Enrollment closes Wednesday, October 14 · We begin Thursday, October 15

Let’s Build Your One Person Empire Together

A live, four-week group program where we build the five parts of your real business together: a business you love, an offer people really want, a reliable customer pipeline, multiple profit centers, and AI working in the background to give you leverage.

Stop chasing ideas.

Stop wondering what to build.

Build one business that fits your life, your strengths, and the future of work — live, with personal guidance from Steve every step of the way.

Enrollment closes Wednesday, October 14 at midnight Pacific. We begin Thursday, October 15.
Begins
Oct 15
Format
4 live sessions
When
Thursdays, 7pm ET
Led by
Steve Strauss
Join the Accelerator
$397, or four payments of $99 · Show up, do the work, or your money back
Steve Strauss
Steve Strauss Inc. & USA TODAY columnist · Author of 18 books
Four businesses built · One sold to Mark Cuban

The best brands love working with Steve

Bank of America, Microsoft, Dun & Bradstreet, Staples, Web.com, Intuit

A One Person Empire is a business designed to create significant income and freedom — without employees, unnecessary complexity, or building a traditional company. It is the business model I believe will define the next decade of entrepreneurship.

From the first cohort

After four weeks with Steve.

These are members of the first cohort, who just finished the program this month. Every one of them found me through a free SCORE webinar, same as you.

★★★★★
"Best one person empire coaching ever. Smooth, enlightening and the real deal!"Conan C.
★★★★★
"As an experienced small business owner, I learned so much during the SCORE seminar that I immediately signed up. No matter where you are in your journey, Steve can help you get where you want to be."Holly Paige
★★★★★
"Steve is so knowledgeable about anything related to small business and is truly gifted in how he conveys the information. His proven One Person Empire strategy is easy to follow."Dr. Sharada Damaraju
★★★★★
"Prior to taking Steve's course, I was not aware of the different ways I could create an offering for my customers. I was able to see beyond my limited thinking for my business."Samara S. · Pomona, CA
★★★★★
"Steve utilizes a hands-on approach that applies practical examples and lessons learned. This class will definitely help you create the foundation for your business."Tina Jackson
★★★★★
"I appreciate that he makes time for each of us, including a hot seat to dig into our own businesses."Lisa R. · Palm Coast, FL
Sound familiar?

The same few questions kept repeating.

From the July 2026 SCORE One Person Empire webinar

5,250
Registered
1,900
Attended live
Hundreds
Of questions
"I created everything perfectly, but felt like I failed due to no sales."SCORE webinar attendee
"How do you deal when you have many ideas but you don't know how to put them all in action without getting overwhelmed?"SCORE webinar attendee
"Is a person ever too old to start a business?"SCORE webinar attendee

Notice something? Almost nobody is asking for more information.
They are asking what to do next.

You don't need to become someone else to build a successful business. You need to build the right business around who you already are.

What you're actually buying

Implementation and Inspiration, Not Information.

There is more free business advice online than any of us could consume in a lifetime. You don't need more of it.

People get stuck because they hit one question they can't answer, nobody is there to ask, and so they stall. Then they quit.

So every week, you get me. Live. Bring your questions. Get feedback on your business, not a hypothetical one. I'll remind you where you're going and why you're going there. I'll prod, poke, help, suggest, and inspire. Take a hot seat. Half of what you'll learn comes from somebody else's turn.

You are not buying my calendar.
You are buying 35 years of judgment, pointed directly at your business.

Why now

You finish November 5.

Which gives you the rest of the year to review, refine, and head into 2027 ready to crush it.

The One Person Empire

ONE
Business you love
ONE
Offer they love
MULTIPLE
Profit centers
ONE
Crazy-reliable customer acquisition system
ONE
Foundation for a great business

That’s your One Person Empire. And we’re going to build it together.

Why this program exists

A tale of two businesses.

Once upon a time I had a very successful law practice. So successful that I opened a second office in San Francisco, an hour away.

It was a complete disaster.

Of the four businesses I've started, it's the only one that went completely south. The real reason? I didn't have the right help. I knew nothing about running a remote office, and I didn't talk to experts the way I had with my first law firm. I winged it.

Mistake, that.

Now compare that to my most successful business, TheSelfEmployed.com. That one took off because I partnered with a big brand who gave me resources to bring in a design expert (Abby, still my trusty tech sidekick), a video team, and startup expertise I flat-out did not have. Then came more partners: Microsoft, Staples, Visa, Bank of America.

I sold that business to Mark Cuban.

Same guy. Same work ethic. Same skills.
The difference was help. (Hint, hint!)

If you've already tried

"I created everything perfectly.
It didn't sell."

Somebody wrote that during the webinar. That's not a marketing question. That's a person quietly wondering whether they are the problem.

You're not. Milton Hershey went bankrupt in Philadelphia, failed again in Chicago, had his equipment seized in New York. Three cities, three collapses, a decade of work, nothing but debt. He didn't finally win by working harder. He won when he stopped guessing alone and fixed the model.

Craig Newmark started emailing friends about local events at 42. No investors, no logo, no plan. Just useful to a specific group of people. That list became Craigslist.

Neither of them was behind.
Neither are you.

What you build

The Five Parts of
Your One Person Empire

You don’t need 47 things to build a great business. You need five. And over our four weeks together, we’re going to work on all five of yours.

  • 1
    A Business You LoveNot just something that can make money. The right business for you, built around your skills, your interests, your experience, and the life you actually want to live.Then we make it real.
  • 2
    An Offer They LoveWhat are you selling, to whom, and why will they want it?We’ll create an offer that solves a real problem for real people, and price it with a reason behind the number, not a guess.
  • 3
    Multiple Profit CentersOne of the great advantages of a One Person Empire is that it doesn’t have to depend on one product, one client, or one source of income.We’ll identify the profit centers that make sense for your business, decide which one comes first, and map what can come next.
  • 4
    A Crazy-Reliable Customer Acquisition SystemNo customers, no empire.We’ll figure out where your customers actually are and create an affordable, repeatable way to reach them. Social, shoestring, partnerships, referrals, content, whatever makes sense for your business.Not marketing for marketing’s sake. Customers.
  • 5
    A Foundation for a Great BusinessHere’s where we build the machine. We’ll look at what AI can take off your plate, what should be automated, what should never be automated, and the simple systems that let one person operate with leverage that wasn’t available even a few years ago.
After it was over

The program ended. Then this arrived.

“Hi Steve———

The Accelerator program was an amazing experience! I loved learning from you and the rest of the group. I thought I knew a lot about running a small business because I had done it, but once I enrolled in your program, I realized there was so much I didn’t know. I now recognize that my core offer isn’t something my target wants and would pay for, so I’m taking a step back and re-evaluating the kind of offer that would make more sense.

It was a real pleasure meeting you online and in-person. I’ll be singing the praises of you and the Accelerator program to anyone who will listen!

Thanks again!
Holly”

The four weeks

Four sessions. Five parts. One business that is actually yours.

Thursdays at 7:00pm ET · 90 minutes each · Every session recorded and yours to keep

Week 1 · Thursday, October 15

Design the Business You Love

The right business for you — your skills, your experience, the life you actually want.

Week 2 · Thursday, October 22

Build the Offer They Love

What you sell, who you sell it to, and a price with a reason behind it.

Week 3 · Thursday, October 29

Multiple Profit Centers

The profit centers that fit your business. Which comes first, and what comes next.

Week 4 · Thursday, November 5

Find Your Customers, Build the Machine

Your crazy-reliable customer acquisition system, AI and VA leverage, and the 90-day roadmap.

A note from Steve

Here's what 35 years taught me.

The Small Business Bible by Steven D. Strauss

I've written 18 books, including the bestselling Small Business Bible, been USA TODAY's small business columnist for two decades, written for Inc., worked with Microsoft, Bank of America, Visa and PayPal, served as a U.S. State Department entrepreneurship ambassador, sat on the board of the SCORE Foundation, and started four businesses.

None of that is the point. This is.

In all those years I've almost never seen someone fail for lack of information. They struggle because they don't know what to do next. Too many ideas. Too many options. Too many experts saying different things.

They don't need another video. They need someone who's been there to help them build the right business. That's why I built this.

One more thing. I keep these rooms small on purpose. Small enough that I can give everybody personal, individual attention — in the sessions, in the hot seats, over email.

Steve Strauss receiving the Lou Campanelli Award from SCORE CEO Ken Yancey
SCORE’s national award for leadership and advocacy on behalf of small business — the Lou Campanelli Award, presented by SCORE CEO Ken Yancey.
"Optimistic, powerful, and clear. This is the information you need right now."
Seth GodinBestselling author
"What I know is that having great teammates and mentors makes all the difference in your business journey, and that is what I think Steve is really offering you here."
Marcus LemonisCNBC's The Profit
What's included

Everything you get.

The foundation for your One Person Empire.

Four live sessions with Steve

90 minutes each, Thursdays 7pm ET, October 15 through November 5. Live, not pre-recorded video you'll never finish.

Direct email access to Steve

Stuck between sessions? Email me. Not a support ticket, not an assistant, not a chatbot. Me.

A free copy of Your Small Business BoomWeek 2

Steve’s most recent book, sent to you in Week Two, once you are deep in it. Written for exactly this moment — what is working right now for small businesses, and how to take advantage of it.

Lifetime access to every recording

Every session is yours to keep, permanently.

The One Person Empire Workbook

The 34-page designed workbook, yours the day you enroll. Worksheets, checklists, pricing, social media marketing, Multiple Profit Center ideas and implementation, and much more. Built for this program and available nowhere else.

Hot seats and a private Skool community

Real-time work on your business in the live rooms, plus other entrepreneurs building alongside you in our private Skool group. Every recording, the workbook, and all the materials live there too. The group stays open after November 5. The sessions are a sprint, but the room is still there when you want it.

The One Person Empire Workbook — cover and a worksheet page
34 pages. Built for this program, and not available anywhere else. You get it the day you enroll.
Let's be honest

Who this is for, and who it isn't.

This is for you if…

  • You have ideas, maybe too many, and can't decide which to pursue
  • You built something that didn't sell and want to know why
  • You're serious about building a real business this year, not someday
  • You'll show up and do the work for four weeks

This is not for you if…

  • You want passive income or a get-rich-quick system
  • You want somebody to build the business for you
  • You expect six figures in four weeks. We build the foundation. You grow it.
Enroll

Join the October cohort.

All five parts of the system. Four live sessions, the One Person Empire Workbook, lifetime recordings, and the community.

Enrollment closes Wednesday, October 14 at midnight Pacific
$397
or four payments of $99 with Afterpay
For four weeks of live access to someone who's built four businesses and sold one to Mark Cuban.
Choose “Afterpay” at checkout to split it into four. You start Thursday either way.

Most live four-week programs like this run $1,000 to $2,000.

Show up, do the work, and if it's not for you, you get your money back.

Attend, do the work, and if you don't get value, tell me and I'll refund you in full. No forms, no hoops. I only want people in this room who are glad they're here.

Join the Accelerator — $397
Secure checkout · Pay in full, or in four payments of $99 with Afterpay

The dates that matter

Wednesday, October 14: enrollment closes at midnight PacificOct 14
Thursday, October 15: Week 1 begins, 7pm ETOct 15
Thursday, November 5: you finish, with the rest of the year to review, refine, and head into 2027 ready to crush itNov 5
Questions

You asked. Here are the answers.

I don't have a business idea yet. Is this too early?
No. That's what week one is for. Most people arrive with either no idea or far too many. We find the one that fits what you already know and what people already ask you for.
What if I already have a business? Is this for me too?
Yes. What we're building is clarity and a business process that actually works — one that makes money and creates ease. It plugs into any business, whether it launches next month or launched in 2019. If you already have something running, we'll look at how to simplify it, how to get more of it running on autopilot, and how to add new profit centers that are easier than the one you're already carrying. Same five parts, applied to what you've built.
Am I too old to start a business?
No. Some of the best solo businesses I've covered in three decades were started by people in their 50s and 60s and beyond. Experience, judgment and a network are enormous advantages.
What if I can't make a session live?
Every session is recorded and yours permanently. Come live when you can, because that is where the hot seats happen. And everything lives in our private Skool community: the recordings, the workbook, the materials, the conversation between sessions. Nothing gets lost and you will not miss a thing.
What kind of business does this work for, and how much time does it take?
Every kind. Because what you walk out with is not a template. It is your business: an offer people actually want, customers who can find you, more than one way to get paid, and a clear idea of what you do next. That is the same job whether you give advice or sell tacos. Budget the 90-minute session plus about two hours a week on your own business. And no, this is not an AI course; AI is just a tool we use inside it.
Is $397 a lot? It is for me right now.
It is real money, and I am not going to pretend otherwise. Choose Afterpay at checkout and it becomes four payments of $99 instead of one payment of $397 — same seat, same start date, nothing else changes.
Do you really guarantee this?
Yes. Show up to the sessions, do all the work, and if you don't get value, I'll refund you in full.
Will there be another cohort?
Probably, sometime next year. This is the same price the founding group paid, and I would not count on that holding a third time. Enrollment closes Wednesday, October 14, and I keep the room small so the hot seats still work. And if you want to head into 2027 ready to crush it, this is your last chance to do it with this program.

You've had the ideas long enough.

Four weeks from now, you can still be thinking about it. Or you can be building a business you love, with an offer they love, multiple ways to make money, a crazy-reliable way to find customers, and the foundation to make it all work.

You finish November 5. That gives you the rest of the year to review, refine, and head into 2027 ready to crush it.

You don’t have to figure it out alone.

Join the Accelerator
$397, or four payments of $99 · Show up, do the work, or your money back
✦ Begins Thursday, October 15✦ Thursdays, 7pm ET✦ Four live sessions with Steve
Enrollment closes Wednesday, Oct 14 at midnight Pacific
Join the Accelerator