Happy Thursday Majik-Makers,
The 8 Hats Every Solopreneur or Small Business Owner Has to Wear and Why Knowing This Dials in your Focus, Productivity and Sanity
Being an entrepreneur means you kind of have to have split personalities and carry a lot of different details and parts of ourselves in our mental and emotional fields at any given time.
You’re a visionary and an executor. A creator and a salesperson. A relationship-builder and a numbers person.
And especially in the earlier stages, when most of the operational everything depends on you; this can feel like spinning wheels without really getting anywhere.
Here’s the shift: when you can name the different roles you’re required to play, you can start to schedule them intentionally and switch roles like putting on a different hat.
You can block off time for each one, make sure none of them get neglected, and eventually start to delegate or automate the ones that drain you most, so you can lean into your strengths.
But in the beginning, most of the roles are up to you...
Over the years, I’ve identified 8 hats that every entrepreneur wears. Once you understand them, you’ll see exactly where you’re thriving, where you’re stuck, and where you’ve been quietly ignoring something essential.
Hat #1: The CEO (Your Visionary)
This is the part of you that runs the company from a bird’s-eye view. The CEO isn’t in the weeds. The CEO is dreaming, directing, and making sure the whole ship is heading in the right direction.
This hat is about carving out space to sit with the big picture: Where are you going in 5–10 years? What does your ideal lifestyle look like, and are you building a business that supports it? What is the impact you’re here to make?
Most entrepreneurs set targets only 3 months out. But if you don’t stretch your vision further, your business has a way of taking over your life rather than serving it. The CEO hat helps hold the vision, while ensuring all the other roles stay in alignment with the bigger picture.
Hat #2: The Operations Manager
Where the CEO sets the direction, the Operations Manager makes sure everything actually moves. This is the implementation part of you; the one checking in on all the moving pieces, keeping projects on track, and making sure every other hat-wearer is doing their job.
Think of operations as the 25-step checklist that takes a project from concept to completion. Someone has to own that checklist. In the early stages, that someone is you wearing your ops hat.
Hat #3: Sales & Marketing
This is one of the most important hats, and the one most early-stage entrepreneurs avoid the hardest.
Here’s the honest truth: if money isn’t flowing consistently, if you don’t have a waitlist, if you’re still selling month to month, then the majority of your time and energy needs to go here.
Sales and marketing is the missing link if money’s not flowing.
This hat is about pulling new audiences into your world: through a signature workshop, social media, conferences, podcast appearances, LinkedIn outreach, partnerships.
However you do it, the goal is growth.
And until you’ve got consistent revenue growth and a full roster of clients, this hat deserves 60–70% of your time & energy!
Hat #4: Product Development
This is the creator inside you; the one figuring out how to solve a problem, package a solution, and deliver value in a way only you can do.
Product development might look like designing a coaching program, building an online course, creating a retreat, launching an app, serving your members or even putting together a two-hour workshop at $100 a seat to test whether your audience is interested in a topic.
If you’re in a dry spell, this hat is a good one to revisit. Ask yourself: What am I genuinely excited to create right now? Innovation can reignite inspiration and momentum fast.
Hat #5: The Creative Director
This is one of my personal sweet spots, and honestly one of the most underrated hats.
The Creative Director looks at everything you’re building and asks: Does this feel like me or the brand voice?
It’s the voice that catches when the copy sounds off, when the design doesn’t reflect your brand, when the slide deck needs a second pass.
It’s what makes your work feel polished, cohesive, and authentically yours.
The Creative Director doesn’t just do the first draft, they refine it. They loop back through the website, the marketing emails, the workshop slides, and ask:
How do we make this better? How do we make this feel like the best expression of who we are?
Never skip this pass. First drafts are just the beginning. Always make sure your creative director goes through & spices things up.
Hat #6: The Relationship Manager (The “R” Person)
PR is great, but what matters most is just the R — Relationships.
This hat is responsible for managing every meaningful connection in your business: your team, your partners, potential collaborators, signature workshop or podcast hosts, event organizers, and more.
If you’re building a tour for a signature workshop, the R person is reaching out and closing the bookings.
If you’re growing through podcasting, the R person is pitching and following up. If you’re exploring partnerships, the R person is having coffee with aligned creators and figuring out how to lift each other up.
They are also the one inspiring your team, keeping them cohesive, happy and on track.
Relationships often work hand-in-hand with sales and marketing, but they deserve their own dedicated attention.
This is how businesses grow in ways that actually feel good (with and without social media).
Hat #7: The CFO
This is one of my weaker zones, which I have strengthened greatly over the years. But it’s still not my favourite, and I’m willing to bet it’s not yours either.
The CFO hat is about financial reality. It’s the one looking at your actual numbers: How much is coming in? How much is going out? What’s your runway? Are you overspending? Is there urgency you’ve been avoiding?
You don’t need to be a spreadsheet wizard to wear this hat.
You just need to carve out a few hours once or twice a month to look at your budget, your revenue, and your projections honestly.
Bringing in a bookkeeper or accountant to meet with regularly is one of the best investments you can make. The numbers are telling a story, you just have to take time to look at that story.
Hat #8: The Human Being
This is the one that makes all the others sustainable.
Your body, mind, and spirit need tending.
Your emotional health, your mental wellbeing, your physical energy, your connection to something larger than the to-do list — all of it matters. Without this hat, you burn out. And a burned-out entrepreneur can’t wear any of the other seven well.
This isn’t a bonus category. It’s the foundation. Make sure it’s in the schedule too.
This is why for the next few months (possibly longer), we have one of our Majik Mind Members, Fran Pracht leading an “Emotional Support Space” inside the community.
If you’re interested and wanting support around this area of your life and work, join Fran’s FREE workshop next week.
Where Are You Strongest & Weakest?
Here’s a simple exercise: take these 8 hats and rank them from 1 to 8 - strongest to weakest. Be honest with yourself.
Then look at your calendar.
Whatever hat landed last on your list? That’s where you need to carve out some dedicated time this week. Even just a couple of hours of intentional focus can start to shift things.
And as your business grows, the goal is to start hand off the hats that drain you or aren’t great at or don’t love.
Make it your intention to grow your business enough to delegate, automate, or systemize the roles that cause the most friction for you, so you can pour your energy into the work you love most.
That’s why most of us started this journey in the first place.
Want to Go Deeper?
If this resonated and you’re ready to get more intentional about how you’re running your business, there are two ways to work with me:
Join the Majik Mind: a coaching community where we dig into conversations exactly like this one, every week. majikmedia.com/majikmind
Work with me 1:1: if you’re ready for personalized support in building a business that actually fits your life. majikmedia.com/coaching
Let’s build something that feels as good as it performs.
Let us know! And let us know what’s working for you.
Comment on my Making Majik Substack Below!!
BRADLEY T. MORRIS
Majik Media — Coach, Creative Director & Executive Producer
Majik Kids — Father, Founder, Author & Creative Director
Play Chi Ball — Chi Baller & Co-Founder
Meditation Majik — Meditation Guide (#1 on MindValley’s App)