Are you setting off on your entrepreneurship journey and wondering whether to walk alone or find some company? It’s an important decision that will impact the outcome of your venture.
Research has shown that a larger founder team has a greater chance of finding success. Mega corporations like Apple, Microsoft, and Google were all started by more than one founder.
However, there’s also no shortage of examples of big companies that were started with one founder. Amazon quickly springs to mind.
Taking the solo entrepreneur path isn’t an easy choice, but it can yield excellent results. Dive into this article to learn why you should take this ride alone!
1. Set Your Own Terms
The number one reason a good number of people in the U.S. want to become entrepreneurs is the allure of being “my own boss.” If you’re tired of the 9 to 5 grind where an ever-angry boss gives you a dress down at the slightest opportunity, you probably can’t wait to start a business and be your own boss.
As a solopreneur, you’ll have the freedom to set your terms. You’ll decide where to locate the business if it’s a brick-and-mortar store, as well as set your own schedule.
Every business decision is entirely up to you. From choosing business models to hiring employees, there will be no one to tell you what to do or how to do it.
On the other hand, when you have a co-founder or partner, you’ll need to get their views when making important business decisions. For instance, you cannot unliterary decide to change the business’ location. Bouncing ideas off of each other is the name of the game when it comes to running a business with multiple founders.
Of course, having all this freedom doesn’t come without a cost. If you make poor decisions that eventually hurt your business, you’ll only have yourself to blame.
This, though, shouldn’t scare you. Should things go south, consider it a learning opportunity and you’ll bounce back stronger.
2. Fast Decision-Making
Making decisions is a central part of your role as an entrepreneur. Some decisions need to be made urgently; otherwise, business operations might be disrupted. It’s during such times that you’ll appreciate being a solopreneur.
Since you don’t have to consult anybody, the decision-making process is relatively quick. Sometimes you can rely on your intuition to make a decision there and then, and other times, you might need to do more research, perhaps consulting a friend or mentor.
Either way, you won’t have to set up a meeting with a co-founder to deliberate on the issue and reach a decision. In such a situation, it can take several days to make a decision even on small matters. For example, if your partner is on vacation or can’t be reached on the phone immediately, you might have no choice but to hold off on making a decision.
Or you can go ahead and make your decision, but you’ll run the risk of irking your co-founders, especially if the decision does more harm than good.
3. No Internal Conflicts
Conflict isn’t a foreign concept in business. It’s not uncommon to have internal conflict within yourself.
However, this is not the internal conflict we’re talking about here. We mean conflict between two or more people, conflict that can kill a business. Research shows about 65% of startups collapse by year ten, often due to conflict.
Disagreements among people are normal, but they can have disastrous consequences. They have ruined friendships, ended marriages, and even flung nations into wars. In business, conflict among the founders can cause some to quit or retaliate, actions that are not in the best interest of the business.
The good news is that owners of solo businesses face no such risk of business-threatening internal conflicts. You’re the captain of your ship. You steer it as you see fit, and if it has to sink, at least it won’t be because you disagreed with the co-captain on how fast to cruise!
4. Greater Earning Potential
You’re not going into business simply because you want to be your own boss. You also want to make money and possibly get wealthy. Some of the wealthiest people in America are entrepreneurs.
If your business becomes profitable, you stand to earn a lot more than if you had co-founders. You can bank the profit into your personal account, or choose to pay yourself a handsome salary and reinvest the profits into the business.
Beyond profits, though, there’s a big league that can change your fortunes.
Imagine a scenario where your business is ready to go public. As the sole owner, an IPO means you’ll give up some shareholding. However, once the company goes public, you could become an overnight billionaire because you’ll own the majority of the shares.
With a multi-partner company, shareholding is typically shared. You’ll still bank big money as a co-founder of a company that goes public, but certainly not as much as you’d earned if you were the sole owner.
5. Develop New Skills
In a multi-founder organization, the founders typically bring different skill sets to the team, which is good for business.
In solo entrepreneurship, you have to rely on your skill set, at least until you’re able to bring in employees. Until that happens, you’ll wear many hats, including product research, marketing, and accounting. If you don’t know how to do some of these tasks, you’ll have no choice but to learn on the job.
In the learning process, you’ll develop new skills and gradually become a well-rounded business professional. You may never have an opportunity to expand your skillset if you partner up with other people to start a business.
It’s a Solo Entrepreneur’s World
Teamwork makes the dream work, but this doesn’t mean you need a team to achieve your dream of owning a successful business. As a solo entrepreneur, your work is cut out. There’ll be challenges along the way, but if you’re well-equipped to conquer them, what’s there to stop you?
Take the bold step and start that business, but don’t forget to keep coming back to our blog for more content!
