ZenBusiness surveyed 2,000 U.S. entrepreneurs and small business owners between January and July 2026, finding that 37% now run their business entirely on their own, according to the company’s State of Entrepreneurship report released September 24. Of those solo operators, 20% said they are staying that way on purpose rather than planning to hire.
The report paints a picture of entrepreneurship that looks less like the venture-backed startup story and more like a self-funded, one-person operation. That description matches how most self-employed readers already run their business.
What The Report Found
Most of the entrepreneurs surveyed, 91%, are first-time business owners, and 62% said they feel confident in their venture. Confidence was highest among Gen Z respondents at 78%, well above the 62% average across all age groups.
Funding sources skew heavily self-directed. Seventy percent of entrepreneurs said they self-fund using personal savings, while just 16% have sought outside investment. More than half, 52%, described the entrepreneurial experience as stressful or anxiety-inducing, and 56% define success as generating $100,000 or less in total revenue.
Why This Matters For Self-Employed Entrepreneurs
ZenBusiness CEO Ross Buhrdorf said “the rules for starting a business are changing, and that’s exciting because it means more people with an idea and the drive to pursue it can build something of their own.” That framing lines up with the report’s finding that AI now plays a direct role in keeping solo operations solo.
Nearly half of the founders surveyed said AI now handles work that would otherwise require hiring someone, and 23% called AI the sole reason they can compete with larger, better-staffed companies. For a one-person business, that is a meaningful shift in what solo actually means day to day.
What Self-Employed Entrepreneurs Should Do Next
If self-funding is your plan, the report suggests you are in the majority rather than the exception, so it is worth budgeting for a longer runway on personal savings rather than assuming outside investment will bridge the gap.
Entrepreneurs feeling the stress the survey describes are not alone. Setting a modest, honest revenue target, in line with the 56% who count success as $100,000 or less, can be a healthier benchmark than chasing venture-scale growth from day one.
What To Watch Next
Watch whether the share of entrepreneurs staying intentionally solo keeps climbing as AI tools take on more of the work that used to require a first hire. That trend could reshape what a typical small business looks like over the next few years, building on findings from an earlier solopreneur AI adoption report.
Confidence gaps by generation are also worth tracking, since Gen Z’s 78% confidence rate compared with the 62% overall average suggests younger entrepreneurs may be entering the market with a different risk tolerance than the owners who came before them.
