I just got back from my annual trip to solopreneur summer camp, otherwise known as the AIIP Annual Conference. I always come away inspired and challenged, ready to try out new ideas and approaches.

This year’s conference focused on pivoting as a strategic approach—something that we solopreneurs do continually as we adjust to our clients’ changing needs and pain points. We were lucky enough to have Jenny Blake, author of Pivot: The Only Move That Matters Is Your Next One, as our keynote speaker and Anne Caputo as the Roger Summit Award speaker. Their talks sparked rich hallway and mealtime conversations about how we can remain nimble and responsive while staying grounded to what our clients value the most. Here are some of the insights I brought home with me.

• When I recognize that things aren’t working and I need to change strategies, find out what’s working now. It’s easy to focus on all the things I’m doing wrong instead of looking for the solid point upon which I can pivot. What am I doing now that I really enjoy, that requires my expertise and that has space for expansion?

• Ambiguity and serendipity need to be part of my strategic plan. Change is a constant, so my best approach is to incorporate pivoting into my planning. I can set a long-term (say, one-year) goal and look at the immediate actions I need to get there, without having to plan every step along the way to my goal. When an unexpected opportunity appears, I will be more likely to recognize and embrace it if I have already built an uncertainty factor into my planning.

• I’m living inside my stretch zone, not outside my comfort zone. I’ve often said that the most important characteristic of successful solopreneurs is the ability to live outside their comfort zone, but that always sounded so negative. I prefer the idea that I’m living beyond stagnation and within the realm of reasonable risk… in my stretch zone.

• We all have things that scare us. Jenny Blake described them as fear dragons and suggests that, rather than try to banish them, we simply domesticate them and make them our friends. And Cindy Shamel mentioned the children’s book There’s No Such Thing as a Dragon, which reminds us that denying the existence of a dragon only causes it to grow larger. So I am going to become friends with my fear dragons.

I gave a presentation at the conference on time management. I know, the topic sounds boring, but it was a fun session. (I’ll probably do a webinar on it; if you’re interested, email me). I had a number of conversations with people afterward; here are some of the ideas that resonated most with me.

• Life is short; don’t spend your time killing time. When you work, give each task 100% of your focus. Know what you can do productively to fill those random 15- or 20-minute openings. Likewise, when you’re not working, don’t work. Don’t check email in the evening or when you’re out with friends. Be 100% present with whatever you’re doing.

• The value of The 12-Week Year is that it puts goal-oriented strategic planning into a set-it-and-forget-it framework. You don’t have to consult your strategic plan every week to make sure you’re on track. Instead, your three-month goals give you short-term guidance with enough flexibility to accommodate serendipity.

If you’re a solopreneur, or even just thinking about it, start right now putting $25 aside every week so that you can attend next year’s solopreneur summer camp AIIP conference (April 19-22, 2018 in Minneapolis).