Solo Businesses On The Rise

Jason Allan Scott lives in a state of fluid freedom—a freedom most people only fantasize about between Zoom calls. He’s a digital nomad, yes, but more than that, he’s a self-made sovereign — a one-person business empire housed wherever he unpacks his suitcase—Lisbon, London, Thailand, Singapore, or somewhere in the U.S. This is his life. This is his office. This is his dream.

According to Scott, he has owned and run a portfolio of businesses for the past seven years, averaging $1 million in annual revenue. After selling “A Podcast Company” in 2023, he launched Pawprint Lab, a supplement business designed to extend the healthy lifespan of dogs—yes, even canines deserve biohacking. He also co-hosts “The Rich Life Recipe,” podcast, offering lifestyle, entrepreneurship, and a dash of unapologetic nonconformity.

His motto? “Never have a boss. Never be a boss.” A radical ethos in a world obsessed with scaling and managing others.

Scott is part of a fast-growing revolution fueling the rise of million-dollar, one-person businesses. The U.S. Census Bureau reports that in 2022, there were 116,803 nonemployer firms (read: solopreneurs) making $1 million or more—double the number from 2021.

Pause and ask yourself:

Could you build a business with no employees and generate more than a million dollars a year—without losing your mind, your freedom, or your soul?

Many are trying. While they still make up less than 1% of all nonemployer businesses, the trendline is undeniable. The tectonic plates of work are shifting.

Technology—especially AI—is democratizing access to tools that once required a team or department. Platforms like Upwork, Amazon, and Substack have leveled the playing field. The gatekeepers are fading. Anyone with vision, grit, and Wi-Fi can now play.

And for many, traditional employment is no longer the “safe bet” it was once sold as. The cost of living has exploded. Job security is a fading myth. Being told to “come back to the office” after two years of proving that remote work works? That was the final straw for many.

Here’s the real question:

What happens when more people decide they don’t want to manage others, climb a corporate ladder, or follow someone else’s roadmap?

What happens when one-person businesses—unregulated, mobile, unbossed—become not the fringe, but the future?

For now, most solopreneurs fail to reach Scott’s level of success. Many battle unsteady income, lack access to health insurance, and are vulnerable to the whims of regulation. But those who succeed—those who find that sweet spot between creative autonomy and sustainable profitability—are redefining what it means to work and live.

Freedom isn’t just about not having a boss. It’s about living beyond the reach of systems that weren’t built with you in mind. But what happens when governments get nervous about people coloring outside the lines?

Remember Cuba in 1968? The regime banned private businesses altogether. It wasn’t until 2021 that the government expanded its list of approved entrepreneurial activities to more than 2,000.

Or consider California’s AB5 law in 2020, which aimed to protect gig workers—but inadvertently threatened the very foundation of many freelance careers. Overnight, musicians, writers, and creatives were told they might need to be put on payroll by bars, publishers, and venues—many of whom couldn’t or wouldn’t do so. It took mass mobilization and public outcry for lawmakers to carve out exemptions. But not everyone was spared.

Which begs the question:

How free are you if your ability to operate depends entirely on the whims of lawmakers and bureaucrats who may not even understand your industry?

Of course, not all regulation is the enemy. It’s worth asking:

Can a society protect its people without suffocating their entrepreneurial spirit?

Before regulatory reform, health insurance for solopreneurs was nearly impossible to access. Today, it’s still imperfect and expensive, but at least more people have options. In a world where corporations and politicians often act with their own interests in mind, we need safeguards that prevent abuse and exploitation.

But here’s the fine line:

When does protection become paternalism?

When does oversight become overreach?

The one-person business is a revolution wrapped in subtlety. It doesn’t scream. It doesn’t riot. But it radically reimagines how life can be lived. The more these businesses contribute to economies, innovate, and model new work paradigms, the more governments may be compelled to support rather than suppress them.

If the future belongs to the curious, the adaptable, the creatively autonomous—then people like Scott are already there.

And maybe, just maybe, so are you.

So ask yourself:

If no one could tell you what to do or how to do it… what kind of life would you build?

Would your business still exist if the state didn’t “allow” it to?

What would you create if you were truly free?