What is a Solopreneur?

So, you’ve been thinking about it. Taking your love of baking bread or that hobby of photography, that now seems to be the only thing you can talk about, and turning it into your full-time job. 

But what’s been stopping you? Can you turn your passion into your career? Will you be taken seriously? Am I asking too many questions? 

Well, let's simplify it, boil it all down and find some answers.

First of all, a solopreneur is a person that is happy to take on all aspects of their business and do it themselves. From the advertising and product creation to building a customer base and budgeting, solopreneurs will cover all the bases. 

Doing everything may sound daunting but you have to remember the benefit of having full control over every decision that the company makes.

The main thing is you are not alone. This growing movement has been reflected in a recent report that showed there were 41.8 million soloprenuers in the US and the growing number of them contribute over$1.3 trillion to the economy.

And looking at it globally, statistics show that becoming a solopreneur is a female led trend with 36.6 percent of  women entrepreneurs around the world owning sole proprietorships, compared to 24.6 percent of men. 

We know setting out to build your own work space is not a new move. From Bill Gates to Jeff Bezos, traditionally we tend to think of entrepreneurs as leaders who go on to create massive, world-dominating companies that change the business landscape. 

However, the difference is solopreneurs build their business around themselves, make a personal brand with the focus on their skill rather than physically growing the company bigger and having more staff. 

The rise of the solopreneur is closely linked to the creator industry. A recent Adobe study showed that more than 165 million creators had joined the economy worldwide since 2020 and were monetising what they produced. This also suggests a trend of younger generations moving away from traditional careers and focusing on creativity as their source of income. 

Going solo and stepping out alone in any walk of life can feel like a scary thought. But nowhere more so than in your career, where the security and comforts of being part of a big company can sometimes seem very attractive. However, more and more workers have decided that now is the time to control their own working life and become solopreneurs.

The difference that drives this trend away from the traditional role of freelancing are these skilled workers make themselves the brand and with the help of technology they control every aspect of their business. Online presence and social media activity can make a huge impact on how people evaluate your business. Also having easy and usable customer facing tools helps to build trust with the customer. 

These one man bands - tutors, hairdressers, personal trainers and content creators - can no longer just be experts in their own field. To create a successful company for themselves they need to become the marketing manager, website builder, secretary, accountant and cleaner as well.

An article from Business Insider showed that in 2021, there were 5.3 million new businesses started in the US. This trend seemed to go against the idea that people were looking for safe options during a global pandemic. Alternatively, the pandemic has actually generated an upward trend of workers being brave and taking the risk of starting their own business. 

So you’ve decided to do it and become a solopreneur. But let’s take a breath first and think about the main benefits and challenges you are about to face? 

Main benefits: Total Control

The main advantage of being a solopreneur is having full control over your working life. From deciding what time you get out of bed every morning to the design of your logo, a soloprenuer gets to decide it all and with the added benefit of having no one to answer to. The business is truly 100 percent yours and reflects your skills to the customers. 

Main challenges: Needing to know it all

With this single-handed approach a soloprenuer must become a successful plate spinner, ready for any challenge that may arise. But sometimes the operational part of the business can get in the way of what you are an expert at.

To help become multi-skilled and knowledgeable about every aspect of running their business, solopreuners often turn to technology to help run their business successfully.

Outsourcing tasks to technology has made starting and running your own business easier than ever. 

If you're a solopreneur or contemplating running your own company, Doodle can help automate your weekly schedule and practically eliminate the email back and forth.. Doodle’s Booking Page helps customers instantly find a time you're free, making it easier than ever to meet.