Think it - Solopreneur

The internet has invented many new terms e.g. netizen, Internet of Things (IoT), Telemedicine, Digital Nomad, Gig Economy to name a few. It has also spawned whole new business models e.g. Crowdsourcing, Work from Anywhere (WFA), Dropshipping, On-demand Streaming etc. One such business model is “Solopreneur” as opposed to “Entrepreneur”.

What is the difference between these two business models? Solopreneur is a one-person business model for entrepreneurs who always need a team to run the business. Solopreneur focuses on a single business whereas entrepreneurs build a business to scale. 

Solopreneur looks to freelancing for his/her temporary business needs whereas an entrepreneur relies on full-time employees. Solopreneur needs minimum capital plus his/her expertise as against an entrepreneur who needs a good amount of capital plus different talents of his /her employees. 

Solopreneur business model is good for side gigs. It can even be a full time business activity. There are many examples of successful solopreneurs. Forbes published a list of youtubers with highest earnings and the earnings of the some of the successful podcasters are in millions e.g. MrBeast, the 23 years old, earned US$54M in 2021, Jack Paul earned US$45M at No. 2 and MarkiPlier earned US$38M at No. 3.  In our country we also have some very successful solopreneur although their earnings are not public but they command very high following e.g. Kitchen with Amna is at No. 1, Nadir Ali - P4 Pakao is at No. 2 and Asad Memon - Food Fusion at No. 3. More and more people are joining the community of solopreneur. 

The solopreneur community is not limited to youtubers only. There are many solopreneur ideas e.g. Airbnb Host - if you have a spare room in your house then you can offer it for rent on Airbnb. Graphic Designer, Photographer, Freelance Writing, Content Creator, Web Designer - offer your services on freelancing platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, freelancer, flexjobs, 99designs to name a few. The solopreneur is a new emerging model of remote work. According to one survey by Mckinsey International 72% of executives say that their organisations have started adopting permanent remote-working models. Similarly, 70% of employees say that being able to work from home for at least part of the week is a top criterion in selecting their next job. Solopreneurship is basically abandoning the 9 to 5 job. It is doing what you love to do at your own convenience.

How to be successful at your solo career is the question? Tim Ferriss has answered it in his book “The 4Hours Work Week”. He invented a new term “The New Rich” which is about abandoning the deferred life plan to achieve a luxurious lifestyle - workaholic now and enjoy in the future. He contests that idea and states that people don’t want to be millionaires; they want to experience what they think only millionaires can experience. The question, therefore, is how can you achieve the lifestyle of a millionaire, without having  millions in your bank account? So, essentially “The 4-Hour Work Week” is not about saving your earnings, or about finding your dream job; it’s about how to free up the most time, and automate your income. He lists the following 4 steps to achieving this goal.

Step 1 - D is for Definition

He lists several distinctions between the Deferrer and New Rich. The crux of these is that “The New Rich are defined by a more elusive power than simple cash i-e having unrestricted movement” e.g. Deferrer = I want to buy all the things I want vs. New Rich = I want to do all the things I want to do, Deferrer = I want to have more vs. New Rich = I want to have more quality and less clutter.

Step 2 - E is for Elimination

He says forget about Time Management. He advises the use of Pareto’s 80/20 principle along with Parkinson’s Law. The idea is that 80 percent of output will result from 20 percent of input. This can be applied everywhere, being busy is a form of laziness as it prevents you from thinking. Being selective in what you do, and even doing less is the path to being productive. Parkinson’s Law states that the perceived importance of a task will increase in correlation with how much time has been allotted for its completion. How does this work in combination with the 80/20 Principle? By first identifying the few critical tasks that create the most income (80/20), and then scheduling them in with very short, clear deadlines (Parkinson’s Law).

Step 3 - A is for Automation

An essential facet of being a member of the New Rich is learning how to replace yourself within a system. The idea is to own a business but not to run it. How to do that? The answer is Outsourcing. He suggests following steps to design such a business model.

1. Identify an affordable niche market
2. Brainstorm (and don’t invest in) products.
3. Micro test your product.
4. Once you have a product that sells, it’s time to automate it. This can be done by outsourcing the components of the products and ensuring that all of your outsourcers communicate with each other to solve problems.
5. Assess the value of each customer. Identify those customers who spend the least and yet ask for the most (i.e., adhering to the 80/20 rule) and cut them out. 

Step 4 - L is for Liberation

Fear prevents people from making the leap. Here are four of the most common fears when thinking about quitting a job, and he rebuffs to each of them:

1. Quitting is permanent: This is a lie. It’s always possible to start a job with a different company at a later date.
2. I won’t be able to pay for my expenses: Yes, you will. If you can get a new stream of income before you quit your job, great, if you don’t, it isn’t hard to eliminate most of your expenses temporarily and live off your savings for a short while. 
3. In case you have employee health insurance and retirement benefits then these will cease if I quit: This is false. You will not need it in the first place but in case your solo career does not get off to a good start then you will find these in another company.
4. It will ruin my resume: False. Just get creative with your CV. Plus, if you quit to do something interesting, this will often make you more attractive to employers in the long run.

It is taking a usual 20-30 year retirement and redistributing it throughout life instead of saving it all for the end?” He suggests that instead of engaging in binge travel (which most people working 40-hour a week jobs do when they get vacation time), that you go on several mini-retirements, which means relocating to another place for six months. By doing so, you will not escape your life as such but will re-examine it.

Don’t wait. Just do it. Yes, you can do it.