Having secured income gains, improved work-life balance, freelancers set sights on scale
Solopreneurs are gearing up for major impacts from artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, according to statistics released today by Collective, the first all-in-one finance platform for businesses-of-one. Collective, which last month announced $50 million in new funding to support the expansion of its own AI tools, surveyed solopreneurs about their expectations for how AI will affect their businesses. 72% of respondents said they expect it will change the way they operate – and most were optimistic about its long term impacts.
Only 8% of the solopreneurs Collective surveyed expect AI tools to make their work harder as they strive to adapt, and just over 1% are worried AI will take business from them. But 40% expect AI tools will make them more productive and profitable, and 22% believe AI tools will allow them to focus on their primary functions and passions.
Solopreneurship is booming, with 39% of the US workforce participating in freelance work. According to a Freelancer.com report, AI skills were among the fastest growing on Freelancer.com in Q2 2023 (up 20.6% in Q1 2023 from 1,038 to 1,252). Jobs requiring Generative AI skills using platforms like ChatGPT, Dall-E, Midjourney and Chatbots increased in number by more than 325% from 286 in Q4 2022 to 1,216 in Q1 2023.
“AI models are providing freelancers such as designers, programmers and editors with capabilities that can realistically propel a solo business from zero to $1 million in months,” said Hooman Radfar, CEO and co-founder of Collective. “And it’s just the beginning – role-specific copilots are emerging that will allow freelancers in more industries to scale rapidly. We are preparing our platform to support the first billion-dollar businesses-of-one.”
Collective’s survey also queried solopreneurs on the lifestyle impacts of freelance work. 88% said working for themselves has improved their mental health compared to being an employee, and 78% said it has improved their work-life balance. 60% said they feel equally or more financially secure than when working for others, and 57% said they were either unlikely (41%) to return to working for an employer – or would never go back (16%).
“A new class of business is emerging, drawing top talent from every industry who are realizing they can not only be profitable and work on their own terms but also remain incredibly ambitious, given the new capabilities at their disposal thanks to AI,” added Radfar. “It represents a fundamental shift in power because a single person can create more sitting at a desk than any other time in human history. We are entering a Golden Age of solopreneurship.”
Collective has expanded nationwide and increased revenue by nearly 10x since its Series A round in 2021. In total, since its launch in 2020, the company has raised $82 million.
Collective’s survey, conducted in May 2023, queried solopreneurs about their ambitions for their businesses, the drivers and effects of their choice to work for themselves, and their expectations around the impacts of AI. 105 solopreneurs responded to inform the statistics in this release.
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