Number of One-person Creative Enterprises Rises 15% to 1.16 Million...Sales Also Increase
Results of the 2025 Survey on One-person Creative Enterprises Announced
The number of one-person creative enterprises increased by more than 15% compared to the previous year. The average sales per company also rose by over 10%, showing a positive trend.
On April 6, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced the results of the "2025 Survey on One-person Creative Enterprises." A one-person creative enterprise refers to an individual or a partnership of fewer than five people, equipped with creativity and expertise, who operate a business without any regular employees.
According to the survey, as of 2023, there were a total of 1,162,529 one-person creative enterprises, representing a 15.4% increase from 1,007,769 in 2022. By industry, "e-commerce" accounted for the largest share at 27.9%, followed by "manufacturing" at 21.2%, and "educational services" at 17.1%. By region, the distribution was Gyeonggi Province 29.4%, Seoul 22.5%, Busan 6.0%, Gyeongnam 5.6%, and Incheon 5.5%. The Seoul metropolitan area accounted for 57.5%, while non-metropolitan areas accounted for 42.5%.
Looking at the characteristics of one-person creative enterprises, the average age of representatives was 55.1 years. By gender, men accounted for 70.7% and women 29.3%. The average sales per company were 266.4 million won, while the average net profit was 36.2 million won. Individual businesses made up 85.8% of all enterprises, while corporate entities accounted for 14.2%. The main clients were "individual consumers (B2C)" at 78.0%, followed by "corporate clients (B2B)" at 19.1%, and "government/public institutions (B2G)" at 2.4%.
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The average business history was about 13.1 years, with companies established before 2011 accounting for the largest proportion at 39%. The average score for relevance to previous industries was 59.7 points, and the average period of employment before starting a business was 16.3 years. The main motivations for starting a business were "to earn higher income" (40.0%), "to utilize aptitude and abilities" (36.5%), and "for livelihood maintenance" (14.5%). The average preparation period for starting a business was 13.1 months. The average period from founding to first sales was 2.6 months, and the average time to reach the break-even point was 29.8 months.
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