Differences between a solopreneur and entrepreneur

At first glance, the two terms might seem interchangeable, but some key differences exist that you need to know if you want to pursue the path of solopreneur or entrepreneur.

Who is an entrepreneur?

At its core, the term entrepreneur refers to someone who has an idea and wants to make it happen. They don't mind taking risks and are willing to put in the time and energy it takes to see their idea come to fruition. Entrepreneurs often have a team of people that help them with various tasks such as marketing, sales, or providing technical support.

Entrepreneurs start and run their own companies, which could be big multinational corporations or small mom-and-pop shops. Entrepreneurs are the founders of the business and they are the ones who make all of the decisions about how it will operate.

Who is a solopreneur?

On the other hand, a solopreneur as refers to an individual who works for themselves and does not have any employees. They are self-employed but do not own their own business. A solopreneur is usually a freelancer or consultant who is hired by different companies to complete a specific task or project.

So which one are you and what are their differences?

Differences between a Solopreneur and Entrepreneur

Scalability and Investors

Between the two, a solopreneur doesn't need investors to scale this is because a solopreneur is someone who works for themselves, but chooses to work from home. They are their own boss and they have the freedom to do what they want when they want.

Most of them are usually freelancers working for one organization or the next. An entrepreneur on the other hand, as a business needs investors, workers, and office space in most cases. This individual needs formal arrangements as most of the things he/she does are professional work that involves tender, government assignments, and consultancy assignments.

Growth

Entrepreneurs start businesses that have the potential of becoming multinational corporations.

Entrepreneurs have resources in terms of access to finances for growth and expansion as well as manpower that make it easy to grow a business.

Solopreneurs prefer businesses that are easily manageable. They focus on getting the best from their business as opposed to growing and expanding it. It is difficult to manage a big business without help, which goes against the whole idea of being a solopreneur.

Time spend on the business

Most solopreneurs start businesses as a side hustle. They mostly have other activities in which they engage. Due to the flexible nature of being a solopreneur, they do not need to spend all their time running the business.

Entrepreneurs have to dedicate all their time to the job. They have to oversee all the operations of the business as well as allocate resources where needed. In essence, entrepreneurs are fully committed to their businesses.

Space needs

Solopreneurs work alone. This eliminates the need to create space for employees to work from. Solopreneurs need space for business operations alone. Entrepreneurs need extensive space.

Employees are involved and this necessitates the creation of a working space. Entrepreneurs need space for receiving clients, hosting meetings, space to produce or store products, departments to help with making and selling products, etc.

Investments involved.

Solopreneurs can start operations with immediate cash from personal savings or from liquidating an asset. Solopreneurs start small businesses that do not require a lot of capital. Entrepreneurs require a lot of capital to start their businesses.

While this can be made possible using savings, additional capital will be needed when the business hits the expansion phase, investors might be needed to contribute additional investment in assets, patents, and so on.

Nature of services and products offered.

Solopreneurs focus on selling a single product or a few products that are very identical.

Entrepreneurs offer a wide variety of services and sell multiple products which can be indifferent. Entrepreneurs are by nature risk takers, this allows them to invest in different products or offer a wide variety of services.

Employment creation

Solopreneurs are self-employed. They run and manage their businesses alone and have no employees working for them. Under special circumstances, solopreneurs can welcome contractors on a short-term basis.

Entrepreneurs need employees. The number of employees needed varies depending on the size of the business and the branches or outlets involved. Entrepreneurs are employers. They employ on a long-term basis for recurrent tasks and on contract for those tasks carried out on a seasonal basis.

Competition

Entrepreneurs seek to offer competition in the market by providing affordable and quality alternatives. Entrepreneurs also seek to provide services that are not provided by other players in the market.

Solopreneurs seek to create their own space, where they can offer goods and services on a small scale without thinking about competition and the uniqueness of their products or services

Marketing

Solopreneurs rarely promote their businesses. Marketing is an expensive activity and the revenues from the solopreneur ventures might not be enough to meet such costs.

Entrepreneurs seek to attract more customers to their businesses and so they advertise and market their businesses online and offline. Marketing is used by entrepreneurs to attain a competitive advantage over other players in the market.

Revenues generated

Solopreneurs make profits and losses which are moderate. Due to the small nature of a solopreneur's ventures, revenue comes from a few customers served.

Entrepreneurs seek to command the market by gaining as many customers as possible. In Case of losses, the losses are on a large scale and revenue is plentiful as many customers are served and the venture enjoys economies of scale.

To sum up

There are many differences between entrepreneurs and solopreneurs due to the nature of the businesses they are involved in. The distinction between a solopreneur and an entrepreneur can be difficult to see, especially since so many entrepreneurs start out working alone. But the mindsets of a solopreneur and entrepreneur are subtly different and noting those differences can help professionals determine the long-term direction they'll take with their businesses.