Thinking about launching your very own business and heard the terms solopreneur and entrepreneur going round but not sure what they are and how the differ? Well, understanding the difference is really crucial to adopt the right mindset and grow your business from the get go.
This is why we're writing this blog right now. We want to help you through this stage of your business - identifying what you are and how you're going to proceed forward. Read on to learn how entrepreneurship is different from solopreneurship.
What is an Entrepreneur?
An entrepreneur is a person who creates a business despite the challenges and risks by acquiring a team of people and a high investment sum. Entrepreneurs lead their teams and make sure their business is running smoothly at all times. They are risk-takers who establish their business from an innovative idea while analysing and managing all the hurdles that come their way during the process.
What is a Solopreneur?
By definition, a solopreneur is an entrepreneur who establishes a business alone, without the support of any employees, and performs all the duties on their own. Solopreneurs prefer to work as an employee as well as a founder until the business reaches a certain level. This is because without any employees, solopreneurs can achieve slow and steady business growth, at a rate they are happy with. Hence, why they produce passive income and are liable for lesser financial risks.
People tend to prefer solopreneurship over entrepreneurship as they get the freedom to work independently, take all their decisions alone, and combat the challenges ahead single-handedly.
Solopreneur vs Entrepreneur: Key Differences
Simply understanding the definition of both these business terms is not enough to understand the major differences between them. Since there are many more differences involved, here's a breakdown as to how solopreneurship is different than entrepreneurship:
- Scalability - Solopreneurs only work as much as they can handle and aren't focussed on the scalability of their business, whereas entrepreneurs have pre-set business goals and are very specific about the scalability of their business to grow and FAST.
- Long-term Plans - Solopreneurs often start their businesses to pursue their passion or work in their field of interest whereas entrepreneurs work hard on establishing a new business and once it is on track, they begin another venture shortly after. We briefly mentioned this earlier, that solopreneurs aim for slow and steady growth whereas entrepreneurs are all about building a high-income business in a short time to sell it off or expand it.
- Workspace - Solopreneurs tend to work from home or own a very small workspace as they do not have any employees or manual production. On the other hand, entrepreneurs work in large offices away from their homes to incorporate their huge workforce.
- Marketing - As solopreneurs work independently, their marketing tactics are much smaller and usually don’t involve paid campaigns or ads, and if they do not many. Solopreneurs are focused on gradually creating their personal brand and often rely on networking and word of mouth referrals. Whereas entrepreneurs maintain separate brand identity and invest a lot of money in their marketing campaigns to attract more organic traffic to their company.
Solopreneur Business Ideas For You
- Graphic Designer
- Event Planner
- Web Builder/ Designer
- Social Media Manager
- Musician
- Artist
- Photographer
- Child Carer
- Personal Trainer
- Airbnb Host
- Podcaster
- Language Teacher
In summary
Entrepreneurs are big-picture thinkers who aim to establish an empire and have more complex goals and requirements, whereas solopreneurs have much smaller business goals, lesser requirements, and different growth approaches.
NOTE: No matter whether you choose to be a solopreneur or an entrepreneur, your sheer determination should be to constantly strive to learn and grow as an individual. You don’t always need to be an entrepreneur to generate massive pools of income. All you need is to provide unquestionable value to your customers and you'll be successful.
