Solopreneurship is a person who turns his/her self into self-employment. “As a self-employed person, you work yourself and constantly” – do you know this? We will explain to you how this works.
What is a solopreneur?
A solopreneur is a visionary whose company consists of only one permanent employee. They alone take care of all the essential aspects of the business. The term solopreneur is, therefore, a combination of the words “solo” (= alone) and “entrepreneur” (entrepreneur).
Self-employed versus solopreneurs: What are the differences?
Self-employed freelancers sell their knowledge and skills to customers, usually hourly, which means that as a freelancer – as the English term goes – you work as a service provider for private individuals, other self-employed persons, authorities, or companies.
If you want to start a solopreneur and start a business, you can become self-employed, for example, by registering a company. But you don’t earn your money by selling your working time. Instead, you market your products and solutions.
The five types of entrepreneurship
The entrepreneur and author couple Ehrenfried and Brigitte Conta Gromberg wrote together, among other things, the book “Solopreneur.” In it, they describe these five types of solopreneurs:
- Producer
- Dealer
- Expert
- Problem solver
- Creative
As a producer, you produce a product; as a dealer, you sell your own or third-party products; and as an expert, you sell your specialist knowledge and skills. The problem solver takes work away from other people with your offer, and as a creative solopreneur, you create something entertaining.
What can you offer as a solopreneur?
As a one-person or one-woman company, you have the opportunity to pursue these business models, for example:
- You produce learning videos on “starting a business” and distribute them via your webshop.
- Your Solopreneurship consists of conducting online travel consultations. To do this, you run a blog, write books and convey selected itineraries via unique platforms.
- As an influencer, you not only accept lucrative advertising deals but also develop your fashion collection.
What distinguishes Solopreneurship?
Many solopreneurs start as “normal” self-employed: They earn their money as freelancers by working on projects for clients. Over time, they develop ideas, and their business model, in which they have the sole say and the company belongs only to them.
If you also dream of starting as a solopreneur, you should be aware that although solopreneurs run their businesses alone, they often do not work solo.
To develop, design, market, and distribute a product, you may need the know-how of other freelancers or companies. You can buy or book this external support flexibly, but you do not hire any employees.
Working alone and flexibly is a unique feature of solopreneurs. You act according to the lean startup principle by avoiding “ballast.” This also distinguishes Solopreneurship from entrepreneurship: Entrepreneurs want to make “lean” progress but build companies with permanent employees.
However, entrepreneurs and solopreneurs are united by a grand vision: they want to create something unique. Under certain circumstances, a disruptive innovation softens or breaks up existing structures. One way to achieve this goal is to create a scalable business model.
This means that they can offer and sell the product or particular service in large quantities with little expenditure of resources. An example: In an e-commerce business, it technically makes no significant difference whether one, ten, or 100 goods are ordered daily – the initial effort is always the same.
How to become a solopreneur?
First, you need a business model. To do this, develop a product you can sell directly to people or companies. This product should work best without your constant support.
For example, you don’t give judo classes in a gym daily as a judo expert. Instead, you offer your training sessions as online videos that your customers can access anytime.
Then comes the second critical step: Work on simplifying and automating processes. This creates the opportunity to scale your business, increase your value, and set higher goals.
You need to find the appropriate marketing and sales channels for your business to run.
These should also be trimmed for efficiency. If you have no experience in this field, then – as in other areas – get appropriate specialists as support. Outsource everything can be outsourced. This will allow you to focus better on the core of your Solopreneurship.
Conclusion: Solopreneurs – the independent self-employed
As a solopreneur, you need the same soft skills as freelancers. But beyond that, you must intend to form a company out of your self-employment. For example, take advantage of the advantages of digitization to offer digital or haptic products.
Always try to keep the costs and effort as low as possible. And don’t succumb to the temptation to hire permanent employees – otherwise, you’ll leave the narrow path of Solopreneurship.
