1. OVERVIEW: THE NEW GO-IT-ALONE BUSINESS

THE EMERGENCE OF THE GO-IT-ALONE ENTREPRENEUR

A fundamentally new class of entrepreneur is emerging: the go-it-alone entrepreneur. Businesses run by these entrepreneurs are characterized by three defining criteria:

• The business is started with a minimal investment, and the founder or founders retain full ownership and control of the enterprise.

• The business is run entirely by a small number of people, generally from one to six.

• The founder does not set out to create a small business. He or she is working from the premise that the business has unlimited revenue potential.

To the founder or founders, a go-it-alone enterprise is small only in the numbers of workers it employs. It’s designed to generate substantial financial returns and to play a sizable role in the business world.

The implications of these defining criteria are significant. When a business starts with a minimal investment, the enterprise must focus on generating cash from the outset. This, in turn, suggests that the business is able to swiftly develop a paying customer base. Unlike many start-ups, go-it-alone businesses don’t have a gestation period where dedicated, full-time

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