In the past few years, the term entrepreneur has gained more popularity than ever, and some people are also aware of the term solopreneur. While both work hard to build a business and earn money through their company, they are not the same.
Entrepreneurs work on the company while solopreneurs work in the company. This concept is straightforward to understand once you know what entrepreneurs and solopreneurs actually do.
Comparison Table
| Factor | Entrepreneur | Solopreneur |
| Founder | Co-founder | Alone |
| Role | Manager role | Manager + Labor role |
| Team | Yes | No |
| Workspace | Dedicated | Mostly works from home |
| Business | Multiple | Typically one |
| Growth | High income in a short time | Slow growth |
| Scalability | Highly scalable | Less scalable |
What is an Entrepreneur?
The most common definition used for an entrepreneur is a person who starts on his own at small to middle scale. However, according to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, an entrepreneur is the “One who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise.”
While most entrepreneurs start as solopreneurs, with increasing demand in supply and management of the business, they eventually become entrepreneurs. In simple words, entrepreneurs are solopreneurs when they are solely responsible for the company’s overall function. But when they hire more people for the job, they become entrepreneurs.
Their main focus shifts from being in the logistics and operations to managing the functions and thinking of strategies to improve the business. An entrepreneur does not directly participate in the laborious tasks of the company and manages the processes while solopreneurs manage their business along with all other related work.
As they say, all solopreneurs are entrepreneurs, but all entrepreneurs are not solopreneurs.
Roles of an Entrepreneur
While entrepreneurs are not usually involved in functions like manufacturing and packaging, they work on other aspects to boost their business, like:
- Entrepreneurs take the responsibility of devising new strategies to compete with other brands in the market. The needs of people change every day, and it is important to provide solutions to all related issues.
- They make sure to evaluate and reduce risk in the business by conducting premarketing and postmarketing research. Risk reduction is also made by appointing competent employees who work honestly for the company’s benefit.
- One of the major roles of an entrepreneur is choosing the right team for the business, allocating suitable jobs, and managing them vigilantly. There are not many options for hit and trial when you have a small team. It is important to ensure that the people you hire are good at what they do, and you wouldn’t have to supervise them all the time.
What is a Solopreneur?
As mentioned above, a solopreneur sets up and runs a business all by themself. Merriam- Webster defines a solopreneur as “one who organizes, manages, and assumes the risks of a business or enterprise without the help of a partner.” This definition suggests that while an entrepreneur might have a co-founder or operations officer dealing with business matters, solopreneurs do not have any such associates.
Solopreneurs are the supply chain officers, manufacturers, business development consultants, and managers, all themselves. Usually, solopreneurs are in the initial stage of the business when the company is not making enough money to have a dedicated team. With time solopreneurs also become entrepreneurs when they take in more people to work with them/ for them.
Solopreneurs are not only people who run a physical business alone but also those who give services without anyone else’s help. Examples include a freelance graphic designer or an architect who works independently to find clients and work alone to provide adequate consultancy to customers. Sometimes solopreneurs may hire contractors, but they do not have a full-time team to help with work.
Roles of a Solopreneur
A solopreneur does everything companies hire different employees for. Some of them include:
- Solopreneurs act as salesperson for their company and work on B2C and D2C channels to sell their products or services to their clients.
- They are also marketers and look for innovative ways to bring consumers to the product. It may include running social media ad campaigns or collaborating with other businesses to market the company.
- They are the CFO (Chief Financing Officers) and manage accounts and finances for the business. It also includes deciding the amount of material or products to be bought at a particular rate that benefits the company.
Being a solopreneur is usually the first step to becoming an entrepreneur before your business becomes a big name in the market. It enables you to understand the working of each department in-depth and helps manage staff better when you build a team.
Differences Between Entrepreneur and Solopreneur
Founder
Entrepreneur
A company run by an entrepreneur usually has more than one founder.
Solopreneur
In comparison, a solopreneur is the only owner of the business with no co-founders.
Role
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur usually plays the role of a manager while other team members play different roles in the company.
Solopreneur
Alternatively, solopreneur plays all roles in the company, including manufacturing and packaging (if), procurement, finance, business development, marketing, sales, and everything else.
Team
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs have a team in which everyone plays a particular role.
Solopreneur
On the other side, solopreneurs are one-man-army and do not have any team to help them. Though, they sometimes hire workers on contract.
Workspace
Entrepreneur
Multiple people managing different functions need more space to work comfortably, and thus, they mostly work in a warehouse or office.
Solopreneur
As solopreneurs do everything themselves, they set up their space at home.
Business
Entrepreneur
While entrepreneurs start from one business, they aim to grow and build multiple companies.
Solopreneur
In comparison, solopreneurs focus on one business.
Growth
Entrepreneur
Entrepreneurs work on making more money in a short time by multiplying businesses.
Solopreneur
Although, solopreneurs usually have a slow growth as they wish to establish one brand well in the market.
Scalability
Entrepreneur
Businesses run by entrepreneurs are highly scalable as they work to make it big to sell it to another company at a much higher price.
Solopreneur
Unlike entrepreneurs, solopreneurs do not work to make their business scalable. Instead, they make their brand popular and keep running it themselves.
The Bottom Line
As they say, all solopreneurs are entrepreneurs, but not all entrepreneurs are solopreneurs. Entrepreneurs work as managers for their businesses. On the other hand, solopreneurs are everything from managers, financial officers, marketing, sales, and business development. While solopreneurs build a name for their brand and pursue it, entrepreneurs create scalable businesses.
Matthew is a Co-Founder at BusinessFinanceArticles.org. Matthew was a floor manager at a local restaurant in Wales. He lost his job after the pandemic and took initiative to make a team and start the project.
Michael Fallquist says
Entrepreneurs and solopreneurs are incredibly different categories, though it’s important to note that the latter tend to rely on themselves. Good insight here!