Five advisors every business owner needs
You don't have to have it all together yourself.
Before you dive into this week’s Loophole, I wanted to give you readers a heads-up. I have only one more 2-hour strategic session available at my introductory $500 offer. After April 30th, I will only offer strategic planning packages with a minimum duration of 3 months at a higher rate so I can provide more support. So, if you’ve been considering getting strategic help in your business, now is the time to act.
In this edition of The Loophole:
The dinner I almost didn’t make (because I’m not Italian)
The Hollywood business owner myth it’s time to dismantle
Why your business needs my Satellite Model, not a superhero
The five advisors every solopreneur needs before they need them
I wanted to make a really good Italian dinner for friends. The kind that makes people stop mid-conversation, fork halfway to their mouth, and go: “Wait. What is in this?”
I had a vision. A kitchen that smelled like someone’s grandmother had been in it all afternoon. A table full of people I love. Spaghetti that tasted as if it came from a small restaurant on a side street in Rome that only locals know about.
The problem was that I am not Italian.
I have never been Italian. My heritage is West-Indian and British, neither of which includes a Nonna with a sauce recipe she’s been refining since 1862.
But what I do have is an unhealthy ‘I’ve got this’ style of confidence.
So I did what I always do when I want to feel competent at something I am not yet competent at.
I internalized the problem.
I researched. I watched videos. I read twelve contradictory recipes and tried to synthesize them into something that reflected my own deep understanding of Italian cuisine.
Which, again, I do not have.
The sauce I made that first time was fine.
Which, when you were aiming for transcendent, is not fine at all.
Finally, I did the thing I should have done first. I DMed my Italian friend with a real live Nonna and asked if maybe she could share even one small secret.
She told me things that took about four minutes to explain and immediately made everything I’d been agonizing over feel completely unnecessary.
Here’s what they said:
Use a specific kind of tomato.
Low heat, longer than you think.
Fresh herbs at the end.
Only one kind of tomato paste.
A pinch of sweetness.
The answer to an awesome, authentic sauce was simple, just when I had the right person to call.
I had been carrying a burden I didn’t need to carry, trying to be something I was never trained to be, and the answer was one phone call away.
Rejecting the false image of what business ownership looks like
As I was stirring the sauce and thinking about the agony it took me to make something epic, I reflected on how I sometimes do the same thing in my business. I internalize the problem and make it my own to figure out on my own without asking for help.
I think I blame Hollywood on this.
There is an image of a business owner that I grew up with, and I suspect you did too.
They walk into the room, and nine people are already lined up with questions.
“Yes.” “No.” “Sign.” “Cancel.”
They handle everything thrown at them without flinching, always three steps ahead, rattled by nothing, competent at everything, never asking anyone for anything. They are a walking, talking, self-sufficient master and commander of their business.
That image is Hollywood. It’s fantasy. It’s the fake news that all of us business owners should be on high alert over.
It’s time to debunk it.
The truth is that no business owner has everything under control, and the ones who pretend they do are usually the ones burning out, freezing up, or chasing external validation just to feel like they’re keeping pace.
Hustle culture didn’t invent that myth, but it perfected it, and it has embedded itself so deeply in the business owners I work with, and in myself, that it quietly generates imposter syndrome in people who are actually doing remarkable work.
I spent a lot of time trying to make that sauce alone. 🍅
A lot of business owners are doing the same thing with their legal and financial foundations, Googling, hoping, synthesizing twelve contradictory sources into something that might, if they’re lucky, be fine.
But just like my epic tomato sauce, ‘Fine’ is not what we’re building toward.
My Satellite Model
I’ve been drawing a different image.
A business owner who doesn’t have it all together, and doesn’t need to.
One who is surrounded not by dependents but by a satellite of trusted people: advisors, peers, mentors, collaborators, drawn deliberately into their orbit. Someone who accepts support openly, who is held by others rather than holding everyone else up.
That shift, from Hollywood superhero to satellite, is a more honest and more sustainable picture of what building something real actually looks like.
Here’s what I think every solopreneur’s satellite needs, at minimum:
An accountant who understands small business and can see your financial picture clearly, not just at tax time but all year. (My hot tip is to hire an accountant who also owns their own business.)
A lawyer who knows your industry and can protect you before something goes wrong, not after. (Hi. That’s me. But also, genuinely: get one.)
A strategic thinker who understands what your stage of business is at now, and it will tell you who you need to be in order to grow (like a professional coach or strategic advisor)
A peer who is one or two steps ahead of where you are and will tell you the truth when you need to hear it.
A mentor who has built something you respect and who is at least five years ahead of you (preferably in your industry) and will actually answer your calls.
None of these people should be Google.
None of them should be a free AI prompt.
And none of them should be you, alone at 11 pm, reading twelve contradictory sources, trying to make a sauce you were never trained to make.
Call the person who knows.
Who is in your satellite?
I am actively building this kind of roster of advisors in my business.
I’m in the process of hiring an accountant (I’m of the mind that smart business owners should DIY their accounting when they start just so they can talk to their knowlegabley to their accountant)
I’ve started meeting monthly with lawyers at various stages of their businesses who help me with the legalities of running a law practice.
I hired a strategic coach for the year. This has been a game-changer in my momentum.
I joined 2 masterminds with over 50 of peers to talk serious to me when I need it.
I have a good friend that I meet with at least once a month who has been about 10 years ahead of me in business, and I soak up all of her business wisdom.
I’m building something I want to share with you soon, and I genuinely need to know: who is the one person in your orbit right now who has saved you from a problem you were trying to solve alone?
Reply and tell me. I read every single one, and this question matters more than you know.
Ready to figure out the gaps in your support network?
Try this prompt with your AI chatbot of choice:
You are a knowledgeable Canadian business advisor. I want to identify the gaps in my current support network as a business owner. Ask me five questions about my business, one at a time, including my current revenue, my industry, whether I have a lawyer, an accountant, a strategic thinker, a mentor, and a peer group, and what decision I’ve been putting off because I don’t know who to ask. Then tell me which gap is most urgent and what kind of professional or advisor I should be looking for first.
As always, your chatbot will get you to the door. A professional will get you through it.
Build smart,
Sonya
P.S. The sauce. Because, as my loyal reader, you deserve it.
The sauce that finally worked (serves 4)
Crush one can of whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes by hand into a bowl. Set aside.
Heat a generous pour of good olive oil in a heavy pot over medium-low heat.
Add half a yellow onion, finely diced. Cook until soft and slightly golden, about 10 minutes.
Add 3-4 cloves of minced garlic. Cook two more minutes until fragrant.
Add the crushed tomatoes, a tube of tomato paste (yes! not a can, a tube), a pinch of sugar, and salt to taste.
Tuck in a small handful of fresh basil sprigs, stems and all.
Reduce heat to low. Simmer for 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the basil sprigs. Turn off the heat.
Tear in a fresh handful of basil leaves. Finish with your best olive oil.
That’s it. I’m sorry it took me so long to ask.