There is a word that did not exist in most business conversations a decade ago, and today it describes tens of millions of Americans: solopreneur.
A solopreneur is not just a freelancer picking up gigs between jobs. It is not someone waiting for a better offer from a traditional employer. A solopreneur is a person who has built and runs a business entirely on their own, with no employees, no payroll, and no partners. They function as owner, operator, accountant, marketer, and service provider all at once. Risk is carried individually. Increasingly, this is a deliberate choice.
According to MBO Partners’ 2025 State of Independence study, more than 72 million Americans now earn income through independent work. For the 27.6 million entreprenuers who do it full-time, this is not a side hustle or a placeholder until something better comes along. It is the plan. Nearly 6 out of 10 report earning more than they did as traditional employees. Eighty-four percent (84%) say they are happier.
These numbers tell us something important. The rise of the solopreneur economy is being fueled by people who have intentionally chosen entrepreneurship after weighing the tradeoffs of traditional employment and deciding that working for themselves offers a better path forward.
A Parallel Economy, Already Built
The United States Census Bureau counted 30.4 million non-employer establishments in 2023. These are businesses with one person at the helm and no one else on the payroll. Together, they generated nearly $1.8 trillion in revenue, representing 6.4% of U.S. GDP and rising.
To put that in perspective: this segment of the economy, businesses run by a single person with no employees, produces more economic output than many entire industries. It represents a substantial and growing share of economic activity, yet it has expanded largely outside the focus of policymakers, researchers, and major institutions.
What makes this particularly striking is that much of this growth occurred without financial infrastructure designed specifically for businesses of one. While lending products for self-employed borrowers do exist, most underwriting systems were built around traditional employment and conventional small-business structures. As a result, many solopreneurs still face higher barriers to accessing capital, despite their growing contribution to the economy.
Building a Business on a Credit Card
Most solopreneurs are funding their operations the same way people fund emergencies: with whatever personal resources they have available. According to the Branch x Mastercard Solopreneur Report, a January 2026 survey of more than 1,400 independent workers across North America, 66% of solopreneurs finance their business operations through personal capital. The 2025 Intuit QuickBooks Small Business Financing Report, a separate survey of U.S. small businesses published November 2025, found that non-employer businesses are 1.8 times less likely than employer businesses to expect they can secure financing at all.
Much of the challenge lies in the structure of the lending system itself. Traditional underwriting models were designed around established operating histories, payroll records, and revenue thresholds that capture the realities of businesses with employees, not businesses run by a single person. Solopreneurs frequently lack the credit depth, collateral, and documented cash flow that conventional lenders require. The Federal Reserve’s 2025 Report on Non-employer Firms, based on 2024 survey data from nearly 6,000 non-employer businesses nationwide, confirms the result: non-employer firms that plan to hire face higher financing denial rates than those with no growth plans at all.
Income data helps explain why this matters. According to the Branch x Mastercard report, 79% of solopreneurs earn under $100,000 annually and more than half earn below $50,000. These are not businesses with deep reserves to absorb a denied loan application or a cash flow gap. Only 11% report having access to traditional business loans, while 35% rely on credit cards for business funding.
That pattern is widespread among non-employers, and it carries real consequences. A March 2025 University of Chicago working paper analyzing QuickBooks data from more than 1.6 million small businesses found that when banks reduced credit card supply following the Federal Reserve’s 2022 rate hikes, small-business employment growth fell by 1.5%. For businesses that depend on credit cards as a primary financing tool, access to credit shapes decisions about inventory, marketing, equipment purchases, and ultimately whether growth plans move forward.
Survey results reveal the breadth of that frustration: 48% believe the financial system works against them, 52% feel traditional financial institutions do not meet their needs, and 62% report having to fight for every bit of financial progress.. Those are not outlier responses. They are the dominant experience of a business segment that generates $1.8 trillion in annual economic activity and receives very little in return from the institutions designed to serve it.
AI as a Productivity Force for Solopreneurs
Solopreneurs are not sitting still waiting for the system to catch up. Many are turning to artificial intelligence to stretch what one person can accomplish. According to the Federal Reserve’s report, 71% of small businesses using AI reported increased productivity, 39% noted improved quality of goods and services, and 31% reported higher sales. Notably, most experienced no change in labor costs, suggesting AI is functioning as a force multiplier rather than a staffing solution.
Productivity and capital serve different purposes. A solopreneur who becomes twice as efficient may be able to accomplish more with the same resources, but hiring an employee, expanding into a larger space, purchasing equipment, and building infrastructure typically require financing. AI is helping solopreneurs operate more effectively. Access to capital remains the key that unlocks the next stage of growth.
When Growth Meets a Lending Barrier
Here is where the story takes an uncomfortable turn. The Federal Reserve’s report tracks two distinct groups of solopreneurs: those who plan to stay solo, and those who plan to hire within the next 12 months. What the data reveals is one of the more counterintuitive findings in small business finance.
The solopreneurs most likely to be denied a business loan are the ones trying hardest to grow.
Among early-stage potential employers, meaning solopreneurs in business two years or less who have a plan to hire, the denial rate for loans, lines of credit, and merchant cash advances is 50%. For later-stage potential employers, that number drops to 42%. Stable solopreneurs with no plans to hire at all face a denial rate of just 34%..
Business owners who are not trying to grow are more creditworthy, in conventional lending terms, than the ones who are. This does not mean growth-oriented solopreneurs are irresponsible. It is that growth requires investment, and investment looks like risk. Earlier-stage businesses often carry more debt, have less cash on hand, and operate with thinner margins. All of these are normal features of a business in the process of scaling, and all of them are flags in a traditional underwriting model.
In fact, the businesses most likely to create jobs, to grow into something the broader economy benefits from, are the ones the traditional lending system is least prepared to serve at precisely the moment they need it most. That is not a minor inefficiency. It is a structural gap with real consequences.
Where the Right Financing Can Change the Trajectory
The journey from solopreneur to employer is rarely linear. Many successful businesses spend years building a customer base and refining their operations before they are ready to bring on their first hire. The mistake many make is waiting until that moment arrives before thinking about financing.
By the time urgency sets in, options narrow. Lenders see a business under pressure. Terms reflect that. The conversation that could have been strategic becomes transactional, and often does not go the way the business owner hoped.
SBA-backed lending programs exist precisely to close the gap that conventional lending leaves open. The federal guarantee structure reduces the risk a lender takes on, which means businesses that do not meet a traditional bank’s approval criteria can still access the capital they need to grow. For solopreneurs who are profitable, have a track record, and are ready to take the next step, these programs can be the difference between a growth plan that stays on paper and one that actually gets funded.
For entrepreneurs navigating this financing gap, preparation can make a meaningful difference. At AmPac Business Capital, we work with entrepreneurs at every stage of growth by connecting them with financing programs, training opportunities, and technical assistance resources designed to strengthen their businesses.
If you are a solopreneur with a profitable business and a plan to hire within the next 12 to 24 months, the best time to start the conversation is before you need the money, not after. When you come to the table before the urgency arrives, with clean financials and a clear picture of where the business is headed, lenders are often able to evaluate opportunities more strategically, resulting in a broader range of financing options.
The Economy Being Built Right Now
The future of small business is being built right now by millions of solopreneurs who are finding their footing, proving their business models, and preparing for what comes next.
Most are doing it without a safety net. Solopreneurs are building on personal savings, running lean, and using every tool available to stretch what one person can accomplish. They already account for 6.4% of U.S. GDP, and their influence continues to grow.
Many of tomorrow’s small employers are today’s solopreneurs. With the right support at the right time, they can become the businesses that create jobs, strengthen local economies, and drive the next generation of small-business growth.
AmPac is here to help make that next step possible.