One-person business
A one-person business is a full company that hasn't hired yet.
Stop hiring. Build systems first.
I'm Bhavik Sarkhedi, a serial entrepreneur with three bootstrapped exits. I grew one company from two people to seventy-five by hiring. Today I do thirteen jobs alone, each on a system I built in Claude.
The definition
What is a one-person business?
A one-person business has one owner and no employees. You sell, you deliver, you write, you invoice and you answer the phone. Freelancers, consultants and solo founders run one. So do most solopreneurs, and plenty of small business owners still do the work of five people themselves.
The size of the team says little about the size of the work. One person still has every job a company has. I counted mine, and there are thirteen.
People on the payroll.
Write Right in 2023: 75. Me today: 1.
The work
The thirteen jobs inside every one-person business.
01 / 13
The founder
What you say“I keep thinking I need to hire”
What the system doesStops asking whom to hire.
02 / 13
The assistant
What you say“I explain my business to AI every morning”
What the system doesKnows your business before you say hello.
03 / 13
The copywriter
What you say“I can't say what I do in one line”
What the system doesSays what you do in one line.
04 / 13
The LinkedIn writer
What you say“LinkedIn gets me likes, not work”
What the system doesPosts that bring work.
05 / 13
The web developer
What you say“My website is still an idea”
What the system doesYour site, live this weekend.
06 / 13
The search person
What you say“Google shows someone else for my name”
What the system doesMakes Google and ChatGPT get your story right.
07 / 13
The publicist
What you say“I've never been published”
What the system doesLands your first byline.
08 / 13
The trainer
What you say“AI never does it my way twice”
What the system doesWrites your method down once.
09 / 13
The marketer
What you say“Ads took my money”
What the system doesSpends on ads only after the Reel works.
10 / 13
The pricing desk
What you say“I charge for my hours”
What the system doesCharges for the result.
11 / 13
The researcher
What you say“Sales calls feel like interviews”
What the system doesKnows the prospect before the call.
12 / 13
The proposal writer
What you say“My proposals go out days later”
What the system doesSends it the same day.
13 / 13
The onboarding desk
What you say“New clients wait for a welcome”
What the system doesWelcomes the client before you hang up.
Most of these I hand to a system first. Two stay with me, and I explain which two, and why, when I give this as a talk.
How it works
How one person does the work of a team.
- 1
You write the draft.
Your judgment, your taste, your clients. Every system starts from your own words.
- 2
Claude follows your system.
A system is your way of doing one job, written down once, so Claude does it your way every time.
- 3
You check and send.
The repeat steps are done. You read it, fix what needs you and move on.
Why listen to me
I did it the expensive way first.
For years I solved every growth problem by hiring. It worked, and it cost me my evenings. Now I'm a small business owner again, by choice.
- 2016Started Write Right with two people and no outside money.
- 2021Sold Dad of Ad. My first exit.
- 2023Sold Write Right, by then a team of seventy-five.
- 2026My third exit. Then Solo, Not Small.
My work has been featured in The New York Times, Forbes, Fast Company, HuffPost and Entrepreneur. More on the About page.
The point
Learn AI. But also live.
The systems gave me my evenings back. That was the reason I built them. If you're a solopreneur who wants the same, start with what Solo, Not Small does for you.
A one-person business also depends on one name. See what a search for yours returns in Person Engine Optimization. I speak about both on stage, and my speaker page has the talks.
Questions
About running a business alone.
What is a one-person business?
A business with one owner and no employees. The owner sells, delivers and manages everything, sometimes with contractors or software for the rest.
Can one person really do thirteen jobs?
I do, on thirteen systems I built in Claude. I write the first draft and make the decisions. The systems handle the steps that repeat.
Is a solopreneur the same as a freelancer?
A freelancer sells hours to clients. A solopreneur builds a business with one person in it: an offer, a price and a way to find clients. Many freelancers become solopreneurs the day they package what they do.
Which AI tool do you use?
Claude. Every system I teach was built in it.
What is Solo, Not Small?
My initiative for solopreneurs and small business owners. In each video lesson I do one real job inside Claude, start to finish, and hand you the system file so Claude does that job your way.
How do I join?
Join the waitlist on the homepage. I'll email you when it opens.