Small Business Labs

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Study by U.K. Think Tank Finds Gig Workers Satisfied With Their Work

Small Business Labs

The Social Market Foundation is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit think tank based in the U.K.   They recently released Rides and responsibilities: Understanding the needs and preferences of those who work in the gig economy , a study they conducted that focused on the attitudes and motivations of food delivery riders who work with Deliveroo.

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Telehealth for Pets

Small Business Labs

Forerunner's Pet health is going the way of human health; our investment in Dutch covers the reasons the VC firm has invested in the pet telehealth startup Dutch. The main reason is fairly obvious. The pandemic accelerated the already growing trend towards pet ownership.   According to the ASPCA, 23 million American households acquired a dog or cat during the pandemic.    And as the article points out, the increases in pet ownership came with increases in the demand f

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Retirees and the Gig Economy

Small Business Labs

According to the American Enterprise Institute's (AEI) The age re-retirement: Retirees and the Gig Economy , 20% of retired Americans also work in the gig economy. The article lists the usual financial reasons for working in retirement.   But more interesting is their description of some of the non-financial reasons.  Key quote: Ninety-six percent of over-65 workers reported that an enjoyable job is essential or important to living a fulfilling life.

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Small Business Applications in May 2nd Highest Ever

Small Business Labs

May was yet another banner month for new business applications.  As the U.S. Census chart below shows (click to enlarge), 500,219 business applications were filed in May.  This was the second highest number of applications filed since this data was first collected in 2005. The recent surge in applications started last summer in July when a record 551,000 business applications were filed.   The surge has, so far, continued in 2021.

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More Small Businesses Plan to Increase Their Use of Nonemployee Labor than Large Businesses

Small Business Labs

Deloitte and the MIT Sloan Management Review recently released Workforce Ecosystems: A New Strategic Approach to the Future of Work.    This research study found that most executives and managers today "consider employees and other workers who create value for the enterprise — including contractors, service providers, gig workers, and even software bots — to be part of their workforce." They also found about 1/3rd (34%) of the firms surveyed plan to increase their use of exte

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The Long Term Shift to Contract Labor by Small Businesses

Small Business Labs

Data from the IRS shows that sole proprietor small businesses spent $69.2 billion on contract labor in 2018 (the most recent data available).  Contract labor refers to nonemployee labor, such as freelancers, gig workers, etc. This is up from $64.8 billion in 2017 and just $34.4 billion in 2010. Over the period from 2010 to 2018, contract labor spend by sole proprietors increased by an annual growth rate of 9.1%.

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U.S. Birthrate Hits Another All-Time Low

Small Business Labs

One of the interesting statistics from the 2010 U.S. Census was their finding that the U.S. birthrate hit an all-time low in 2010.   At the time, demographers tended to blame this on the great recession and many forecast birthrates would increase as the economy got stronger. But fertility rates didn't improve.  In fact, they got worse and steadily declined from the all-time low of 1.72 in 2010 to a new all-time low of 1.64 in 2020.   Key quote from the Washingto

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