What Is a Solopreneur? Solopreneur vs. Entrepreneur

A solopreneur runs a business by themselves. It’s a portmanteau of the words “solo” and “entrepreneur,” and its first known use was in 1992. When you go it alone as a solopreneur, every single task––marketing, production, and fulfillment––relies on you.

This guide covers what a solopreneur is, the pros and cons of solopreneurship, how to be a successful solopreneur, plus the tools that can help.

What is a solopreneur?

A solopreneur is a person who owns, runs, and manages a business by themselves, without partners or employees. 

A solopreneur can be a freelancer, an independent worker, or a business owner with no full-time employees and no intention of hiring employees. There are three defining characteristics that make someone a solopreneur:

• They have autonomy and make all of their business decisions themselves.
• They operate leanly, as they don’t hire employees (though they may still contract others for services on an as-needed basis).
• They multitask a lot, since all the elements of running the business are on their plate.

According to US Census data, nonemployer businesses grew 2.7% annually from 2012 to 2023, while employer businesses grew just 1.1%. As of 2023, nonemployer businesses made up 78.4% of US establishments, meaning employer businesses comprised only 21.6%.

The US Chamber of Commerce lists sole proprietorships as the most common business entity. Solopreneurs can also form single-member limited liability companies (LLCs) and S corporations (or S corps). Each entity has its own tax implications and different liability protection for owners. 

Solopreneur vs. entrepreneur: What are the key differences?

A solopreneur is always an entrepreneur, but an entrepreneur is only a solopreneur if they run their business alone. An entrepreneur is not a solopreneur if they are building and scaling a business with a team and employees.

Here are some key differences between solopreneurs and entrepreneurs:

Solopreneurs startup costs may be leaner

The startup costs for solopreneurs can be less than those for other entrepreneurs because they don’t have to spend money finding, hiring, and paying full-time employees.

Costs to start a solopreneur journey may vary by industry and focus. Web developers and other digital service providers can start with just a computer, while goods providers may need to buy production materials and pay for shipping and delivery.

Solopreneurs are responsible for all aspects of a business

Solopreneurs operate as a team of one and may take on a wider range of basic business tasks than team-based entrepreneurs, including production, administrative chores, financial management, marketing, public relations, and more. 

Solopreneurs can also work around hiring employees and delegate tasks to contract workers as the business grows. Entrepreneurs who build teams of employees to manage different departments cannot be considered solopreneurs.

Pros and cons of being a solopreneur

Solopreneurship has benefits and challenges, and anyone considering it should weigh both.

Pros of being a solopreneur

• Potential for higher salary. You set your own pay, and if your venture flourishes, you can pay yourself more than you might make working for an employer. And, according to MBO Partners' 2025 State of Independence study, a record 5.6 million independent professionals now earn more than $100,000 a year.
• Flexibility. You don’t have a boss to report to, so you set your schedule. 
• Career ownership. In a partnership, both founders must help the other succeed. In a business with employees, you have an entire team that relies on you for their livelihood. A solopreneur is responsible for their own career.
• Ability to work on a variety of projects. Independent entrepreneurs can quickly pivot within or outside their current niche. For example, a freelance graphic designer who serves financial businesses may also work for tech companies.

Cons of being a solopreneur

• Potential for lower earnings. The startup failure rate is high: US Bureau of Labor Statistics data shows that more than 20% of businesses fail within the first year.
• Potential for more stress and longer hours. Managing how much work you can take on without getting overloaded or burned out takes self-awareness and practice. This can lead to higher stress levels and blurred work-life boundaries, because finding a balance is challenging.
• Tedious work. If you’re doing all the work that comes with managing a solopreneurship, you might have to shoulder time-consuming tasks that don’t interest you, such as administrative chores or bookkeeping. 
• Isolation. If you’re going it alone, you won’t be building a team around you, and that can feel lonely. In a 2025 survey of more than 1,000 solopreneurs, Simply Business found the most common sacrifice was time with family and friends—a trade-off that makes solopreneur burnout common. 

How to be a successful solopreneur

Following these seven steps may help you achieve success in your solo entrepreneurship venture: 

1. Identify a market gap and set business goals

To succeed in business, you have to offer something that people want or need. Start by considering your own interests and skill set, while also looking at the market to find a gap you can fill.

Then create a business plan that outlines your goals and exactly how you plan to build your business and offer your product or service.

A good business plan includes:

• Company overview. Answer the questions, “Who are you?” and “What do you plan to do?”
• Your products and/or services. List all of the products and/or services you plan to offer and how much you can charge for them so your business can generate revenue.
• Market analysis. Research what the market looks like right now and how your business can fit in.
• Operations plan. Put together a logistical plan for how you can run and operate your business, especially as a solopreneur.
• Financial plan. Detail how your business will be able to generate enough revenue to last.

2. Decide on a business model

A solopreneur business model is one where you manage every element of business operations yourself. While you can always outsource some tasks to contracted experts, like accounting and legal matters, most business operations rest with you.

So you need to find a business model that lets you run the business yourself. Some options include:

• Dropshipping
• Creating and selling digital products
• Selling products on ecommerce marketplaces
• Selling subscription products
• Offering services as a freelancer
• Consulting or coaching
• Offering training sessions or workshops

Pinpoint the best option based on your own interests and skill set, and what you think you can deliver to customers.

3. Register your business

Once you know what your business will offer, how it will operate, and how it will make money, the next step is to register your business.

To do this, you’ll need to decide on the structure of your business. Your options as a solopreneur are:

• Sole proprietorship
• Limited liability company (LLC)
• Corporation

You’ll need to register your business under your chosen structure. You’ll also need to apply for an employer identification number (EIN) with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Even though you won’t be hiring employees, you may need an EIN to open a business bank account. Finally, apply for a business license so you can begin operations.

4. Manage your finances

Solopreneurs deal with their own paperwork come tax time. They pay taxes as needed, pay bills, and manage their cash flow so that expenses don’t exceed revenue. In addition, solopreneurs retain their own health insurance and fund their own retirement accounts.

In a 2025 Shopify survey,* 41% of store owners said they review their finances daily. Some solopreneurs also seek external funding such as small business grants, crowdfunding, and non-dilutive funding.

5. Market your business and find customers

According to a Shopify survey of store owners,* marketing (37%) and finding customers (36%) top the list of first-year business challenges. So your next, and possibly biggest, challenge is to start bringing in customers.

Odd Bunch Founder Divy Ojha found his first customers by advertising in a Facebook Group.
“I started joining virtually every mom group that existed in southwestern Ontario,” Divy says in an interview with Shopify Masters. “The majority of the first 87 people that signed up in our first 10 days, probably 80%, came from those groups.”

Pia Mance, founder of jewelry brand Heaven Mayhem, used social media to get her first cohort of customers. She’d post photos of herself wearing her handmade jewelry on her own account with 45,000 followers and tag the brand. 

“As soon as someone clicked on the thing and liked a post, I would DM them straight away like, ‘Hey, saw you liked it. Are you interested in purchasing it?’” Pia says in an episode of Shopify Masters. “I was after every sale, like really wanting to connect with every single person.”

Getting those first customers can be challenging. It takes a lot of networking and putting yourself out there. However, the above-referenced Shopify survey of store owners* found that 53% cited word of mouth as their most common first-year growth strategy. So networking can really work.

6. Find support

Getting the right support can be one of the most important parts of being a solopreneur. Because the job can be lonely, finding outlets like social media groups, solopreneur-friendly community platforms, or in-person coworking or professional environments can be motivating.

You can also look to entrepreneurial resources like podcasts to learn as much as you can about running your own business. Shopify’s YouTube channel, Shopify Masters, has over a thousand videos sharing stories and lessons from successful entrepreneurs.

7. Work efficiently and keep learning

Effective management can include using emerging technologies like automation and AI, grouping similar or related tasks on certain days, and working when you’re most alert and focused.

If you’re not sure what to focus on to make the most of your workday, Chandler Honey Founder Tique Chandler says her priority is on tasks that pay the bills.

“Anything to deal with customers, especially my wholesale customers, that comes first,” says Tique in an interview with Shopify Masters. “Getting new sales kind of comes second. And then everything else could run a little bit behind schedule if needed.”

Solopreneur business ideas

You can be a solopreneur in all kinds of jobs. Here are some solopreneur ideas:

• Dropshipper. Dropshipping involves finding products you want to sell, finding a supplier to get them from, and promoting them, while the supplier handles packaging and shipping.
• Handmade goods seller. Another ecommerce option is to handmake and sell your own products. You can set up a Shopify store, promote your handmade products on social media, and run your entire business yourself.
• Digital content creator. Create products like templates or digital resources, promote them on your website and social media profiles, and start building your digital business.
• Graphic designer. Offer graphic design services like branding, logo design, or social media graphic design. You can create and sell design templates or work directly with clients on a project-by-project basis.
• Consultant. If you have a skill set that you can teach, you can work as a consultant or instructor.
• Photographer. Work as a wedding, event, or family photographer, selling photo sessions as your business. Or take photos and sell them to online stock photo sites.
• Web designer. Work directly with clients to build out new websites for businesses as a way to make money working for yourself.
• Virtual assistant. Provide admin and creative support for other business owners, like managing inboxes and calendars or helping market the business.
• Freelance writer. Work with clients by offering writing services like copywriting, blogging, or technical writing.
• Podcast producer. Partner with podcasters to offer services like podcast editing, transcription, or producing.
• Software developer. If you have coding skills, you can become a freelance software developer that others contract to help build or work on pieces of software.
• Baker. If you bake, you can sell baked goods locally or supply other local businesses with your baked goods.

Tools for solopreneurs

The right tools let solopreneurs run their entire business on their own. These five tool categories can get you started:

• Commerce platform. This is what your ecommerce store will run on. You’ll use it to create product listings, allow your customers to check out with their purchases, and manage online orders all in one system.
• Marketing content. Create product descriptions, social media posts, ad copy, and more to put your store in front of shoppers. AI tools can be helpful here. LocaliQ found that among small businesses that use AI in their marketing, 81% use it for content creation, up from 52% the year before.
• Email automation. Build email campaigns and automated flows that help you reach customers without needing a marketing team behind them.
• Customer service. This gives you a way to answer questions and resolve issues without any support staff.
• Customer relationships. Keep a record of who’s buying, what they’ve bought, and how to reach them again to keep them coming back.

Shopify covers several of these categories natively: 

• Shopify admin.  Works as your commerce platform, combining products, orders, payments, and shipping in one system.
• Shopify Sidekick. Shopify’s built-in AI assistant generates product descriptions and store content, edits marketing copy, and builds customer segments from a chat prompt inside the admin. 
• Shopify Messaging. Creates and sends email campaigns, generating copy and images through Sidekick. 
• Shopify Inbox. Adds live chat to your storefront, so you can answer customer questions and see a shopper’s purchase history all at once rather than toggling between tools.

AI tools for solopreneurs

In a 2025 Shopify survey,* 75% of store owners reported using AI tools. For stores on Shopify, Sidekick is an easy option, since it’s already built into the Shopify admin at no extra cost. You can open it from an icon on any admin page so you don’t have to open a secondary tool for tasks like writing product descriptions or building a discount code.

Cat Goetze, founder of Physical Phones, says that less is more when it comes to AI tools.
“I think there’s a total misconception that in order to be on top of things with AI, you’re using like 50 different tools in a day,” she says on an episode of Shopify Masters. “We use one or two tools in the office on a regular basis and we just know how to use them really really well. It’s way more about how we’re using ChatGPT, how we’re using Claude, which are the two main frontrunners that I would point people to.”

*Based on a 2025 survey of 500 Shopify merchants conducted in English across Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, and the United States. Respondents were established merchants with two or more years on the platform. Results reflect the experiences of this specific sample and may not be representative of all merchants.