Small Business

The Year of One

Of all the year-ahead prediction lists we’ve seen out there, one caught our eye for its thoughtfulness and perception. Small Business Labs, the blog of Emergent Research, a trend analysis and forecasting firm, sees a coming year of going one’s own way, from individuals to businesses. The theme for this year may be “solo.”

1.  The Shift to Contingent Workers Turns Employees into Entrepreneurs: Employers large and small are shifting from full-time employees to part-timers, freelancers, outsourced services, partnership arrangements and other forms of contingent workers.  They are doing this to save money and increase business flexibility.  Despite the economic recovery, 2010 will see the contingent workforce grow as companies continue to limit hiring of full time staff.  Many of these contingent workers will create or work for small businesses.

2.  Personal Businesses on the Rise: Enabled by the Internet and low-cost information technology, the number of personal businesses (one employee businesses) has grown twice as fast as the overall economy over the last decade and exceeds 22 million.  With the unemployment rate remaining high and traditional employment options limited, 2010 will be another year of strong growth in the number of personal businesses.  The growth in personal businesses will also result in an increase in overall small business formation and numbers in 2010.

They see a coming landscape of creativity in the way small businesses fund themselves, too. These companies have had a tough time getting the same bailout treatment that Detroit and Wall Street, and the folks at Emergent don’t expect much change there. As a result, they forecast the rise of alternative credit sources such as micro-lending, factoring and such. The bottom line: companies and individuals will need to go it on their own in order to survive, and thrive.

The list also notes that businesses will see growth in demand for green and locally-focused initiatives, and that social and mobile platforms will gain in strength and effectiveness this year.

Read the full list here: Top 10 Small Business Trends for 2010.