Daniel Hebert, after dedicating a significant portion of his career to marketing, shifted gears in 2018 to join a rapidly expanding Software as a Service (SaaS) startup in a sales role. However, his dream job quickly devolved into a nightmare.
As the market shifted in 2022, the startup transitioned from growth to downsizing. As the sales team leader, Hebert found himself at the forefront of cost-cutting measures. "I'd be given a team and have to let go of half the members. Then, I'd have to reconstruct the process and the team from scratch. I went through this cycle three or four times in just 15 months, leading to extreme burnout," he recounts. "I began experiencing stress-induced vertigo to the point where I was confined to bed for days, unable to stand without falling."
Despite being on the verge of a substantial payout due to the company's impending acquisition, Hebert chose to resign and started offering independent sales coaching services in early 2023.
In the initial stages of his new venture, Hebert heavily relied on AI for brainstorming marketing strategies. "It started as a brainstorming tool, then evolved into a marketing editor, and eventually, I began using it with my clients. The possibilities seemed endless," he says.
As he grew more comfortable with AI, Hebert sought ways to leverage it to expand his services. "To increase my income as a coach, I'd need to add more coaching hours, but there's a limit to how much I can coach. To scale my income, I needed a method that didn't demand my time," he explains.
Hebert had numerous ideas for tech products over the years but lacked the time, resources, or capacity to develop them—until he became a solopreneur and discovered Lovable, an AI-powered app builder. "I could now create functional B2B SaaS software, which was a game-changer. I could develop several tools, attract subscribers, and generate income without adding more coaching hours," he says.
AI is poised to revolutionize businesses of all sizes, fostering new levels of productivity and revenue. This transformation is already well underway among solopreneurs, who face fewer practical constraints than traditional organizations, such as legal compliance or lengthy rollout processes involving multiple teams. They also reap more direct financial benefits from early AI adoption.
Why Solopreneurs Are Leading the AI Race
A recent survey by Upwork, an online freelance marketplace, revealed that 90% of freelancers believe AI helps them acquire new skills faster, and 88% said it positively impacted their careers. Moreover, 34% strongly agreed that AI gives them a competitive edge, compared to 28% of traditionally employed individuals.
Overall, 54% of independently employed professionals reported advanced AI proficiency, compared to 38% of traditionally employed individuals.
"The data clearly shows that independent talent is adopting AI at higher rates," says Gabby Burlacu, a senior researcher at the Upwork Research Institute and one of the study's authors. "They adopt it faster and are more adept at finding ways to enhance their work and integrate these tools into their workflows compared to full-time employees."
While traditional organizations navigate the deployment of AI tools and embark on lengthy integration and change management processes, solopreneurs are taking the initiative to experiment independently. "They pursue self-development at much higher rates than full-time employees, who tend to rely more on organizational learning and development," Burlacu notes. "The tools are accessible to everyone, but the ability to harness their power and improve work comes from controlling how you work and learn. That's the game changer."
AI: Not Just for Knowledge Workers
Although knowledge industry workers are more likely to embrace AI, solopreneurs across various sectors are finding ways to grow their businesses using the technology. According to a study by business insurance provider Simply Business, about 37.5% of independently employed knowledge workers, such as accountants, IT specialists, and legal advisers, use AI in their daily operations. Similarly, 29.7% of those with independent creative or lifestyle ventures—like artists, coaches, and photographers—and 14% of tradespeople and contractors do the same.
These figures only account for intentional adoption and exclude those using other software tools with integrated AI functionality. The survey found that more than half of solopreneurs use digital marketing tools, and another 39% leverage accounting software. "Some of these tools have AI built in that users may not even realize they're using," says Dana Edwards, group chief technology officer at Simply Business. "In our 2025 survey, 23% of solopreneurs were using AI, and following the trend line, I wouldn't be surprised if we reach 60 or 70% by 2026."
AI's Direct Value to Solopreneurs
A recent survey of solopreneurs already using AI, conducted by Zoom and Upwork, revealed that 93% agreed or strongly agreed that the technology is critical to their success. Furthermore, 75% said it reduced costs, 89% said it helped them expand into new markets, 78% said it allowed them to automate repetitive tasks, and 74% said it directly contributed to a new product or service offering.
"Seven out of 10 of these individuals are already seeing a revenue impact from incorporating AI into their daily operations, and we're just at the beginning," says Lisa Scheiring, Zoom's new global small business advisor and chief solo officer. "Technology is now enabling these individuals to build durable, scalable businesses that can compete directly with larger enterprises in their categories."
Scheiring believes that the establishment of her position and Zoom's recently announced Solopreneur 50 recognition program reflect the company's confidence in the impact solopreneurs will have in the AI era. She adds that it's not just the lack of traditional constraints that allows solopreneurs to leverage AI more readily; it's also about personality and risk appetite.
"If you're bold enough to start a solo venture, you're already someone willing to learn new things and adapt. Those same skills are essential for learning how to use AI," Scheiring says. "Someone willing to take that step forward and become a solopreneur will likely move further, faster when applying those capabilities to a new technology like AI."
This was certainly the case for Hebert, who transitioned from a burned-out sales professional to an independent sales coach and then to launching his own tech products in less than three years. "You used to need a lot of money and a big team to do things like this—now you just need an idea and the patience to learn the AI skills to make it happen," he says. "That's the superpower of the solopreneur."
This is a fascinating perspective on the "AI anxiety" we’re all feeling. To turn this into an engaging blog post, I’ve restructured it to lead with a punchy hook, used clear subheadings to guide the reader, and simplified some of the economic phrasing for a digital audience.
Will AI Actually Take Your Job? What History Tells Us About the Future of Work
We’ve all seen the headlines: AI is coming for the lawyers, the translators, and the coders. With ChatGPT hitting its three-year milestone, the "Great Displacement" feels more imminent than ever. If a machine can draft a legal brief or translate a poem in seconds, what’s left for the rest of us?
But if you look at the actual economic data, a strange trend emerges. Despite the AI explosion, unemployment in the US, UK, and EU is sitting at near-historic lows.
If the machines are taking over, why are we all still so busy?
The "Slow Revolution" vs. The Instant Crash
History has a habit of repeating itself. When the first ATM was installed in 1967, people predicted the death of the bank teller. Instead, the number of bank tellers actually increased by 10% over the next 30 years. Why? ATMs made it cheaper to open branches, leading to more banks in more neighborhoods.
We saw the same thing with agriculture. In 1800, a third of British workers were farmers; today, it’s 1%. That transition didn't lead to permanent mass unemployment—it fueled the Industrial Revolution.
AI isn't a sudden explosion; it's a slow revolution. Much like the internet or electricity, it’s gradually changing our habits rather than erasing them overnight.
Becoming the "Boss of the Machines"
The real secret to job security in the age of AI isn't competing with the machine—it’s using the machine to make yourself more valuable.
Take radiologists. In 2016, AI pioneer Geoff Hinton suggested we should stop training them because tech would soon out-analyze humans. Flash forward to today: demand for radiologists is at a record high. Why? AI handles the tedious image processing, allowing doctors to see more patients and focus on complex diagnoses.
The goal for any modern worker is simple: Find a role where AI makes you more productive, not one where you become a servant to the software.
The Real Risk: A New Kind of Inequality
The danger of AI might not be "no jobs," but rather "unequal jobs."
Early theories suggested AI would be a "great equalizer," helping less-skilled workers catch up. However, recent research suggests the opposite: high-skilled entrepreneurs and experts are gaining the most.
It turns out that taking advice is a skill in itself. Just as a novice chess player might ignore a grandmaster's winning move because they don't understand it, low-skill workers may struggle to leverage AI effectively, while the "AI-literate" elite pull further ahead.
Every technological revolution has eventually made the world richer and more comfortable, but the transitions are always messy.
The challenge for our society isn't just "saving jobs"—it’s ensuring that everyone has the education and tools to be the boss of the machines. The future belongs to those who know how to give orders, not just those who know how to follow them.