10 Best Solopreneur Business Ideas To Start In 2024

If you're ready to quit your job and be your own boss, launching a solopreneur business will give you independence and a potentially high revenue stream.

You won't need a business partner to get set up and can transfer a wide range of skills to offer services to clients in all types of industries.

This list of solopreneur business ideas will help you start your dream money-making venture and take control of your future.

What Is A Solopreneur?

Before you set up a small business, it's important to understand the difference between a solopreneur and an entrepreneur and the processes each involves.

While an entrepreneur typically works with other staff members when launching a business, solopreneurs do this independently.

With complete control over their business from the ground up, they are responsible for all daily tasks and the company's trajectory.

This gives solopreneurs incredible freedom and flexibility compared to their entrepreneur counterparts and the control they have over their business ideas.

Solopreneur Pros

Since solopreneurs don't hire other staff, they aren't required to manage payrolls and other administrative duties associated with traditional companies.

As such, most solopreneur business ideas are often service-based since these can be handled by an individual while working from home.

This also means solopreneurs often have lower overheads and general expenses, increasing their profitability while lowering the risks.

Without the need for high levels of investment or loans, these small business owners can choose their own working hours and environment.

Solopreneur Cons

While there are many upsides to becoming a solopreneur, there are also challenges that you need to be aware of before starting a solo company.

Having total control of your business can be stressful and may involve long hours and weekend work to get up and running.

You'll also miss out on paid vacations and other benefits, such as dental and health insurance, that come with working for a larger organization.

Unpredictability in your income, particularly when first starting out, is something else to be mindful of and a potential source of stress.

10 Best Solopreneur Business Ideas To Start In 2024

Whether you're a graphic designer or a social media marketing expert, there are plenty of solopreneur business ideas to help you achieve independence.

With an initial investment of just a few hundred dollars, skillful and passionate individuals can build a profitable venture and reach hundreds of potential clients.

This list of the best solopreneur business ideas to start in 2024 should help inspire your new venture, so let's get into the details:

10. Pet Grooming & Sitting

While many of the most popular solo business ideas are based online, some people prefer a hands-on approach to working with clients.

Animal lovers who prefer this approach should consider setting up their own solopreneur business offering pet grooming and sitting.

A pet-sitting business requires a flexible schedule since you'll be expected to help out when your customers are at work or on vacation.

This could be for a couple of hours each day checking in on their pets or combined with house-sitting while they're on an extended break.

A more casual alternative to pet sitting is pet grooming, which you can work from home to do with clients bringing their dogs to you.

This solopreneur's business idea is relatively cheap to set up, and once you've purchased grooming gear, your overheads will be low.

Tiyr customers will often provide you with pet food and other supplies you'll need, saving additional operational expenses over time.

Setting up a pet grooming business is one of the best small business ideas for animal lovers who want to work in their local community.

9. Event Planning

Solopreneurs with strong organizational and interpersonal communication skills can pick up consistent work as event planners.

Event planning is one of the most popular service business ideas you can start, with little upfront costs to factor in.

This can include working with companies to help put on corporate events to promote their products or services to customers and clients.

Event planners also help with personal events such as weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries held in local venues.

The role requires coordinating with other service providers such as caterers, mobile DJs, and other entertainment providers.

Liaising with the client, they help them to select the food and drinks to be served at the events and any other add-ons they may require.

To run an event planning solopreneur business, you'll need a business website to outline your range of services and various package deals.

A knack for social media management and the ability to work under pressure are also solid foundations for building a good reputation.

8. YouTube & Podcast Content Creation

If you're considering setting up your own business and prefer to work from home, YouTube and content creation could be for you.

Podcasts and YouTube channels are often linked to one another, making it a great business model for maximizing your online presence.

To run a podcast, you'll need a good camera, microphone, and relevant live-streaming software to run each new episode online.

There's no limit to the topics you can discuss on a podcast, making it a great way to learn new hobbies while running a one-person business.

If you have friends or family members knowledgeable on a subject, you can invite them to your podcast for interviews.

As your online presence grows and you gain more followers, you can invite high-profile guests to appear on the podcast.

This will allow you to reach a larger audience and attract new fans with whom you can engage through your social media platforms.

Podcasts and YouTube channels can generate income through paid advertising based on views or through direct marketing and promotions.

For example, if you're running a fitness podcast, you can work with supplement manufacturers and promote their products directly to your audience.

It's one of the best freelance business ideas for those with a good sense of communication and an engaging speaking voice.

7. Virtual Assistant

One of the most popular solopreneur business ideas is offering virtual assistant services online, which is in huge demand from all types of businesses.

It allows you to be your own boss while working remotely, liaising with clients to help them with their day-to-day administrative duties.

Getting a solo business as a virtual assistant set up is easy, and there are many online job boards where you can find new clients.

Learning how to create a virtual assistant profile is simple, with lots of examples you can use to help you present your services.

Once ready, you can look for basic virtual assistant work, helping clients with calendar management and answering emails and phone calls.

More in-depth VA services can include performing data entry work, processing information, and writing reports based on this data.

If you're happy working in a dedicated executive assistant role to C-Suite-level staff, the potential for high-paying work increases significantly.

A background in human resources or secretarial work is a plus if you're considering setting up a virtual assistant solopreneur business online.

Strong communication skills and the ability to produce work to deadlines are also required from clients who need virtual assistants for their projects.

There are thousands of virtual assistant jobs for beginners available online, so research the various job listing sites to see what's on offer.

6. E-Commerce & Affiliate Marketing

If you have a large social media presence with regular engagement, affiliate marketing is one of the best solopreneur business ideas you can try.

As an affiliate marketer, you'll use your social media channels to promote various products or services to your audience directly.

This can be linked to your chosen subject; for example, the best affiliate programs for mom bloggers will include baby products or toys.

For each sale made through an affiliate link, you'll be paid a commission, with variable rates depending on the companies you're partnering with.

You can also set up your own e-commerce store on your website to sell products directly to customers and avoid high commission rates.

Setting up an e-commerce store is easy, with lots of handy tools for keeping track of your inventory and tracking shipments of your orders.

You can use a comprehensive e-commerce website builder to get your online presence up and running before contacting companies to partner with.

These builders also include powerful data analytics tools to break down trends and performance so you can stock the most popular products.

5. Online Course Creation & Tutoring

As with affiliate marketing and e-commerce trading, setting up an online course business can also be tied into direct tutoring with clients.

Online courses combined with a tutoring business give your customers a more varied approach to learning, with each aspect complementing the other.

For example, you can offer online courses in video or ebook format for students to download and work through at their own pace.

At the same time, dedicated face-to-face tutoring can supplement the learning process and help students with more in-depth discussions.

Sales from online courses will passively generate income once they're available to purchase and as you add more content over time.

There's a wide variety of courses that can be offered, from online fitness training to life coaching and support for college students.

You can also offer courses for traditional subjects, along with tutoring services to help high school and college students graduate their classes.

With online courses gaining acceptance among the public, setting up online courses is among the fastest-growing one-person business ideas.

4. Digital Marketing

While all companies have an online presence, many prefer outsourcing their digital marketing efforts instead of using an in-house team.

This makes it an ideal online business for people with digital marketing experience and knowledge of processes such as search engine optimization.

Setting up your own website is easy and can be used to showcase your work from past clients in a visually eye-catching manner.

You can also create a freelancer portfolio that can be shared on various online job listing boards where you can find potential clients to work for.

If you have experience creating logos and other branding elements, a personal website is sufficient to demonstrate these skills.

As a digital marketing professional, you'll help with product and service promotional efforts through your client's social media marketing channels.

You may also be expected to check customer feedback and see what your clients can do to improve their products and services in the future.

As such, digital marketing requires good communication skills and personability when dealing with others.

Many digital marketing processes can be easily performed using mobile apps, which have plenty of useful tools for checking SEO and other data.

This means you can work while traveling and keep in touch with international clients in different time zones.

It's an excellent service to offer small businesses and generate additional income working from home with the scope to become a full-time job.

3. Graphic Design & Illustration

For those with a flair for creating visually stimulating assets for businesses, graphic design and illustration services are popular solopreneur ideas.

You can build up a portfolio with your personal branding combined with examples of work you've done for other clients in a professional capacity.

This can include company logos and visual assets for marketing campaigns and any other designs that demonstrate your abilities.

If you're just venturing into this line of work, you'll need the right software, such as Adobe Illustrator, to use when creating these assets.

Alternatively, you can save money and check out the best tools for freelancers that deliver great results without a high initial investment.

Software such as GIMP and MS Paint can be used to create striking imagery and are free to use, making them cost-effective alternatives.

While graphic designers are expected to use digital tools, your initial costs will be considerably lower if you're considering becoming an illustrator.

Illustrators can pick up well-paid work creating book covers and illustrations that are used to support written content of all types.

The more successful projects you complete, the stronger your portfolio will be, attracting higher-paying clients and long-term contracts.

It's another compelling solopreneur business idea for creative individuals who are happy to start part-time and test the waters.

2. Software Development

If you have a background in programming, there's a huge potential for significant income working as a solo software developer.

You'll need to be familiar with coding languages and the development pipeline, as well as an ability to understand your client's requirements.

While AAA game titles require large teams of programmers, many mobile games and apps are created by a single programmer.

As such, you can work on your projects alongside additional work for clients and use these to add to your passive income.

Coders with prior experience in the games industry can work as contractors to assist with larger projects such as video games.

If you have experience producing graphics, you can command even higher fees by rolling these services into your coding skills.

Software developers can also assist companies with the creation of applications that help customers solve queries or make purchases.

They can also develop project management tools for large organizations looking to save on office space and avoid hiring dedicated programmers.

A good understanding of the latest trends in software engineering is a must to deliver optimized software for your clients.

This will help you to stay ahead of other businesses in the field and create systems that perform as expected to your client's specifications.

There are plenty of online resources to assist with learning new coding languages and skills when running your own company as a software developer.

1. Freelance Writing

People with an aptitude for spelling and grammar and a gift for words can set up a solopreneur business offering freelance writing services.

While the pros and cons of blogging continue to be debated, thousands of companies rely on freelance writers for all types of content.

Blog posts and articles created with search-engine-optimized keywords are commonly used to drive traffic to company websites and generate revenue.

A background in a specific niche or industry can allow you to charge a higher fee for your freelance writing services for more specialized clients.

Additional work can be found writing sales-based copy that details the benefits a product or service brings to the consumer.

A freelance writing business can also assist with the creation of books and other resources by offering ghostwriting services to potential clients.

In addition to being highly competent at writing, freelance writers should also be familiar with how to use a website builder when uploading content.

Clients will sometimes expect writers to add other assets supporting their text, formatting these correctly with metadata and additional information.

Summary

We hope these suggested solopreneur business ideas have given you food for thought and inspired you to establish your dream one-person company.

Whether you're considering a web design business or working as a software developer, there is a solopreneur business idea for your skills.

Solo businesses are a great way to generate passive income and reach out to potential customers for high-paying contracts doing what you love.