Following is my checklist of Solopreneur strategies and startup tips for federal workers in 2026. Government contracting is a logical Solopreneur step for former feds. But it is a crowded market, and one in some cases where entire agencies (and their support contracts) have been decimated.
Private Solopreneurship is another good option for feds. But given the long transiton from the public sector to a highly competitive market, a solo enterprise should not be your primary income source, at least not for a few years. In fact, government professionals might want to consider part-time soloentrepreneurship, either as a complement to a job search if mid-career, or as a way to stay engaged as an early retiree apart from personal and family activities..
To give you some ideas of broad private sector possibilities, check out the wide variety of small business options shown in the Membership Directory of the Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce. It is easy to scan the directory by business category. Service businesses range from accountants and lawyers to property managers and wedding planners, and the great majority are solopreneurs.
Defining your business:
- Define early what kind of Solopreneur are you? Part-time or Full-time, Midcareer or Retirement, Probono or commercial venture, Temporary complement to a job search or a long-term small business enterprise?
- Do a Google Search (and Google Trends) to see who is offering a similar service, especially in the Washington DC area. Also scan short-term tasks or “gigs” on the popular Fiverr freelance platform to see how others pitch and price their services – it’s a very competitive global marketplace!
- It is critical to target what your customers want vs merely projecting what you provide! Strategyzer’s Value Proposition Canvas can be a valuable tool here.
- A one page business plan is an essential early foundation. Checkout a good, one-page template in Strategyzer’s Business Model Canvas. Get from SCORE Jennifer Dawn’s recorded 1 Page Business Plan webinar, with 7 step questions to clarify your Solopreneur purpose, offer and next steps.
- Early formation of your enterprise involves the practical steps of a legal name registered with your state, type organization (sole proprietor or LLC), and setting up a bank account to separate business vs personal transactions.
- Slide presentations before groups can help “reality-check” your solo service offering before target audiences, plus provide video content that can be parsed for later use on your social media and website.
- Whether full-time or part-time, a solopreneur’s work needs to be balanced with family and other commitments. A daily schedule plus flexibility helps.
Keeping up professionally
- Participate in occasional live events to refresh your knowledge at one point in time. Two examples I am familiar with are the annual SBA/SCORE’s Small Business Week with Virtual Summit each May , and NTEN’s annual, paid non-profit technology conference each spring.
- Continuing education is critical preparation: webinars, courses, certifications. Two good local DMV non-profits that offer free, periodic webinars for career changers and would-be entrepreneurs are Boomerworks and 40 Plus of Washington DC.
- Depending on your skill area, there are likely professional associations or informal Meetup groups that offer periodic online webinars or occasional in-person meetings or conferences. One example from my experience is the DC Project Management Association, and the annual DC Project Management Day of Service, where volunteer PMs help DMV-area non-profits define problems and craft business plans.
Marketing Tools
- Brainstorm early branding by assembling images on a Moodboard, on Pinterest or Canva– it’s fun! Looka’s Logomaker is another user-friendly tool for creating your logo, and you can even use ChatGPT to create your custom logo (or even a mock-up business card!) based on prior business goals, content and style as uploaded onto this AI tool.
- Focus on LinkedIn (LI) as your primary social media outreach, with short, daily looks and engagement. LI is key for professional services – other social media can be added later.
- Use a “content calendar” to plan and prioritize your social media and website posts. While paid tools are available, a simple approach is to use a spreadsheet.
- Crafting and refining simple tools like value proposition, elevator speech and a business card can help you quickly and cheaply focus your solo goal and marketing message. See Vistaprint for simple business card templates (printing at extra cost). Once you have added some basic queries about your small business goals, content and style, ChatGPT can also generate a good initial design for a business card.
- AI, and spedifically ChatGPT, is an excellent, free research and testing tool. While a welcome “virtual partner”, AI cannot replace your insight and judgment as a solo consultant and expert.
- Your personal branding and promotion is important, and a new experience for most feds. Simple online tools can design logos, flyers and even videos. Canva is a user-friendly and powerful digital marketing tool, with free and paid versions.
- Experiment with offering fixed pricing and packages as well as limited discounts, and free, initial phone consultations.
- Use simple, free website building software such as WordPress.com, Google Sites and Go Daddy to frame and control your solo service and “story”. But any web-builder has a learning curve and can come later in your online promotion.
Community Support
- Volunteer and contribute to local charity and community services. Treat such engagement not as a separate “add-on” but as an integral part of your small business success.
- Volunteer your professional services to test their value. Checkout such platforms as Taproot Plus and Catchafire, which list non-profit projects for whom you can offer up your probono help. Tasks run from a week to a few months.
- Explore other professional and community support organizations such as a local Toastmasters Club (public speaking), Rotary Club International (professional networking charitable service) and events and resources at your free local library.
- You will benefit from a new private sector support organization to replace your former government or corporate home. Consider joining a local chamber of commerce or other small business organization such as Business Network International (BNI).
- Check out this US directory of chambers, to locate other chambers in the DMV or across the US.
- As a member of our Membership Committee, I am happy to accompany you to any Gaithersburg-Germantown Chamber of Commerce ribbon-cutting, charity or networking event – contact me at gary@dcwebrevolution.com. While there may be a small registration fee, this is an informal visit, with no commitment, and will give you a feel for what small business support (and community engagement!) is provided by a local DC area chamber of commerce.
New Solopreneur Transition 