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After spending much of his career in marketing, Daniel Hebert pivoted into Software as a Service (SaaS) sales for a high-growth startup in 2018. But what started out as a dream job soon turned into a nightmare. Like many tech startups, the business went from growth mode to scaling down as the market turned in 2022. As the head of the sales team, Hebert found himself on the front lines of that cost-cutting campaign. I would be assigned a team and have to fire half the people. Then Id have to rebuild the process and rebuild the team. I did three or four cycles of that in 15 months, and I just got so insanely burnt out, he says. I just randomly started getting [stress-induced] vertigo, to the point where I was bedridden for days at a time. Like, I couldnt stand up without falling over. Though he was just a couple of months shy of a big payday when the company was set to be acquired, Hebert resigned and began offering independent sales coaching services in early 2023. In the very early days, I used AI a lot for brainstorming: figuring out, like, how do I market this thing? he says. Then it became kind of like a marketing editor, and then I started using it with my clients. And from there, it went wild. As he got more comfortable with the technology, Hebert says he started to look for ways he could leverage it to scale his offering. If I want to increase my income as a coach, I have to add more coaching hours, and theres so many hours I can coach before I max out, he says. So if I want to scale my income, I have to do it in a way that doesnt require my time. Hebert says he had lots of ideas for tech products over the years, but never had the time, resources, or capacity to build them. That is, until he became a solopreneur and learned how to use Lovable, an AI-powered app builder. I could actually build functioning B2B SaaS software, and it completely changed everything for me, he says. I could now build a handful of these tools and get some subscribers, and have this portfolio of apps generating income without me having to add more coaching hours. AI is widely expected to be a game changer for businesses of all shapes and sizes, enabling new kinds of productivity and revenue. But that transformation is already well underway among solopreneurs. Thats because those who are independently employed dont have the practical constraints that hold back those operating in traditional organizations, like legal compliance, or a lengthy rollout process of new tools involving large groups of people and many teams. They also enjoy more direct financial rewards from being early AI adopters. Why solopreneurs are winning the AI race In a recent survey conducted by online freelance marketplace Upwork, 90% of freelancers said AI is helping them learn new skills faster, and 88% said it positively impacted their careers. Furthermore, 34% strongly agree that AI gives them an edge, compared with 28% of those who are traditionally employed. Overall, 54% of independently employed professionals self-report advanced AI proficiency, compared with 38% of those who are independently employed. The data overwhelmingly 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 studys authors. They are faster at adopting it, and they are also more proficient in finding ways to use these tools to improve their work, and actually embedding them in their workflows when we compare them to full-time employees. As traditional organizations sort through how to deploy which AI tools and embark on lengthy integration and change management campaigns, solopreneurs are taking it upon themselves to experiment on their own. They are pursuing self-developmentwhich we’re seeing across the boardat much higher rates than full-time employees who tend to rely more on organizational learning and development, Burlacu says. The tools are available to everyone, but the ability to unlock their power and do better work comes from being in control of how you work, how you learn. Thats the game changer. Not just for knowledge workers While knowledge industry workers are the most likely to latch onto the technology, solopreneurs of all shapes and sizes are finding ways to grow their business using AI. According to a study conducted by business insurance provider Simply Business, about 37.5% of independently employed knowledge workers, such as accountants, IT specialists and legal advisers, are using AI in their day-to-day operations. At the same time, so are 29.7% of those with independent creative or lifestyle ventureslike artists, coaches, and photographersand 14% of tradespeople and contractors. Those figures, however, only capture intentional adoption, and don’t include those that are using other software tools to run their business, which are increasingly integrating AI functionality. According to the survey, more than half use digital marketing tools, and another 39% leverage accounting software. Some of those, quite frankly, have AI built in that they 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 if you kind of follow the trend line, I wouldn’t be surprised if we were in the 60 or 70% range in 2026. AI offers solopreneurs direct value In a recent survey of solopreneurs who are already using AI conducted by Zoom and Upwork, 93% agreed or strongly agreed that the technology is critical to their success. Furthermore, 75% said it has reduced costs, 89% said its helped them expand into new markets, 78% said it allowed them to automate repetitive tasks, and 74% said it’s directly contributed to a new product or service offering. Seven out of 10 of those individuals are already seeing revenue impact from incorporating AI in their day-to-day operations, and were just at the start, says Lisa Scheiring, Zooms new global small business advisor and chief solo officer. Technology now is enabling those individuals to build durable, scalable businesses that can compete directly with some of the larger enterprises in their categories. Scheiring says the establishment of her position, along with Zooms recently announced Solopreneur 50 recognition program, are a testament to the impact the company believes businesses of one will have in the AI era. She adds that its not just the lack of traditional constraints that allows solopreneurs to leverage AI more readily; its also about personality and risk appetite. If you are bold enough to take on a solo venture, you are already someone who is willing to learn new things and change and grow. Those are the same skills that you need to learn how to use AI, Scheiring says. Someone who s willing to take that step forward and be a solopreneur, those same capabilitieswhen applied to a new technology like AIwill help them move further, faster. That proved the case for Hebert, who went from burned-out sales professional to independent sales coach to launching his own tech products in less than three years. You used to have to raise a lot of money and hire a big team to do things like thisnow you just need an idea and the patience to actually learn the AI skills to make it happen, he says. Thats the superpower of the solopreneur.
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E-Commerce
As the United States prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, an auction in New York will feature rare items that trace the nation’s history.The event Friday at Christie’s, dubbed “We the People: America at 250,” will bring together foundational political texts, iconic American art and rare historical artifacts.Among the highlights is a rare 1776 broadside printing of the Declaration of Independence produced in New Hampshire by printer Robert Luist Fowle, estimated at $3 million to $5 million.“It’s historically significant because you get to see what people at the time actually saw,” said Peter Klarnet, senior specialist for books, manuscripts and Americana at Christie’s.While the initial printing was produced by John Dunlap on the night of July 4, 1776 with about 200 copies printed and only 26 known to survive other printers quickly began producing their own versions.“This is the way that everyday Americans would have encountered the Declaration of Independence whether it was tacked to a wall or read from the pulpit of their local congregation,” Klarnet said.Another founding document up for sale is Rufus King’s edited draft of the U.S. Constitution, estimated at $3 million to $5 million. Printed just five days before the final version was issued on Sept. 17, 1787, the document captures the nation’s founding charter as it was being finalized.“This is the Constitution taking final form,” Klarnet said. “You can see the edits being made in real time.”King was a delegate from Massachusetts to the 1787 Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia. He was also a member of The Committee of Style, a five-member group tasked with refining the text.“This puts you directly in Independence Hall as they’re drafting and making the final changes and edits to this remarkable document,” Klarnet said.The auction also includes a signed copy of the Emancipation Proclamation. The authorized printed edition was commissioned for the Great Central Fair, a Civil War-era fundraiser held in Philadelphia in June 1864 to raise money for Union troops. The Proclamation is estimated at $3 million to $5 million.“Lincoln, together with his Secretary of State William Seward and his Secretary John Nicolay, signed 48 copies of this,” Klarnet said, noting they were originally sold for $20 each and not all sold at the time.American art plays a major role in the sale as well. Leading the category is Gilbert Stuart’s portrait of George Washington thought to have inspired the face on the U.S. dollar bill. The painting was commissioned by James Madison. It is estimated to bring between $500,000 and $1 million.Other artworks include a Jamie Wyeth painting of John F. Kennedy accepting the 1960 Democratic presidential nomination at the Los Angeles Coliseum estimated at $200,000 to $300,000.There is also Grant Wood’s original pencil sketch of American Gothic drawn on the back an envelope estimated at $70,000 to $100,000.Beyond the founding documents, the sale features rare historical objects like the only known flag recovered by U.S. forces from the 1876 Battle of Little Bighorn. The flag is expected to sell for between $2 million and $4 million.Historians say auctions like these underscore the role of private collectors in preserving the nation’s material past.“Private collectors play an important role,” historian Harold Holzer said. “They save things, they preserve things, and ultimately they pass on their collections.”For Holzer, the emotional power of the items remains meaningful.“You almost feel the electricity from these relics,” Holzer said, “their impact on the people, who not only read these documents, but fought for what they were calling for.”He calls the documents “great words fought for with blood.” Joseph Frederick, Associated Press
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E-Commerce
President Donald Trumps late-night Truth Social posting spree on Tuesdaydoubling down on his Greenland ambitions and threatening any who try to get in his wayalso included a flurry of leaked texts from the leaders of NATO, France, Finland, and Norway. TL;DR: French President Emmanuel Macron invited him to dinner in Paris. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte cant wait to see him. America is threatening to take over Greenland. Turns out, they text just like us. [Screenshots: Truth Social] Posted on Truth Social, Trump apparently leaked a private text from the French President: My friend, We are totally in line on Syria. We can do great things on Iran. I do not understand what you are doing on Greenland, the message from Macron appeared to read. Social media users were quick to share their thoughts on the text exchangenot so much the threat to blow apart the alliance that has underpinned Western security for decades, but the fact that matters of diplomacy are conducted over iMessage. I honestly love this for reasons I cannot articulate, one X user wrote, alongside a screenshot of the messages. They continued in a follow-up post: you can imagine Trump getting *so many texts like this*. An edited screenshot of the original conversation read: we are totally in line on real estate. We can do great things on reality television. I do not understand what you are doing running for president. Theyre just like us fr fr, another X user responded. This feels like when Kanye went crazy and started posting text messages, another suggested. In a leaked Sunday message to Jonas Gahr Stre, the prime minister of Norway, Trump reiterates threats of a takeover, now apparent to be rooted in a personal grudge over being snubbed for the Nobel Peace Prize last year. Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace, although it will always be predominant, but can now think about what is good and proper for the United States of America, Trump wrote. He went on to question Denmarks claim to Greenland, signing off Thank you! President DJT Leaking an opponent’s private messages (or coming in hot with receipts) is a common power play tactic some social media users have likened to teenage behavior: Trump is leaking the texts of WORLD LEADERS like hes a 13 year old girl, as one X user noted. Exchanging messages over apps such as WhatsApp or Signal has become common practice in government. And public snafus because of it have become a bit more common, too: Last year, the US national security adviser, Mike Waltz, landed in hot water after accidentally adding The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg to a private Signal group chat in which senior officials discussed Yemen war plans. Still, it’s rather unsettling to imagine world leaders simply texting sensitive discussions around the fate of geopolitics to one another. Perhaps it doesnt feel secure enough, or official enough.And in this instance, when it comes to the U.S. President, he appears to have taken diplomacy advice from The Real Housewives of Salt Lake Citys Heather Gay: “Receipts, proof, timeline, screenshots.
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