Every waking day, we are having tremendous changes in regulations and technology which greatly affects the way businesses operate. Some entrepreneurs will say the future is definitely bright but to others, some of these changes are meant to work against their expansion and business operations. Additionally, there’s growing empowerment and embracing of individuality which motivates more people to begin their entrepreneurship journey. But the big question, what’s the future of entrepreneurship?
We asked entrepreneurs their thoughts on the future of entrepreneurship and here’s what they had to say;
#1- Rise in the speed of tech innovations
The speed of innovation in technology is going to continue to increase. Hiring developers used to be an expensive barrier to getting started. The rise of no-code solutions has provided a platform for non-techies to build their own proof of concept and early technology solutions. This allows for faster innovation and speed to market for early products in order to validate them.
Thanks to Amber Christian, Wonderly Software Solutions, creator of Bella Scena!
#2- Bright and Digital!
After the impact of Covid-19, I believe that we will see many new companies being started and new technology will greet us in the market. The prime reason for this is disruption to the ’normal’ way of life, forced people to think different and step outside their comfort zone to adapt. By doing this, ideas were being generated and developed. I say digital because the past 3 months left many people locked inside their own homes with access to the internet and more time. This was the golden opportunity for them to try and realise their ideas as they have nothing to lose. Contributing to this was not just isolation, but the economic crash and uncertainty leading to job losses and people having to quickly come up with something. If we look in the past, during times of crisis, revolutionary companies were started that disrupted their respective industries. This time, I believe we will see more entrepreneurs and more new products and services which personally, I’m very excited about.
Thanks to Alexander Lazutin, ICarta!
#3- Value on customer service
The future of entrepreneurship is going to be based on how well entrepreneurs treat their customers. It will be all based on trust, who know, and how the relationship was established. I think potential clients or customers will value customer service rather than a big name company. People still will buy from the person they know, like, and trust. That statement could not be more accurate to this day.
Thanks to Brett Prentiss, Instinct Marketing!
#4- Spike in entrepreneurs
I strongly believe that the next 5 years are going to see a spike in entrepreneurs, with Covid-19 being the catalyst. During lockdown, there are a lot of people who enjoy not having to face commuting to work, not facing a boss everyday and possibly mingling with other employees they don't get along with. This will create a spike in people's motivation to create businesses that give them the independence they experienced during lockdown. The lockdown has given many a breakout of their 9-5 routines that may have been unaware that they despise. This help light the fire for many to create a business themselves.
Thanks to Raj Dosanjh, RentRound.com!
#5-Leveraging data to drive transformations
Data is dormant in old-world businesses. Data has traditionally been used only for tracking sales, invoices, financials, inventory, etc. Now, data is pulsing through customer experience, conversation, distribution, claims and inspections in insurance, and more. And artificial intelligence is being applied to that data to help companies automate decisions, conversations, and other typically costly human interactions. Every industry will look much differently ten years from now than it does today, and data will drive the transformation.
Thanks to Jason Christiansen, Young Alfred!
#6- Survival by those willing to innovate and diversify
As the owner of two businesses, one being in the food industry and the other online, I have witnessed first hand the evolution of entrepreneurship. It is an ever-changing landscape that will only be survived by those willing to innovate and diversify. The consumer is fast becoming smarter, wiser and more immune to false claims and big promises. Entrepreneurs must create value and be able to pivot with consumer preferences at a fast pace. It's not just about finding a gap in the market these days. Or to produce a new twist on an old idea. The entrepreneurs of today will need to create businesses that can grow, adapt and survive.
Thanks to Christopher Panteli, LifeUpswing!
#7- More than just making money
In my opinion, the future of entrepreneurship is in mission-driven brands. Consumers are waking up and realizing that their purchase decisions matter. The most important way democracies vote is not at the ballot box, but at the cash register. People want a story, a purpose. As we look toward the future, brands will have to prove to customers that they are providing some type of social benefit. That could be anything from supporting social equality to educating the public on the importance of ocean conservation. Now, if it doesn’t make money it isn’t sustainable. Nevertheless, brands and businesses can no longer exist just to make money, they must go beyond that.
Thanks to Nicolas Quintairos, Twenty5Degrees!
#8- Brightness
The world truly needs more people with greater ambition and dreams to make a difference in this world, impacting more lives of people to step up and become entrepreneurs. It will be an uncertain world at least for the next two decades I believe but this journey is extremely rewarding when entrepreneurs have done their things
right.
Thanks to Jack HM Wong, WHM Consulting Pte Ltd!
#9- More of niche entrants
As technology keeps lowering entry barriers and providing leverage to people with good ideas and tenacity to execute them, I believe that we will see more and more of niche entrants in nearly all markets. It has never been easier to find inspiration from other markets and geographies. Savvy entrepreneurs will use this intelligence to establish their own niches and slowly chip away market share of the incumbents. These cycles of creative destruction are beneficial for innovation, economy, and society.
Thanks to Bruno Pešec, Pesec Global!
#10- Shift toward decentralization
The nature of entrepreneurship is always evolving, and we are starting to see the signs of a major shift toward decentralization. Recently, we have seen substantial growth in the gig economy, with more people turning to task-based work enabled by myriad platforms. Currently, this is limited to rote work, such as deliveries, housework and other small tasks. It’s being held back by a lack of tools to easily track progress on larger more involved tasks with many dependencies. This won’t be the case for long, as there has been an ongoing trend toward more productivity tracking within the workplace, and inevitably these tools will reach an ease-of-use level where they are ingrained in most aspects of life. Enhanced tracking will enable more remote work, decoupling the requirement to be local to the other partners or contractors for the business being founded. Easily trackable tasks with clear reporting of goals and requirements will also help build trust for crowdfunding purposes, and readily available capital will enable projects of all scales to get off the ground. Additionally, the lack of fixed costs due to offloading tasks rather than hiring employees lowers the initial investment, and thus the barrier to entry. The only remaining limiting factor is the lack of trust by some founders. Though there are existing solutions, namely smart contracts in a distributed public ledger, this is still the least mature of all the enabling factors available. Even so, it’s only a matter of time before a platform can put all the pieces together and start an entrepreneurial revolution.
Thanks to Massi Genta, NEC X!
#11- Pressure to do and create something positive
We are going to see a newfound focus on the fundamentals on initiatives and strategies that create value with positive unit economics. This isn't a new trend per se, but with the unpredictable economic outlook we're seeing on a global scale, the pressure to do and create something positive and impactful as an entrepreneur is more important now than ever before. That's not to say that this has been completely overlooked in the past. It's an area that doesn't always get the attention it deserves, so what I think we can expect to see is a revisit to the basics – to reassure entrepreneurs that their approach is sustainable.
Thanks to Geoff McQueen, Accelo!
#12- Exciting
Right now, it might not feel that way due to the economic and sociological environment created by COVID-19. However, recessions and crisis can create unmatched opportunity – often unveiling entrepreneurs who are born from strife. We’re going to see new entrepreneurs create more companies and products focused on solving issues such as systemic racism and police brutality, healthcare supply chain challenges, community connection, and more. Enthusiastic, smart, and currently unemployed individuals will apply their time to innovations that create necessary change aligned with the evolution of our society as a whole. With the current Black Lives Matter focus, and real change finally occurring, I believe we will also see many more entrepreneurs of color not only put their hat in the ring, but finally get the attention and funding they deserve. The entire landscape is going to evolve and finally not just be a white man’s game. And that’s exciting. It’s going to change the entire landscape of startups and entrepreneurialism.
Thanks to Christine Perkett, Mindfull Marketing + PR!
#13- Digital & Diverse
10 years ago I never thought that I would be able to run a company remotely. When the world started its fight against the invisible enemy, I could witness the global businesses moving closer to absolute digitalization. The ability to operate from anywhere at any time draws power. The advent of COVID-19 ameliorated the use of digital technologies and the trend will not fade away any time sooner. With digitalization, diversification of different sectors is the trend that will dominate the future of entrepreneurship. With the eruption of rare and extraordinary ideas, the future would be molded to point in a progressive direction. The future of budding businesses is actually interlinked with both digitalization and diversification. This unique combination would allow an individual to shatter the age-old boundaries and emerge out successfully. Therefore, it is important to make a process more acceptable to the transformation. We don't know yet where we are headed, but we can expand our horizons by ameliorating our approachability.
Thanks to Ankit Singh, Techugo!
#14- Rise in demand for innovators
I believe that the future of entrepreneurship lies in solving bigger world-wide problems and creating mission-based companies with strong give-back components. Entrepreneurs are innovators and leaders, it’s always been up to them to pave the way. In a time where the world is changing faster than ever, we need more innovators creating impact, jobs, and lasting change. Whether it’s simply donating on a smaller scale or aligning your company with a greater cause, I believe that your business will not succeed in the future if you’re simply building on a linear path.
Thanks to Jess Glazer
#15- Healthy
As a personal trainer, I am very familiar with how essential your physical wellbeing is to your overall wellness and happiness. As a business owner, I’ve also come to learn just how important the health of employees is when it comes to the health of your business. The two are inextricably linked. A healthy employee is a happy employee and also a much more productive, creative, and dedicated employee. With the many studies out now that support this fact, more and more companies are beginning to realize how adopting some simple health and wellness programs for their employees can have huge benefits. This is why the future of entrepreneurship will mean the majority of companies will be establishing policies and programs that support the mental and physical health of their employees.
Thanks to Tyler Read, PTPioneer!
#16- Rise in popularity of business ownership
When I think of the future of entrepreneurship, the first thing I think about are the Human Design beliefs that we are currently shifting into a new “time of independence.” Up until now, we have lived in a space where we depended on outside forces like the government and society to take care of us. After everything that has been playing out this year, like job loss, economic shifting, etc., the things that everyone believed in the past to be steady no longer are. For example, people felt as though entrepreneurship was a gamble and a 9-to-5 job meant financial security. Suddenly, it has become super clear that is not always true. Because of this shift, being a business owner or entrepreneur is going to become more and more popular, and almost required. People are discovering that the one person they can depend on for their financial success is themselves. You can’t always depend on an employer, the government, or society to support you. Combine that realization with the pandemic-led shift to moving businesses online, and I believe this is truly a time to embrace independent entrepreneurship and it is only going to continue to explode.
Thanks to Jessica Caver Lindholm, ToLivingFree!
#17- Transition from global to local
The coronavirus pandemic has revealed the fragility of the modern supply chain. Complex global supply chains built on lean manufacturing principles were especially vulnerable. So in the future, we will see a decentralization of manufacturing capacity, with businesses looking to bring production home. Thanks to automation and small batch production that have become very cheap, entrepreneurs will be able to create smart and nimble supply chains locally, building reliable and speedy logistics infrastructure.
Thanks to Eckhard Ortwein, Lean Case!
#18- Preference on ethical marketing
Today, an increasing number of people are willing to pay extra for sustainable offerings and invest in brands that they believe make ethical, socially, environmentally, and politically responsible decisions. Due to the constant growth of social media platforms where consumers can quickly share their opinions about different brands, entrepreneurs realize the importance of acting more ethically and telling about this transformation to their customers. In the future, people will be more likely to buy products and services from businesses that will show commitment to ethical principles. Consumers are becoming more socially conscious every day, so brand authenticity will be more crucial to a business’ success, and ethical marketing will be the wisest route to growth.
Thanks to Justin Hawes, K&N Sales!
#19- Focus on creativity
In the future, robots and AI will replace us on all manual jobs. Due to technological advancements, almost everything would be automated, and most ideas wouldn’t need human intervention to bring them to life. Humans would only focus on the creative part, and becoming an entrepreneur will be the first option for most people. Everyone will be able to build a business because jobs and solving technical issues will be for the machines. Entrepreneurship will be ubiquitous, and everyone will have an opportunity to become an entrepreneur in a traditional sense and realize their creative side.
Thanks to Hardeep Johar, Stone & Tiles Shoppe!
#20- Promising
With the current state of uncertainty in the economy, the job market is unstable, to say the least, people are being forced to have an entrepreneurial mindset, especially more recently with more traditional jobs going away due to layoffs from COVID. With programs that make it easier for people to create a website, make their own collateral, manage and analyze their social media platforms, etc., almost anyone can create a brand for themselves. There are abundant opportunities for entrepreneurs to be directly connected with their target consumers themselves. I believe it will be integral for small businesses to have an entrepreneurial mindset. They will need to be ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and innovation, and not just founders and CEOs but employees as well. The concept of entrepreneurship adapts and changes based on new technology and innovation and people will need to stay ahead of the curve in order to stay relevant and be successful.
Thanks to Simone Marsiglia, Gas Stations Services Corp!
#21- Reliance on automation
Considering the change in consumer behavior and demand along with the evergrowing need and usage of data-driven solutions and AI, the new vision of entrepreneurship is going to rely more on automated solutions seeing that this type of workforce is becoming more and more prevalent. This does not necessarily mean that automation will take over human force, if anything – it should open more opportunities in other sectors. But automation will definitely take a new place in future entrepreneurship do to its effective and fast problem-solving.
Thanks to Rytis Jakubauskas, Latana!
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