The term “Solo entrepreneur” is an oxymoron.
Posted on June 17, 2021 by Brad Krueger, One of Thousands of Business Coaches on Noomii.
The term solo entrepreneur is an oxymoron, much like calling one musician a “solo band.”
Do you call yourself a solo entrepreneur, freelancer, or any other term for an independent self-employed professional?
These terms are often used to describe the talented men and women who bravely take on all the challenges of running a business, supposedly alone.
And that’s exactly why I don’t like these terms. Only under extremely rare circumstances (if you have an example, send it to me!) has there ever been a successful entrepreneur that’s done it “alone.”
The term solo entrepreneur is an oxymoron, much like calling one musician a “solo band.”
No one is good at everything, no matter how big an ego they have.
For example, I suck at visual design. Ask my husband, my simple criteria of “what looks good” doesn’t result in a uniform or consistent style that is pleasing to anyone’s eye. I blame my parents for raising me in a house decorated with random antiques from dead relatives.
Any who, my point is that there is no solo entrepreneur. And, to be clear, I’m not just talking about outsourcing the bookkeeping, tax, and lawyer stuff – those are a given.
No one manages a successful business alone either.
Read any startup or business management book and you’ll see plenty of examples of where multiple perspectives and skillsets are key to business success.
Here are a few of my favorite quotes:
1. “Asking a man about a business model is useless because every business model looks good to someone with a Y chromosome…Women, by contrast, don’t have this killer gene. Thus they are much better judges of the viability of a business model than men are. Don’t agree with me? The book The Darwin Awards provides irrefutable proof of women’s greater common sense.” – Guy Kawasaki, author of The Art of the Start (2004). [Note: I believe many gay men lack the killer gene too!]
2. “The founder needs people with whom he can discuss basic decisions and to whom he listens. Such people are rarely found within the enterprise. Somebody has to challenge the founder’s appraisal of the needs of the venture, and of his own personal strengths. Someone who is not a part of the problem has to ask questions, to review decisions, and above all, to push constantly to have the long-term survival needs of the new venture satisfied by building in the market focus, supplying financial foresight, and creating a functioning top management team.” – Peter Drucker, author of The Essential Drucker (2001).
3. According to Gino Wickman, author of Traction, great organizations 2 leadership roles:
Integrators: the person (e.g., CEO, President, General Manager) who harmoniously integrates the major functions of your business (e.g., Sales/Marketing, Operations, Finance).
Visionaries: Typically, very creative people, great solvers of big ugly problems, and fantastic at strategic relationships. They operate more on emotion and are good at recognizing how people are feeling.
Yet, so many solo entrepreneurs are out there thinking successful entrepreneurship entails figuring it all out on their own. How is being your own boss fun if you have to do everything?
Perhaps suffering entrepreneurs would be a more appropriate phrase than solo entrepreneur?
If you’re in this situation, please stop!
There are many alternatives to suffering alone – just make sure they are safe, confidential spaces where you can really air out your laundry.
Regularly talking with talented entrepreneurial friends might be an option if they’re well versed in leading business management (vs. just lucky) and you can trust them not to share your deepest secrets.
Of course, you can also setup a intro call with me too.
Whatever you do, just focus on being an entrepreneur without the “solo” part!
And, remember you don’t have to go it alone.
Whether you want to build a trusted network, improve your personal performance, or completely transform your business I’m happy to talk.
Request a free consultation today!
Don’t put it off, get something on the calendar today.
Let’s make success beyond luck a reality for your business.
Brad Krueger
Business success coach
