_{Life of a Lone Ranger: What makes or breaks the solo self-employed}

This article that is published on the CMI Insight examines the drivers and barriers faced by solo self-employed in the UK. During COVID, the rise of self-employment has risen due to lockdown and redundancies. We suggest what to watch out for when moving into this way of working during a time when many favour job security. In this article we provide a broad overview on what to watch out for when thinking of becoming solo self-employed and encourage debate from practitioners, policymakers and other stakeholder groups. This is with a view to mapping out how to best support CMI readers either wishing to increase outsourcing to freelancers by established firms or for readers seeking the high level of freedom and work autonomy that this way of working offers. We recommend that those who want to take advantage of increased outsourcing to freelancers by established firms that enables firms to be more flexible and agile, and the level of freedom and work autonomy, need to think twice whether solo self-employment is for them before taking the plunge. Understanding the ramification of ‘leading alone’ allows the entrepreneur to make the right choice. Unfortunately, there are few accessible guidelines available to those who are considering becoming solo self-employed. This could be something that policymakers have to consider when supporting people who have been made redundant back to employment. It will be more equally important to those who prefer to do their own research on what is best for them as not everybody has the courage to seek support or know where to seek support from.