Remote work opened new doors for people who want more independence in work (and life).
I've helped hundreds of solopreneurs build successful one-person businesses. The most common confusion I see is between being self-employed and becoming a solopreneur.
Both paths offer freedom from traditional employment but lead to dramatically different outcomes.
The self-employed professional trades time for money—delivering services, billing hourly, and creating their own job. They've escaped having a boss but created multiple mini-bosses in the form of clients.
A true solopreneur builds systems, leverage, and scalable income streams that can grow without requiring more hours.
This distinction determines whether you'll be stuck on the client hamster wheel forever or building wealth and freedom while maintaining complete control of your business.
Let me break down the key differences between solopreneurs and self-employed professionals:
Differences between self-employment and solopreneurship
| Factor | Self-Employed Professional | Solopreneur |
|---|---|---|
| Primary focus | Delivering client work | Building business systems |
| Income source | Trading time for money | Creating leveraged revenue streams |
| Identity | Expert in their craft | Business owner who leverages expertise |
| Business value | Limited to client list | Has transferable systems and assets |
| Revenue model | Hourly/project fees | Offers, retainers, and advisory |
| Mindset | Worker with multiple bosses | Entrepreneur building an asset |
| Growth potential | Limited by available hours | Unlimited through leverage |
| Time freedom | Calendar-bound to client needs | Designed for location and schedule flexibility |
| Risk profile | High dependence on a few clients | Diversified |
1. Definition & scope
Self-employed professionals focus their energy on delivering client work. They spend most of their day performing their craft—whether that's designing, writing, consulting, or providing specialized services.
Solopreneurs divide their time differently. While they may still perform client work, they intentionally carve out significant time to build business infrastructure, develop scalable offers, and create systems that generate revenue without their direct involvement.
2. Goal
The self-employed professional typically has income generation as their primary goal. Success means maintaining a full client roster and hitting revenue targets through billable hours or projects.
The solopreneur plays a different game. Their goal extends beyond current income to building business assets with lasting value—intellectual property, scalable offers, audiences, and systems that continue working even when they step away.
This focus on asset creation represents a fundamental mindset shift away from trading time for money.
3. Identity
Self-employed professionals primarily identify with their craft or expertise. They're the designer, writer, coach, or consultant who happens to run their own business.
Solopreneurs see themselves first as business owners who leverage their expertise. This identity shift is subtle but profound—it changes decision-making from "How can I do more work?" to "How can my business generate more value?"
This shift reflects in everything from how they introduce themselves to how they structure their days.
4. Business valuation
A self-employed professional's business has limited market value beyond their current client list. Without the founder actively working, the business essentially stops.
A solopreneur builds a business with transferable value. They benefit through documentation, intellectual property, recurring revenue streams, and systematized operations.
"You can be self-employed and stuck. You can be solo and scalable. That's the tension."
5. Revenue model
Self-employed professionals typically employ linear revenue models tied directly to their time—hourly rates, day rates, or project fees based on estimated hours.
Solopreneurs develop revenue models that are disconnected from their time investment. They might sell offer magnets, create subscription services, or package their expertise in ways that can be delivered without their direct involvement.
Even when providing services, solopreneurs' rates are based on value created rather than time spent.
6. Mindset
Self-employed professionals often maintain an employee mindset with multiple clients instead of a single employer. They focus on meeting expectations, delivering work on time, and maintaining client satisfaction.
Solopreneurs think like entrepreneurs. They allocate resources strategically, invest in growth opportunities, and make decisions based on where they want the business to go—not just what clients currently demand.
This entrepreneurial mindset means they're willing to say no to opportunities that don't align with their larger vision, even if those opportunities would pay well in the short term.
7. Leverage
Self-employed professionals face inherent limitations in their growth. With only 24 hours a day and a ceiling on what clients will pay for their time, they eventually hit income plateaus.
Solopreneurs build multiple forms of leverage into their business model. This might include:
- Retainers that can be sold repeatedly after they’ve validated their offer
- Content that attracts prospects while they sleep
- Systems that automate routine tasks
- Distribution channels that expand their reach
With these forms of leverage in place, solopreneurs can grow their impact and income beyond what would be possible through direct service alone.
8. Freedom of time
Self-employed professionals remain tethered to their calendars. Client meetings, project deadlines, and deliverable schedules dictate their availability, often leading to the familiar feast-or-famine cycle.
Solopreneurs design their businesses for time freedom. By creating systems and offers that don't require constant presence, they can step away without their income immediately suffering.
This doesn't mean solopreneurs work less—many work intensely. However, they have the structural freedom to choose when and how they work.
9. Client dependence
Self-employed professionals typically depend heavily on a small number of clients. Losing a major client can dramatically impact their income, creating significant business risk.
Solopreneurs build diversified income streams that reduce dependence on any single client or revenue source. This might include combinations of:
- Service revenue from premium clients
- Membership or subscription income
- Partnership revenue
This diversification creates business resilience that self-employed professionals often lack.
10. Scalability
Self-employed professionals can only scale by working more hours (until they hit their limit) or raising their rates (until they hit market resistance).
Solopreneurs design their businesses with unlimited scaling potential. They remove the ceiling on their growth by separating income from hours worked. Their business can continue expanding through systems, automation, and leveraged offers even after they've maximized their personal capacity.
11. Risk profile
Self-employed professionals often prioritize security—maintaining reliable client relationships, delivering consistent work, and ensuring steady income.
Solopreneurs embrace calculated risk as part of building for the long term. They're willing to invest time and resources in developing new offers, building audiences, or creating systems that may not generate immediate returns but could unlock significant future growth.
5 things you need to become a solopreneur
If you're inspired to make the shift from self-employed to solopreneur, here are the five essential elements you'll need to develop:
1. A scalable offer
The foundation of solopreneurship is creating offers that can generate revenue without requiring proportional increases in your time.
This means shifting from time-based services to value-based retainers that can be sold repeatedly without extra work.
Start by identifying aspects of your expertise that could be productized or packaged in a way that solves common client problems without your direct involvement.
2. A clear, owned distribution channel
Solopreneurs invest in building audiences they control rather than relying solely on platforms or referrals.
This typically means developing an email list, podcast, YouTube channel, or other direct communication channel with your audience.
Unlike social media followers, to whom platforms can restrict access, these owned channels ensure you can reach your audience without intermediaries.
3. Systematized workflow
Solopreneurs relentlessly identify and eliminate repetitive tasks through systems, templates, and automation.
Document your core business processes and look for opportunities to create reusable assets or workflows that reduce the need for your direct involvement. Every repeatable task is a potential system. Systems are where freedom starts.
These systems include client onboarding sequences, content creation workflows, or sales processes that can operate with minimal input from you.
4. A long-term mindset
Perhaps the most profound shift in becoming a solopreneur is adopting a long-term perspective on your business decisions.
Instead of optimizing for this month's income, you'll evaluate opportunities based on their contribution to building valuable business assets and capabilities.
This might mean turning down lucrative client work to focus on developing a digital product or investing time in content that won't generate immediate returns but will build your authority over time.
5. Willingness to say no
Self-employed professionals often feel compelled to say yes to any client work that pays well. Solopreneurs recognize that not all revenue is equal.
You'll need to develop the discipline to decline opportunities that don't align with your strategic direction, even when they offer immediate financial upside.
This selectivity ensures your limited time and energy go toward building assets and systems rather than just servicing client demands.
Are you ready to become a solopreneur?
The self-employed path offers independence but often creates a new form of constraint—trading corporate dependency for client dependency while remaining tied to trading time for money.
However, solopreneurship offers the ability to build wealth and impact without sacrificing control or requiring employees.
By developing systems, scalable offers, and owned distribution channels, solopreneurs create businesses that can generate income independently of their direct labor while remaining lean and adaptable.
The choice between these paths ultimately comes down to what you value most.
If autonomy alone satisfies you, self-employment may be sufficient.
But if you seek both freedom and the ability to build lasting wealth without expansion through hiring, the solopreneur path offers the most promising route forward.
If the latter sounds like something you'd be more inclined to become, here's a free blueprint to help you get started:
