Solopreneurs are thriving as corporate counterparts struggle

In 2018, Joy DasGupta walked away from a steady job in marketing at Starbucks after 13 years to work for herself as a rewards program consultant.

As a caregiver with a young child, DasGupta says the corporate life proved too inflexible, and the logistics of balancing her personal life and career were becoming overwhelming. Starbucks was also undergoing restructuring, and DasGupta’s once-secure corporate job was starting to feel a little shaky.

She explains that for most working mothers, “if you get the opportunity to make as much money—maybe even a little less—and get flexibility, many will take that option.” She adds that “there aren’t enough companies that are innovating around ways to compensate people with time, as opposed to just money.”  

Instead, she’s earning what she calls a good income as a solopreneur, while enjoying the flexibility to structure her own schedule in a way that allows her to show up for her daughter and her clients. 

“The hourly [rate] is great in terms of the return on my time.”

Between return to office mandates, AI-driven job insecurity, and a struggling labor market, American employees are feeling disengaged at work, inspiring many to seek an alternative. At the same time, solopreneurs—or those with full-time independent businesses and no desire to hire staff—are thriving.   

It pays to be a solopreneur

According to a recent study conducted by online payroll and HR provider Gusto, solopreneurs typically earn about one-third less than similarly skilled employees in year one, but catch up quickly. 

“By year two, the average solopreneur is making about 15% more than a similarly-skilled employee, and that goes up to about 25% by year five,” says Gusto economist Nich Tremper.

According to the study, the average solopreneur earns about $41,000 in year one—and over $83,000 by year three.

The most popular industry for solopreneurs, according to the study, is professional, scientific, and technical services, followed closely by transportation and warehousing, each accounting for about 13%. Those in the information sector typically see the sharpest annual revenue growth at over 51% per year, followed by arts, entertainment, and recreation at about 30%. Real estate, rental, and leasing professionals placed third with nearly 12%.

“When people think about small businesses, they tend to imagine folks that are on Main Street, with staff—little shops, little restaurants,” says Tremper. “In reality, 80% of small businesses don’t have any W2 employees, so solopreneurs are really foundational to the economy in a lot of ways.”

Since the pandemic the United States has seen a significant spike in new businesses, and that entrepreneurial boom includes both traditional business owners and solopreneurs.  

Why more workers are going solo

Not long ago, starting a business required a formal business plan, a loan, a lease, and a staff. Then the internet and mobile technology allowed individuals to open a digital storefront at almost no cost and connect with customers around the world.

Now, AI is enabling solopreneurs to create professional quality marketing materials, websites, apps, presentations, proposals, and more without hiring help.

“It’s become a solopreneur’s silent business partner,” says Caroline Castrillon, a Forbes senior contributor and founder of Corporate Escape Artist, which helps individuals transition into entrepreneurship. “What once required teams is now available to one person, so AI is really an equalizer.”

But it’s not just tech that’s made the solopreneur lifestyle more appealing.

“It really took off around the pandemic as people’s priorities and values changed,” Castrillon says. “Millennials and Gen Z in particular want autonomy, meaning and control. Work used to define our identities, now people are designing work around their identity.”

An entrepreneurial pull, a corporate disengagement push 

As solopreneurship becomes more appealing—and more attainable, thanks to technology—perceptions of the corporate lifestyle have simultaneously moved in a more negative direction.

“We have all these RTO mandates, there’s layoffs left and right, people don’t feel secure in their jobs, salaries aren’t keeping up with inflation, so what incentive is there to stay in the corporate world?” Castrillon says, adding that’s especially true for caregivers.

“Companies often claim to support families, but they rarely back that up with meaningful programs, and for women especially, solopreneurship is one way to find the flexibility that they need.”

That is ultimately what drove DasGupta from Starbucks to solopreneurship. Seven years later, she says she has no regrets.

“Corporations are really meeting-centric, and there was this really amazing transition to actually being able to dedicate myself to producing work for people,” she says. “I wouldn’t trade it. It’s been a great experience.”

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