As soon as ChatGPT launched, Odyssey Gohain saw the writing on the wall.
The now 27-year-old was working as a marketer in Amsterdam at the time, looking to move into a more senior role when the powerful AI tool started replacing individual tasks, then team members—including an older colleague whose career Gohain idolized.
“I thought maybe in three, four years, I’ll be in her place. And she got laid off,” says Gohain, who was let go soon after.
After moving back home with her parents in 2023, Gohain started an independent marketing business as a solopreneur. Two years later, she is still earning less than at her previous role, but says the transition has offered other benefits.
“After that [career] roadblock, I was really struggling to figure out my next step. It felt like I was staring at a blank wall,” she says. “Now there is more stability. Even though there is not a lot of money in it, there is a confidence that I will get there. Things felt harder before.”
Ironically, the very technology that threatened Gohain’s career in the traditional workforce is proving a game changer in her new independent venture, assisting startups with their organic marketing strategy.
“I actually made a few sales through ChatGPT,” she says, explaining that the AI platform has come to replace online search. “People are searching for my niche on ChatGPT, and I have been seeing a lot of traffic come from it.”
As young people struggle to kickstart or grow their careers in a stagnant job market, and as the barriers to entry for entrepreneurship continue to plummet thanks to technology (ironically the same tech that’s turning the workforce on its head), many are taking the leap into solopreneurship.
A New Generation With a New Definition of Career Success
In a recent survey of 2,300 Americans aged 18 to 34 conducted by Citizens, a Rhode-Island based financial institution, only a quarter expressed interest in climbing the corporate ladder.
Instead, 67% say they have pursued an entrepreneurial venture, over a third of which were as solopreneurs rather than employers or gig workers.
“There’s a complete redefinition of careers happening amongst young people,” says Mark Valentino, Citizen’s head of business banking. “They’re redefining what career success looks like—what life success looks like—and they’re stating it in a manner that is more about adventure, flexibility, sustainability and a quality of life that is good. But that is not necessarily so tied into monetary success.”
Valentino explains that values like flexibility, meaning, and work-life balance are often more attainable as an independent business owner than a traditional employee, especially in the current job market.
“The barriers to starting a business today are also the lowest they’ve ever been,” he says, suggesting you can now register a business and develop a business plan in a matter of minutes online. “There’s a little bit of a steer away from traditional corporate America in this generation as well, and there’s been more economic barriers in their way, like the cost of college.”
Economic necessity drives solopreneurship
That lack of financial independence is ironically also making it easier to start a business, Valentino suggests, as many are living at home for longer.
“The fact that they’re staying in the nest a little bit longer than previous generations gives them a little bit of freedom to take more risk,” he says. “If you are somebody who does have a little bit of support, or can live at home a little bit longer, you can take a little bit of a chance on becoming a solopreneur.”
According to a recent study conducted by payroll and HR solutions provider Gusto, Gen Z solopreneurs earn an average of less than $10,000 in their first year, which is 73% less than those who are traditionally employed.
By year five, however, average earnings exceed $60,000, or 28% more than corporate counterparts.
“After five years they’re able to really start taking advantage of the financial freedom that solopreneurship offers,” says Gusto economist Nich Tremper. “They’re able to take their skills to market in a way that allows them to really set their own price.”
That, he says, is an appealing prospect for a generation that is experiencing significant wage stagnation.
“People who are just starting out their careers are dependent on early wage growth and gains to set the course for their overall earning potential later in life, and they do that by moving around to different jobs or getting promotions at their current job,” Tremper explains. “In a frozen labor market, solopreneurship is an opportunity for people to get that next boost in their income.”
It’s about more than money
Like the Citizen survey, however, Gusto’s data also suggests that this generation is motivated by more than money.
According to the survey 88% of Gen Z solopreneurs were motivated by the opportunity to set their own schedule, compared with 70% amongst all solopreneurs.
Furthermore, 68% wanted to be their own boss, 41% reported being unsatisfied with their current or former job, and 40% say they took the leap to have a positive impact on their community.
“They really want to define what work means for them,” Tremper says. “The labor market is pretty frozen, so they’re going out and starting their own thing.”
