You’ve moved across the country (or the world) with 6,734,582 days’ notice—or better yet, just 10. (*sips coffee, shakes head) You’ve job hunted in cities you barely had time to unpack in. You’ve kept a household—and often a whole dang life—running while your spouse was deployed.
And now… you’re thinking about building something that’s finally for you.
Welcome to solopreneurship.
But before you assume it’s just you, your laptop, and a never-ending to-do list—let’s redefine what it really means to run a one-human show with purpose.
What Is a Solopreneur, Anyway?
Let’s clear this up: A solopreneur is someone who runs their business solo—no employees, no big team, just you (and probably your dog snoring under your desk. Coco, my trusted office manager, has been here since Day 1.)
But here’s the twist: Solopreneurs aren’t just hustling alone in silence. They’re making strategic choices to stay lean, flexible, and focused on impact. Solopreneurs wear all the hats—CEO, marketing director, customer service rep, and let’s be honest… the person who forgets to eat lunch (as a fellow foodie, this is not my problem).
But they also get all the freedom. Freedom to pivot. Freedom to create something meaningful. Freedom to build a business around their life—not the other way around. And for military spouses, that freedom?
It’s not a luxury—it’s survival. It’s sanity. It’s finally putting yourself in the driver’s seat of your own career.
Solopreneur vs. Entrepreneur: What’s the Difference?
| Category | Solopreneur | Entrepreneur |
| Team | Works solo (maybe with a VA or contractor) | Builds a team, hires employees |
| Business Style | Lean, agile, often service- or digital-based | Can scale into larger operations or startups |
| Goals | Sustainable income + lifestyle flexibility | Growth, scaling, market domination |
| Tools | DIY tech stack, Canva, Notion, Stripe, etc. | CRMs, payroll systems, investor dashboards |
| Mindset | “How can I do this well and still pick up my kids at 3?” | “How do I build a machine that runs without me?” |
| Is it still entrepreneurship? | Absolutely. Solopreneurship is entrepreneurship—it’s just YOU at the helm. | Yes! It’s the same entrepreneurial spirit, just a different structure. |
“So wait… am I an entrepreneur too?” YES. Solopreneurs are 100% entrepreneurs. You’ve just chosen to keep it tight, intentional, and mission-driven. There’s no “less than” here—just a different path.
Why Solopreneurship Appeals to Milspouses
Because let’s be honest: the traditional career path wasn’t exactly built with military families in mind.
You’ve probably faced:
- Jobs lost to PCS orders
- Gaps in your résumé that aren’t “explainable” to civilian employers
- Skills and strengths that don’t fit neatly into one job title
That’s why solopreneurship feels like such a powerful yes for so many of us.
- It’s flexible.
- It’s portable.
- It’s something that stays yours, even when everything else changes.
Solopreneurship gives you the freedom to work from base housing, a coffee shop, or your car during soccer practice. It lets you grow something meaningful on your terms—with space for deployments, sick days, mental health days, and the very real chaos of military life. (Places I’ve remotely worked in? Niagara Falls. Hospitals in Hawaiʻi and Louisiana. London airport. Disneyland. A Waikīkī hotel balcony.)
But maybe most importantly?
This accidental entrepreneurship—the kind that started as a side hustle, a “why not,” or a creative outlet—has helped many of us discover who we are beyond the roles we’ve carried for years. Outside of being a spouse. A parent. Or, the friendly neighbor who’s permanently on someone else’s emergency contact form.
Solopreneurship isn’t just about making money. It’s about reclaiming your identity. Rediscovering your purpose. And creating possibility in a world that often forgot to leave room for you.
The Common Struggles (and How to Handle Them)
Solopreneurship isn’t all sunshine and perfectly scheduled content. It’s messy. It’s lonely. And sometimes it’s just you, trying to figure out why your website footer won’t update at 1:37 a.m.
Here are a few struggles almost every solopreneur hits—especially when you’re doing it all and juggling military life—and how to move through them with a little more grace (and a lot less overwhelm):
1. Feeling Isolated
No coworkers. No watercooler talk. No one to run your caption past except your dog (who, while adorable, has zero marketing insight).
Try this:
- Join a virtual coworking group like AMSE, 12MillionPlus, or ACPVillage
- Attend a Virtual USO Coffee Connections workshop with Brittany Boccher
- Vox a biz bestie instead of bottling it all up (Oh, how many calls I’ve had!)
2. Wearing All the Hats
You’re the CEO and the intern. You’re building the brand and ordering printer ink at 11 p.m.
Try this:
- Choose just one day a week for admin tasks—lots of bosses call this a “CEO Day.” Whatever you name it, just do it. I promise it’s a game-changer.
- Use a planner (ahem… I have a fabulous one coming out this summer) to batch and simplify
And remember: done is better than perfect
3. Second-Guessing Yourself (Daily)
“Am I doing this right?”
“Should I even be doing this?”
“Why does this Canva template hate me?”
Try this:
- Keep an “I Do Rock” folder in your phone’s photo gallery for kind messages, wins, screenshots, selfies—anything that reminds you you’re doing great
- Revisit your “why” monthly: What are you building? Who is it for?
You are not behind. You’re building something from scratch. That’s huge.
4. Tech Overwhelm
You signed up to share your story or help people—not to troubleshoot DNS errors, master 17 apps, or figure out why your email list is now a ghost town.
As your friendly Techie Bestie, I had to include this one—because it’s the #1 bat signal I get from my clients.
Try this:
- Pick one tool per task and stick with it (you don’t need 5 platforms that all do the same thing)
- Bookmark tutorials or ask for help early—Google and YouTube are your best friends
- Bonus tip: Don’t be afraid to outsource the tech stuff. Your sanity is worth it.
How to Get Started
If your brain is now a beautiful mix of “I want this” and “but where do I even begin?”—you’re not alone. That’s exactly how a lot of us felt when we dipped our toes into solopreneurship.
It usually starts with something small. A hobby. A skill. That thing people always ask you for help with. You don’t need to have it all figured out—you just need to start where you are.
Pick one thing. One offer. One way to help someone. You don’t need a full-blown business plan to make a difference—you just need to show up. And yes, it might feel awkward or clunky at first, but every seasoned solopreneur started right there, too. The clarity comes after the action.
And then? Tell someone. Post it. Share it in a group. Say it out loud. “Hey, I’m doing this thing now.” That’s the moment you start building something real.
Give yourself a goal for the week ahead—just one. It doesn’t have to be loud or flashy. But it does need to come from you. And once you do it? Celebrate the heck out of that win. Because that’s how momentum begins.
You don’t need to be perfect. You just need to begin.
You’re Not Solo in Solopreneurship
Here’s the secret no one tells you when you’re building something alone: you’re not actually alone.
Every solopreneur you admire started right where you are—figuring it out, one tiny, brave step at a time. They doubted. They Googled. They launched things that flopped. They had moments when they wanted to burn it all down for a W-2 and dental.
And yet… they kept going. Because they believed that building something on their own terms was worth it.
By Selena Conmackie. Selena is the techie bestie of MilSpouse Transition and has helped build our tech suite to be a lean, mean operating machine. She is the founder of Hauoli-Socially Inspired LLC and all about helping businesses like yours succeed in the digital space. H A U O L I means Happy in Hawaiian. If you know Selena, you know she lives, breathes, and works for the happy. You’ll find that Aloha spirit infused into every part of your journey with her.
