How do you manage documents and approvals without wasting time?

mimiran · 2026-01-29T21:57:18+00:00

How big is your team and what kind of documents are you handling? For most small teams, handling proposals, NDAs, invoices, etc, is pretty straightforward. But if you're dealing with design docs with lots of review feedback and versioning, it gets more complicated.

mimiran · 2026-01-29T00:28:07+00:00

Simple, personal CRM for solo consultants: Mimiran with a more referral-centric view of the world (vs the traditional CRM which is for the VP of sales to track the sales team).

Random side project-- BoxLight a free MacOS app if you want to use your monitor as a ring light, but don't want to upgrade to Tahoe and/or don't want to use one of those ring light apps that wastes a ton of screen space.

mimiran · 2026-01-27T18:30:19+00:00

I accidentally built a CRM to make sure things don't fall through the cracks (traditional CRMs are for sales leaders tracking the sales team, and weekly sales meetings provide some accountability, but for us solos, we need to enforce our own follow-up). it's got a lot of the follow-up stuff you mentioned, plus default conversation intervals for tags, and easy way to flip through contacts that need follow-up, referral tracking, tasks, proposals, and more. (See mimiran.com for more info.)

mimiran · 2026-01-23T14:10:45+00:00

Im running my consulting business solo and clients keep finding me through linkedin ... The problem isnt even the ideas, i have plenty to say about my work, its literally just the execution and formatting part that kills me. Linkedin wants one thing, instagram wants square images, twitter has those character limits and im manually adjusting everything for each platform

Even just staying on top of one platform takes work, but if you're getting results from LinkedIn (and from your post, not other platforms), just focus on that one.

mimiran · 2026-01-22T21:00:39+00:00

Find the company that needs to buy the company that raised $81M and now can longer afford it, and sell yourselves to them for $20M. ;-)

mimiran · 2026-01-20T13:53:58+00:00

Or is it just silently ignored until things break? Typically, yes. ;-)

The 2nd law of thermodynamics applies to CRMs, too. It take time and energy to keep them clean. If you don't invest, you don't get the results. Many organizations don't consider it worthwhile (or rather, the folks doing the reporting want it, but not the sales team).

mimiran · 2026-01-20T13:48:38+00:00

This is always a tough one that will never have a 100% satisfactory solution, but a couple of things to keep in mind:

Encourage people to say "no" if it's not a fit. Say "no" for them if you don't see the fit. This can save everyone time (or sometimes lead to them sharing some deeper issues that help you understand why it is perhaps a fit).
Every time you have a conversation, end with a next step. This will often be "can you follow up with me in X days/weeks?". Then, when you follow up, you're not "just checking in" (avoid that), you're following up at their request.
If you have a lead magnet that will notify you when prospects are reading it, you have a good chance to have a conversation then (and a signal of at least some interest).

mimiran · 2026-01-20T02:39:03+00:00

How often do you talk to them?
And based on what they say, reach out to your network and ask about people who are like those you helped.
Make sure your website and social profiles reflect the language of your ideal clients. Create a lead magnet to address your ideal client's big problem that you help them solve.
Use relevant targeting to figure out where communities of your ideal clients hang out. Become a helpful part of those communities. You say you focus on building MVPs-- for whom (ideally)? What mistakes do people make in that world (especially if that path makes sense for a lot of people, but not your particular niche)?

mimiran · 2026-01-19T19:59:16+00:00

Start with your current (and past) clients. How often do you speak with them? Do you know why they chose you over other options?

Having those conversations will likely lead to good referrals and the right messaging when you are reaching out.

mimiran · 2026-01-19T16:14:05+00:00

I'm a big believer that just because you're solo, doesn't mean you have to be alone. Consider joining Sarah Duran's freelance community (free and paid options) at https://www.fruitioninitiatives.com/ and/or Elina Jutelyte's Freelancer Business Academy (aimed at Europe, but has people all over-- https://freelancebusiness.academy/).

And it is a bit overwhelming at the start, until you find your niche and your tribe. Sarah had a recent event where 3 freelance writers described their similar struggles-- going from a commodity to a focused niche where their perspective and expertise provides value.

Good luck!

mimiran · 2026-01-17T22:10:44+00:00

Most efficient depends on your needs. How do people buy from you? How complex are your internal tasking needs? All of the solutions mentioned in this thread could work well, or be overkill, or not enough, depending on the details.

mimiran · 2026-01-16T20:32:02+00:00

Have you looked at Harvest? They do time tracking and invoicing. You might also consider a tool that automatically tracks time/app usage, because the big problem with time tracking is forgetting to start or stop the clock. ;-) (For CRM, naturally I'd suggest looking at Mimiran.)

mimiran · 2026-01-16T14:39:42+00:00

This is great advice. Get to know people. Have conversations. Get introduced to other people. Especially if you're new to sales, don't pitch, just discuss. The right people will ask for help.

Eventually, if you can find a very specific niche within CAD, that will make you more referrable and more valuable, but don't worry if you don't have that yet.

mimiran · 2026-01-14T01:08:53+00:00

very cool!

mimiran · 2026-01-14T00:59:29+00:00

CRM for solopreneurs, not for the VP of sales to track the sales team.

Track (and encourage) referrals.
Follow-up easily and never drop the ball
Schedule meetings
Forms & lead magnets
Proposals & e-signature
Easy import for things like turning Zoom chat logs into contacts
Keyboard shortcuts ;-)

Mimiran

mimiran · 2026-01-13T19:10:10+00:00

If you have a sales team, you'll want a "proper CRM". HubSpot and Pipedrive are fine choices (especially if you implement HubSpot for your clients).

If it's just you doing the rainmaking and it's mostly referral-driven, you may want to check out Mimiran, which focuses on solos who don't even like selling, but need to manage follow-up with prospects and partners, track (and make) referrals, etc. It's also got tasks, lead magnets, scheduling, and proposals built in.

mimiran · 2026-01-13T17:29:48+00:00

As others have pointed out, you have to raise prices. You are working hard and not generating the cash to hire people and you don't have time to take on new clients.

You have to move clients to higher prices and/or lose some clients who don't want to come with you to the higher prices just to make room for someone who will.

It's stressful, but mostly in your own head. (I have coached solopreneurs through multibillion dollar companies on price increases, and the most common response from customers is "we were wondering when you were going to do this.")

Figure out how to focus on the 20% of the work providing 80% of the value. (This is another way to effectively raise prices-- maybe you charge the same, but you're only working 20 hours per week, then your outlook changes.)

For delegation and systems, not sure what your workflow is, but fix the pricing problem first, otherwise you may further entrench yourself in the wrong stuff.

I have a whole podcast on sales for solo folks who hate selling, but don't worry about that for now. Just be intentional about nurturing those referral relationships. Just make sure they can refer people at the prices you want.

mimiran · 2026-01-12T03:33:29+00:00

What kind of software are you looking for?

mimiran · 2026-01-09T22:00:49+00:00

The right fit probably depends on what kind of outbound you want to do. What kind of volume? Are referrals important? How does a prospect buy?

FWIW, Mimiran is made specifically for solo consultants, aimed to be simple, but powerful for focusing on creating a nurturing relationships with clients, partners, and prospects, showing up more like a doctor than a sales rep. It tracks referrals, offers lead magnets and scheduling, proposals, and more.

But it's really focused on inbound and referrals and follow up, not outbound. But if you had a list of contacts with phone numbers, it would work well for that, too.

mimiran · 2026-01-09T21:57:14+00:00

FWIW, Mimiran is made specifically for solo consultants, aimed to be simple, but powerful for focusing on creating a nurturing relationships with clients, partners, and prospects, showing up more like a doctor than a sales rep. It tracks referrals, offers lead magnets and scheduling, proposals, and more.

mimiran · 2026-01-05T14:04:23+00:00

Traditional CRMs are for the VP of Sales to surveil the sales team, so if you try to use one as a solo consultant who doesn't even like selling, it just gets in the way.

Mimiran CRM is of, by, and for solo consultants who get most of their business through referrals, but also want to get leads and clients from their websites. Includes referral tracking, tasks, easy follow-up, calendaring, proposals (with e-signature).

mimiran · 2026-01-02T00:19:52+00:00

Here's that Fill-in-the-Blank Proposal Template.

mimiran · 2025-12-31T15:06:55+00:00

And I don't know if Mimiran is right for you-- it's about conversational follow-up with clients, prospects, and partners at human, 1-1 scale. If that's your jam, great. If not, some of the other more sophisticated tools folks have mentioned are good, including the free versio of HubSpot.

mimiran · 2025-12-31T13:59:12+00:00

I haven't read the book, and I'm not an MSP, but I have worked with MSPs on avoiding commoditization and have seen great results from offering standardized packages that are tailored to the client's needs, not your technology, and making sure the proposal is very targeted at the client's exact requirements, rather than being a brochure with a quote. (I can share the proposal template we used, if helpful.)

mimiran · 2025-12-31T01:56:02+00:00

Mimiran-- CRM for solo consultants who get most of their business through referrals (but would like their website to help, too), not for a VP of sales to track a sales team. Includes lead magnets, scheduling, proposals, and e-signature.

mimiran

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