this life you're creating is the one you want.