Why I’m reconsidering the word ‘Solopreneur’

Why I’m reconsidering the word ‘Solopreneur’

When I was running the co-working club I founded before lockdown hit, I used the word ‘Entrepreneur’ to describe what I was doing since it was a business bigger than just me and I was hiring other people to help me manage it.

I had to close that down a few months after lockdown and focused instead on my work as a marketing consultant and then after completing my coaching training, moved into Mentoring those wanting to set up and grow their businesses. At that point- summer last year, I started identifying more with the word ‘solopreneur’ as people were working with me 1:1 and I wasn’t hiring anyone.

 

 A popular word?

Using Solopreneur seemed natural.  There are hundreds of people who use it – in fact, there are over 2.36m hits when you google ‘solopreneur’

So despite its popularity, why am I thinking not to use it anymore?  

 

Because when you look into it, it doesn’t add up

I can imagine you yelling right now saying “But!  I’m an entrepreneur and I run my business alone.  So it is a good word to use!  I’m totally a solopreneur!  Everyone is doing it!”

But are you, REALLY?   Are you ACTUALLY a solopreneur?

 

Let’s explore the etymology of the word:

Solopreneur is a bastardized version of entrepreneur.  Entrepreneur is a word we borrowed from my favourite country across the pond, France.  The word is actually a mashup two words.

Enterprise, meaning ‘business’

AND

Entreprendre, a French verb meaning ‘to undertake’. 

 

And so from that we get ENTREPRENEUR, meaning to ‘undertake the building of an enterprise’.  (Dictionaries like to throw into their definitions that ‘risk is typically involved’ not sure why that is included…)

So let’s go back to the word in question, solopreneur.  What you’re really saying  then is that you are in a ‘solo undertaking’.

 

But once again…You’re not in a ‘solo undertaking’.  How can that be so if you work alone?

 

No business is ‘solo’

Ok.  So you own a business. (whether it’s a Limited company, Sole Trader or something else) You might be your own boss.  You might even be the Only Executive Officer of your business, but you are not alone.

 

Here’s why:

• When you undertake a relatively public, online presence the concept of being ‘solo’ flies out the window
• You rely on your paying clients, the people who read your weekly emails, and the people you don’t even know who share your stuff.
• There is nothing ‘solo’ about you or your work.  You have your mentors, the groups you share, the people who rely on your income to get paid (think:  other service providers), etc
• You may own your business by yourself, but you aren’t solo.  Saying ‘you’re solo’ can make you sound ungrateful
• There is so much to running a business, even if it is mainly you offering 1:1 services or packages that rely on, well you! So don’t undersell yourself or think you are ‘less’ than an entrepreneur

 

So….what do I call myself instead?

Most likely, you’re an entrepreneur.  Own it.  Love it.  Embrace the fact that you, yes just you in and of yourself, can be an entrepreneur.  A little quiz….

 

QUIZ:  Are you an Entrepreneur?

1.  Do you own a business?

Please circle YES or NO

Scoring:  If yes, you’re an entrepreneur.  If no, then you’re not.

 

A passing trend?

So right now solopreneur is all the rage, but how long for?  The best once-upon-a-time solopreneurs are now big deal entrepreneurs who own their own companies, manage their own teams, and make a great deal of cash for their (and their teams’) time. (Think: Marie Forleo, Leonie Dawson, Nathalie Lussier, Natalie MacNeil, and many many more)

 

So what do you think?  Should we (we being solo entrepreneurs) get rid of the word and own our entrepreneur-dom?  Does the origin of it matter since the word now carries meaning in and of itself?

Share your thoughts in the comments.