Small Business Labs

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Good Morning America on Side Hustles

Small Business Labs

Good Morning America had an excellent segment on gig economy side hustles this morning (see the video below). It focused on women and side gigs, but they hit on the main reasons both men and women get side jobs - they provide a flexible way to supplement their income and earn money in response to a financial shock. We also liked the end of the segment when the announcers talked about the side gigs they've done.

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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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The Number of Digital Nomads Surged Again in 2021

Small Business Labs

The pandemic-driven seismic shift to remote led to continued strong growth in the number of American digital nomads in 2021. The MBO Partners 2021 State of Independence research study found that 15.5 million American workers currently describe themselves as digital nomads, increasing 42% from 2020 and 112% from the pre-pandemic year 2019 (click on the study chart below to enlarge).  The main reason for the growth is that traditional job holders have been unleashed from their offices and ma

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The Independent Worker Surge

Small Business Labs

After falling by 7% in 2020 due to the pandemic, the number of independent workers (freelancers, independent contractors, gig workers, etc.) rose to 51.1 million in 2021, an unprecedented 34% increase. This is the key finding from MBO Partners 2021 State of Independence research study. This is the 11th year this study has been conducted. As the study chart below shows (click to enlarge), the number of full-time independent workers increased by 25%.

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The Metaverse is Coming

Small Business Labs

The metaverse has been getting a lot of media attention recently, mainly because Mark Zuckerberg announced that Facebook plans to shift from being a social media company to a metaverse company. So what is the metaverse? There is no standard, widely accepted definition. The Wall Street Journal, in its article Facebook, Roblox See the 'Metaverse' as Key to the Internet's Next Phase , describes it as: "The metaverse concept, rooted in science-fiction novels such as "Snow Crash&#

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New Pet Industry Buzzwords - Petrenthood and Petriarchy

Small Business Labs

Regular readers know we like both new buzzwords and pet trends here at Small Business Labs. So it's no surprise we enjoyed Wunderman Thompson's article On-Demand Pet Care , which is a pet trends article (it covers new on-demand pet services) and has two buzzwords that are new to us - petrenthood and petriarcy. Even better, they are in the same paragraph in the article.  Key quote: Rover CEO Aaron Easterly explains that the company’s growth—as well as the growth of the sector—has be

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Combo Social Club/Coworking Space Soho House Went Public

Small Business Labs

The high-end combo social club/coworking space Soho House went public last week   under the name Membership Collective Group (ticker symbol MCG). Soho House is targeted mostly at creative professionals and has 30 current locations across the globe.  It's planning on opening 16 more over the next 18 months. Austonia's Peek inside Austin's Soho House, a ritzy new club for creatives on South Congress,  details the amenities at the Soho House in Austin, Texas.