One-person company in Austria on course for growth

Desire: More independence, self-development, flexible scheduling

The EPU monitoring report, which is available to KURIER in advance, identifies the top three motives for founding a company. At 83 percent, independence is the top priority for founders. It is the highest value measured so far, reports the WKÖ. In second place is the desire for self-development (77 percent) and flexible scheduling (71 percent). The recognition of a market opportunity is also said to have increased significantly compared to the previous survey – from 42 to 49 percent. But there is another notable detail in which a rapid increase has been registered.

Silverpreneurs boom

33 percent say they have become self-employed so that they can earn additional income in retirement. Previously it was 21 percent. Self-employment in retirement is therefore becoming more important, and this is also reflected in the numbers. So-called “silverpreneurs”, who already receive a pension in addition to their self-employment, make up almost a fifth (19 percent) of the EPU. In 2016 it was still six percent.

Overall, the average age of one-person entrepreneurs is 47.4 years, and the proportion of women is 51.6 percent. 74 percent of EPU are self-employed full-time, the other 26 percent run their company on the side. In which areas do most sole proprietors become self-employed? There is a clear trend here.

Advice and support: Top sectors for EPU

In one industry, EPU clearly dominate: In personal advice and support, 98 percent are sole proprietors. They are also very present in direct sales (93.2 percent) and in handicrafts (89.5 percent). If you look at the individual sectors, the EPU share in trade and craft is particularly high at almost 70 percent, followed by information and consulting (60.5 percent) and trade (51.6 percent).

According to the monitoring report, Austria’s EPUs are performing economically with a slightly improved sales development: three quarters are recording stable or nominally growing sales. A quarter of the EPU achieved annual sales of more than 100,000 euros in 2025. Every fourth EPU is already active in exports. The most important foreign market is Germany (80 percent), followed by Switzerland (35 percent) and Italy (27 percent).