Thriving as a Solo Expert: 4 Counter-Intuitive Strategies You Haven’t Tried
Being an independent consultant can feel isolating, especially as technology and AI rapidly reshape our profession. Without the resources of large organizations, solo experts must develop a new form of strategic leverage. For Internet Librarian Connect 2025, I’m sharing firsthand insights on how solopreneurs build research support networks through community collaboration.
1. Reprogram Your Isolation into a Strategic Asset
Isolation often feels like the biggest liability for solo professionals—lacking premium resources, peer feedback, or specialized expertise. But this limitation can become your greatest asset when you view independence as a mandate for agility and partnership. Form alliances with:
- Libraries (Academic, Public, Special): Gain access to research databases, specialized collections, and programming opportunities.
- Academic Institutions: Collaborate with research centers, faculty, or writing centers to co-design programs or workshops and access deep subject matter expertise.
- Nonprofits: Co-host workshops and webinars to expand your reach and community impact while supporting their mission.
- Government: Working as a subcontractor lets you contribute your expertise and grow your solo practice while the prime contractor handles the main responsibilities and project management.
- Other Solo Professionals: Form peer networks and professional alliances (like AIIP!) to share knowledge, refer clients, and create a robust support system.
This network becomes your strategic advantage, allowing you to outsource non-core tasks and focus on your unique genius.
2. The Quiet World of Information Is Now a High-Tech Arms Race
The skills required of today’s information professionals are almost unrecognizable from a decade ago. With the digital shift, our field now demands constant adaptation. Innovations like AI, large language models, and virtual reality are remaking knowledge work. The “information expert” of 2010 is now functionally obsolete. (Full disclosure: I received my library degree in 2012, so a lot of what I learned is “functionally obsolete”!) Relevance is no longer a given; it’s a daily fight.
3. Execute the New Mandate: Outsource Everything but Your Genius
Rather than trying to learn everything, the smartest move is to identify your unique genius and outsource the rest. As Tony Zanders told us during the 2023 AIIP Annual Conference, the mandate is simple: focus on your core value and “outsource everything possible.” Build your system around partners who complement your skills, so you can deliver greater value to clients without diluting your focus.
A research consultant should partner with a solo professional who already specializes in the area in question. I admit, I have fallen into the toddler “I do it!” mindset. The partnering/collaboration approach allows you to deliver more comprehensive, high-value solutions to clients without diluting your own focus.
4. Stop Just Doing the Work. Start Broadcasting It.
Promoting my business, especially online, is always a challenge—but in the digital world, expertise doesn’t matter if no one knows you exist.
Zanders discussed being Social: engaging in “regular storytelling” by documenting and sharing our projects, insights, and results. This builds your credibility and attracts ideal clients. Next, be Mobile (“right place, right time”), which involves the ability to provide and access resources from anywhere. And finally, think Global (“bigger”) by operating beyond the confines of your home office, geographically as a service provider. Being involved in global organizations like AIIP is an excellent step in that direction. If it weren’t for the internet, our jobs would be very different and much less global.
Your Network Is Your Net Worth
The future belongs to the connected collaborator—the professional who is both a deep specialist and the central node of a significant strategic network. Thriving as a modern solopreneur requires continuous internal adaptation through lifelong learning and self-disruption, and strategic external collaboration to turn isolation into an undeniable advantage.
What is one small step you could take this week to transform a limitation into a collaborative advantage?
Marj Atkinson is the founder of Ask Marj, the Research Sage, providing research services for authors, graduate students, faculty, and small businesses. She serves in the role of 2024-25 AIIP Blog Managing Editor and Local Groups Chair. Discover more at askmarj.com or info@askmarj.com.
