Solo Entrepreneurs

I would consider a solo entrepreneur as someone who can make a business model and make it work for any number of situations and build an empire from his ideas.

My friend is a freelancer. She has all kinds of ideas with no way of building one into something that the public wants, let alone something they are willing to pay for. She can do odds and ends and make some nice cash for it, but nothing sustainable.

Entrepreneurs support families and manage health insurance and offer financial stability that freelance ‘duffers’ don’t. She is not supporting her family with her blogs, computer repairs, or computer security lock-downs, but they can buy some nice stuff with it.

but some One-person companies are earning upward of $1 million in revenue annually. How do they do it? With high-speed Internet connectivity, mobile apps, automation, and a little help from their customers?

There are situations where One can be one-person business for more than 10 years ! and then become an independent developer lifestyle ( in my field) like being part of a large organization, but continuing to work on your own creations -- just with more resources behind . "It's a lifestyle decision. Call them lifestyle business. Peopleless enterprises. Solo entrepreneurs, etc. We're seeing them everywhere -- they almost don't feel like businesses, because there's no there there -- these are people working from anywhere and in any time zone, and who are grossing from $250,000 up to $5 million or $6 million.

Workers like these are becoming increasingly common as the Internet matures, software as a service (SaaS) is more reliable, outsourcing becomes more commonplace, and customers and user communities begin to shoulder more of the work of keeping operations going.

These businesses have a number of things in common. First, all of them use the Web to leverage their limited financial and personnel resources for everything from marketing and sales to sourcing raw materials and products to customer service and support. Second, they depend on high-speed Internet connectivity and mobile applications to work from anywhere and create virtual teams and partnerships that can be either permanent or brought together on an ad hoc basis. Finally, they depend heavily on their customer bases/user communities to pitch in and help with essential operations.

What would you like to consider yourself? I found the following at http://www.successful-blog.com (by Liz Strauss) very interesting

How to Tell a Freelancer from a Solo Entrepreneur ?

In my conversations with bloggers who work alone, I found some distinct differences in the way they approach their work, in the way they talk about it, in the way that they relate to every part of it. I’ve found that two groups seem to stand out. I call the groups freelancers and solo entrepreneurs. Here’s how to tell the two groups apart.

A freelancer is about the work. An entrepreneur is about the business.
A freelancer is a doer. A freelancer knows the tactics. An entrepreneur is a negotiator, a visionary and a thinker. An entrepreneur builds strategy and is constantly testing it.

A freelancer thinks the work is the business. An enterpreneur knows the business supports the work.
A freelancer is disinterested in “business controls and necessities” — including thinking, budgets, invoices, business plans — that gets in the way of the “real” work. An entrepreneur understands that without those “business controls and necessities,” it’s not a business. It’s a job.

A freelancer might want to grow a client base. An entrepreneur knows a business either grows or decays, and is constantly looking for ways to keep the growth managed and within reasonable risk parameters.

A freelancer lives in the now with an eye to long term client relationships that might afford some security. An entreprenuer is looking to a vision of the business, now is a reflection of what the business will be.

A freelancer often doesn’t invest in his or her own equipment, training, or help. Many freelancers don’t delegate low-level skills or tasks they don’t do well, because they think “poor,” rather than think investment. An entrepreneur knows that time is money, invests in future development and the business vision. An entrepreneur will pay for skills that he or she doesn’t have knowing that it is money well spent on quality and commitment.

A freelancer works from day to day. An entrepreneur has a business plan.

Whether you work alone or in an enterprise, you probably think like one or the other. Did you find yourself in the group that you thought you would be? What is your opinion of the other? Both groups are necessary to make a business work. Looking deeper, we also need managers to bridge the gap between these two groups.

So, develop your mantra. Focus it well as Guy says, but don’t stay on the surface of his guidance or mine. Go deep. Make sure you know where you are and what you’re going for.
If you’re out on your own, or before you go there, are you a freelancer or a solo entrepreneur?