Solopreneur And Entrepreneur — What’s The Difference?

What Is A Solopreneur?

An entrepreneur runs a team, a solopreneur is a one-man army. This is, more or less, a simplified version of who a solopreneur is.

A solopreneur is a person who decides to move on from the 9 to 5 to start their independent income journey. They take advantage of the gig economy to find clients and work on a contract-by-contract basis.

We see solopreneurs in every industry. They include:

• Creative freelancers, like writers, filmmakers, graphic designers
• Dropshippers
• eCommerce sellers
• Independent consultants

What Are The Differences Between A Solopreneur And An Entrepreneur?

A. Entrepreneurs Often Look For Co-Founders

While new companies are also founded by a singular visionary, often entrepreneurs look for friends, peers, classmates, etc… to help them create their entity.

Think Facebook and Google. They’re the two biggest examples of companies founded by multiple people. Solopreneurs, on the other hand, take charge of their new enterprise all on their own.

Hearing stories of the above two companies might deter most from venturing out on their own. However, they may be the outliers, according to a study conducted by Wharton and NYU.

It proves that enterprises founded by a singular person are more likely to succeed than those founded by multiple people.

B. Employees Are Often Required In The Traditional Startup

Solopreneurs often operate without employees. They’re the sole entity in a company. Artisans on Etsy, for example, are prime examples of this.

They’re the craftsmen, the sales team, the e-commerce managers, the online reputation management, and so on.

Solopreneurs also, as a result, rely on freelancers to handle certain aspects of their business (call it solopreneur-ception), in order to focus on their strengths.

C. Solopreneurs Focus On One Thing Before Expanding

The journey of a solopreneur can seem inspiring. However, there are limits to being a one-man army. There’s only so much that you can do alone.

Therefore, most solopreneurs only focus on one thing- direction A, rather than thinking of expanding their businesses in direction B, C, D, and so on.

That’s not always bad. Allen Walton singlehandedly founded his own spycam business by leaving his retail job and focusing on what he’s great at.

Plus, once solopreneurs expand, there’s always the option to hire employees, a team and take your business to a different stage.

D. An Office Is Not A Major Concern For Solopreneurs

We often hear stories of successful startups operating with a small team from a garage. Even the more recent definition of a startup includes an office, a small team, and a room to play video games.

Startups are often romanticized like that. However, a place of complete operation is often more important for solopreneurs.

This isn’t a place where employees call the manufacturing team and ask for updates. This is a space where the solopreneur builds their own products, conducts calls and meetings with clients and suppliers, does their finance, etc.

Solopreneurs have the added advantage of not having to pay for a larger space. A small space is more than enough for a singular person, which obviously comes at a lesser cost.

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