Wednesday - July 22nd, 2026
Apple News
×

What can we help you find?

Open Menu

Solopreneurship Starts With One Question: What Do You Really Stand For?

  1. Solopreneurship Starts With One Question: What Do You Really Stand For? 34:45

What do you really stand for, and how could knowing the answer transform your business?

In this episode of The Life-First Solopreneur, Carly and Joe sit down with Paul Ingram, a 30-year faculty member at Columbia Business School and author of What Do You Really Stand For? (Harvard Business Review Press). Paul makes the case that authenticity, not niching, is what makes a personal brand compelling, and that authenticity flows directly from Clarity about your values.

Paul doesn’t just talk theory. He walks Carly through a live “laddering” Exercise, using something as simple as summer plans with her kids to surface her real values, all the way up to her “chief executive value.” Along the way, he shares research showing that leaders primed with their own values were rated as more authentic and more worthy of trust.

In this episode:

  • Why authenticity is called the gold standard of leadership, and how values unlock it
  • The “triad” laddering exercise to discover your top values on your own
  • How to work with clients whose values differ from yours (without friction)
  • Using your values as a defense against Burnout
  • The daily card-in-the-wallet ritual Paul uses before every workday
  • How values clarity builds pricing confidence and makes saying “no” easier
  • Why “it’s better to Travel with hope than to arrive”

Whether you’re wrestling with your calendar, your pricing, or which platform to pour your energy into, this conversation offers a concrete tool for cutting through the noise.

Grab Paul’s book What Do You Really Stand For? wherever books are sold, and find him by searching “Paul Ingram Columbia Business School.”

Enjoyed the episode? Leave a five-star review, share it with a fellow solopreneur, and subscribe on your favorite platform, including YouTube.

🌟 Featured Resource: LifeStarr Intro for Solopreneurs

Are you building a business on your own and feeling like you’re going it alone? That stops today. LifeStarr Intro is a free, forever membership built especially for solopreneurs who want real support, real resources, and real community.

When you join LifeStarr Intro, you unlock:

  • A vibrant community of like-minded solopreneurs for feedback, encouragement, and connection
  • The LifeStarr productivity app (coming soon), built to support your workflow using GTD principles (that’s Tasks, Projects, Inbox that works)
  • Live problem-solving meetups, expert sessions and strategies…and you don’t pay a thing

Total value: $65/month. Your cost? Zero.

👉 Ready to stop struggling solo and build a business that works for you?

Join LifeStarr Intro for Free

Carly Ries The Aspiring Solopreneur Podcast

LifeStarr provides knowledge, tools, and community to create the one-person business that lets you live your life your way.