Almost a year ago the world of business was turned upside down. Some businesses failed, some managed to barely survive and some thrived. Those that adapted the quickest to an online environment thrived.
Where did your business model stand?
Many people, once they recovered from the initial shock of going into lockdown had some very tough decisions to make. There were many businesses which had no room to manoeuvre as they were already balanced on a knife edge. They toppled and closed.
Yet, the pandemic was surprisingly fortuitous, and continues to be a good market for small based entrepreneurs. Those people who had side hustles which could be ramped up quickly for a growing online market. A market which wanted to learn new things. A market which was happy to trade online. And a market which had money to spend.
In 2008, following the credit crunch as similar trend emerged of small based solo entrepreneurs, who having lost jobs moved from being employed to being someone who employed others. Grew businesses and provided the basis for an economy to move out of recession and grow again.
Now in 2021, global governments are placing the same hope on would be entrepreneurs, who are weathering shutdown storms and building successful, home based online businesses. Again, the entrepreneur will be the stalwart to bring growth back to recession hit economies, and hope to the unemployed.
In 2008, Multilevel Marketing was the growth industry for the unemployed. With small start-up costs they were able to start a business selling to friends and family and generate some profit.
Today, there are far more opportunities to build real online businesses. All you need is a computer. There are now, online shops automatically stocked through drop shipping programs; coaching courses no longer need to be managed as membership sites make it easy to set up coaching courses. YouTube has opened up a whole new business world to people who have information and resources to share.
By the end of 2020, YouTube has over 2 billion monthly users. The need for content creators provided substantial growth opportunities in the quantity of information videos uploaded to YouTube. These content creators are generating hundreds of thousands of dollars in advertising fees due to the number of followers. Something which only 5 years ago was only for a select few, is now seeing young people under 25 generating million-dollar incomes per year.
Another growth area online has been self-publishing with people creating their own publishing companies. They outsource the book writing and book cover creation while concentrating on the marketing of the books. Again, these online entrepreneurs are generating 6 and 7 figure incomes within a year or two of creating, testing and developing their systems.
As never before, the internet is providing entrepreneurial opportunities that even a decade ago could not be imagined.
Today, the world of the entrepreneur is right at the fingertips of the person who is willing to embrace technology and look at different ways to make their business work.
Some people prefer face to face contact but the reality is the internet has come into its own with people more inclined to use technology and more importantly, they are more trusting of technology.
While many say we are in the information age, I would argue we are in the Age of the Entrepreneur. The Age when entrepreneurs of all ages, skills and knowledge with just a little creativity can build very profitable business.
Take a look at your industry, your business model and a few minutes to think about how you can adjust the focus of your business to an online enterprise.
Embrace the Age of the Entrepreneur.
