Anyone that has their own business is an entrepreneur, but that one simple term encompasses a wide variety of experiences and business types. There are so many different types of entrepreneurs, that many terms have been coined to describe the different modes of entrepreneurship.
If you’re an entrepreneur, chances are there’s at least one additional and more specific term you can claim as well. Here are some of the most popular types of –preneurs you can be.
The Solopreneur
Definition: A solopreneur is any entrepreneur with a one-person business.
Solopreneurs go by many names – freelancers, independent contractors, and self-employed are some of the most common you’ll hear. While some solopreneurs hire other contractors to help, solopreneurs generally run their businesses based on supplying the kinds of services or products that one person can provide on their own. This is a popular business choice since it provides independence, solopreneurs can usually work from anywhere, and it requires lower startup costs than running a business that requires employees.
Recommended Reading:
Making the Move to Full-Time Freelancing? 7 Steps for Success
The Infopreneur
Definition: An infopreneur is someone who bases their business on selling information products.
Infopreneurs sell things like courses and ebooks, rather than physical products or services. As with being a solopreneur (and many infopreneurs are also solopreneurs), infopreneurship is a popular choice for new entrepreneurs looking for a business model with low startup costs.
Recommended Reading:
3 Keys to Creating Successful Information Products
E-preneur
Definition: E-preneurs are entrepreneurs who have businesses based entirely online.
Also called online entrepreneurs, this category has a lot of overlap with the others on the list. It includes entrepreneurs that sell SaaS products, those that sell information products entirely online, and many solopreneurs that sell online services like social media consulting. As more and more of our lives move online, there’s more opportunity for entrepreneurs to create online products people need that can be sold and bought from anywhere with an internet connection.
Recommended Reading:
How to Start an Online Business
How to Get Your eCommerce Website Up and Running
Mompreneur
Definition: Mompreneurs are entrepreneurs that are also moms who run their business alongside childcare duties.
Mompreneurs usually start businesses in order to be able to stay home with their kids. They often market their products or services to other mothers, although that’s not always the case. There’s a big overlap in this category with solopreneurs and e-preneurs.
Recommended Resources:
The Mompreneur Show
Productivity Tips for Busy Working Moms
Socialpreneur
Definition: A socialpreneur is an entrepreneur with a business model based on providing some kind of social good in the world.
If your goal in entrepreneurship is less about profit than changing the world for the better, then you’re probably a socialpreneur. Socialpreneurs make a point of selling products that are sustainably and humanely made and often provide a portion of their profits to a charitable cause. They usually highlight their social mission in their marketing and make it a key part of their positioning.
Recommended Reading:
5 Essential Strategies for Becoming a Socialpreneur
Ecopreneur
Definition: An ecopreneur is an entrepreneur who either builds a business based on providing eco-friendly products and services, or commits to running their business in a sustainable and environmentally friendly fashion.
Ecopreneurs are a subset of socialpreneurs but, in a culture that’s increasingly concerned about climate change and environmentalism, they’re a big enough category to include here as well. You’ll also hear ecopreneurs called green entrepreneurs or eco-entrepreneurs.
Recommended Reading:
How to Become a Successful Ecopreneur?
Multipreneur
Definition: Multipreneurs are entrepreneurs who have multiple businesses or business projects going at once.
Many entrepreneurs have too many ideas to stop at one business and decide to branch into several fields or pursue multiple business ideas. If being an entrepreneur requires a good deal of work and energy, being a multipreneur requires the same in spades, so it’s definitely not for every one. But for the entrepreneurs that start to get antsy once they have one business idea off the ground, becoming a multipreneur is the natural next step.
Recommended Reading:
7 Key Traits it Takes to Be a Multipreneur
Did we miss one? Let us know what type of entrepreneur you are in the comments below!
Kristen Hicks is an Austin-based freelance content writer and lifelong learner with an ongoing curiosity to learn new things. She uses that curiosity, combined with her experience as a freelance business owner, to write about subjects valuable to small business owners on the HostGator blog. You can find her on Twitter at @atxcopywriter.