Changes
My three simple offers (and how a heavy metal band helped me kill the rest)
Readtime: ☕ 4 min read
Welcome to The Loophole, my weekly newsletter that gives solopreneurs the legal clarity they need to grow protectively and profitably — before expensive mistakes happen.
Inside today’s loophole:
Ozzy
Changes
Why I’m simplifying to protect your business
I was driving, half-listening to public radio, when I heard the words “newly departed Ozzy Osbourne.”
Black Sabbath’s heavy metal is not my genre at all. But then the host told the story of their one song — “Changes,” a quiet piano ballad from a band known for loud guitars and doom. By the time the song ended, that song had quietly moved into my brain and become my current business theme song.
When heavy metal went soft (and won)
In 1972, Ozzy’s band Black Sabbath did something that felt downright wrong to them: they recorded “Changes,” a gentle piano ballad with zero guitar, zero drums, and a very tender lyric about heartbreak.
They were the heavy metal guys. “Changes” was… not that.
It started as a late-night improv on a piano that their guitarist couldn’t even play. As the guitarist poked away with some awkwardly choppy chords, the other band members piled in with melody and lyrics. The song felt weird, risky, off-brand, but they recorded it, and it quickly became a fan favourite.
“Changes” became a turning point in the band’s popularity, because it showed what else they could be.
Meanwhile, I’ve had “I’m going through chaaaanges” on repeat — walking the town before sunrise, washing dishes, outlining contracts. Not because I’m going through a break-up [Rick, we’re all good] but because some clarity is opening up in my business.
The expensive silence between “just starting” and “lawyer up”
Over the last few weeks, I’ve been doing short 15-minute chats with founders and creators. I ask them hard questions about how they approach legal in their business. And I keep hearing the same thing: They didn’t.
The explanations all sound like…
“I just wanted to start rolling in my business.”
“I was too small to worry.”
“I didn’t know what I didn’t know.”
“I copied my mentor’s framework — they’re fine, so I figured I was fine.”
But I’ve also connected with business owners further down the road in my law firm practice… in hot water. Messy client disputes, unclear IP, partnerships gone sideways, platforms they don’t control.
I keep seeing the same pattern: there’s a big empty space between “I’m starting” and “I’m ready to hire a lawyer.” That gap is where expensive omissions grow quietly in the dark.
Here’s what really gets me: founders think legal and structure are for “later,” once they’ve “made it.” But the problems that blow up at 250K usually start at 2.5K.
My own version of the piano ballad
As I’ve been singing along to “Changes,” I realized I’ve been doing a softer version of the same thing as Black Sabbath — quietly improvising, testing, tinkering, but not fully owning the new sound.
So I made a decision: clarify my brand, my offers, and who I’m here for. Simplify everything so protection and peace of mind are easier to get.
That’s the gap I’m here to fill: the lawyer before you need a lawyer.
I’m doing that with the right level of education, structure, and strategy so you can grow simply, protected, and profitably. Even — especially — for the solopreneur who still feels “too small to worry.”
My new setlist
Here’s what that looks like:
The Loophole (this newsletter). Weekly, plain-language stories, horror tales from businesses that skipped the basics, how-tos, checklists, and simple levers even the tiniest business can pull to get more protected and more profitable.
Online trainings. I’m starting with live, affordable sessions for solopreneurs and creators who want the essentials done right—not perfectly, not expensively, just right. Think: “Vision to 250K,” “The First 6 Months: From Sole Prop to Safe Inc,” and “How I Build an Uncopyable Business.”
The Quarter Million Ready Quarter. 90 days to go from solopreneur to CEO. Very limited, applications opening soon. For founders under 100K who are serious about hitting 250K — and keeping it. Over 90 days, we’ll map your next-quarter priorities, de-risk your offers, hiring, and IP, and design a business that actually fits your life, instead of swallowing it whole.
Does it feel a bit weird to say “this is what I do now”? Absolutely. But, like Ozzy, I think the fans are going to love the new sound — pared down but more beautiful.
If you’re also going through changes
Simplifying my offerings isn’t just an exercise in branding (which I’m DIYing and kinda mailing it in for now because it isn’t what’s important). It’s protecting my scope of work and honing in on my profit strategy.
The process I’ve taken to get here has meant quietly assessing who I am, my strengths, my genius, taking a hard look at my time and what energizes me versus what drains me.
Here’s how you can do the same:
1. Audit your energy, not just your revenue. For one week, track every client interaction, every offer you deliver, every task. Mark each one: ⚡ (energizing), 😐 (neutral), or 🔋 (draining). The patterns will tell you what to keep, delegate, or kill.
2. Name the ONE gap you fill. Not three. One. What do people need right before they think they need you? That’s your gap. Mine is “the lawyer before you need a lawyer.” What’s yours?
3. Use this prompt to clarify your offers. Copy this into ChatGPT or Claude and fill in the blanks:
GPT Prompt: Simplify My Business Offers
I’m a [your role] who serves [your ideal client]. Right now I offer [list everything you sell or do]. But I’m feeling scattered and want to simplify.
My genius zone is [what you’re naturally great at]. What energizes me is [types of work that light you up]. What drains me is [types of work that exhaust you].
Help me:
Identify which offers protect my time and amplify my strengths
Spot what I should stop offering (even if it makes money)
Suggest 2-3 core offers that are clear, profitable, and aligned with my energy
Write a one-sentence positioning statement that names the gap I fill
The real lesson I want every solopreneur to remember from “Changes” is sometimes the quietest shift is the one that changes everything.
-Sonya
P.S. My website is still in the works (see: DIYing and mailing it in), but if you’re a founder under 100K who’s serious about hitting 250K — and keeping it — email me to get on the waitlist for the VIP Business Strategy container. I’ll send you details about the application process and what we’ll build together over three months. Just hit reply to this newsletter. First come, first considered.