Small Business Labs

AUGUST 9, 2021

  Key quote: Ninety-six percent of over-65 workers reported that an enjoyable job is essential or important to living a fulfilling life. In fact, we covered it so often we wrote back in 2013 that we were tired of the topic. The article lists the usual financial reasons for working in retirement.  

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Small Business Labs

AUGUST 19, 2019

The study - The Effects of Self and Temporary Employment on Mental Health: The Role of the Gig Economy in the UK - found that gig workers are about 33 percent more likely to self-report positive traits in terms of mental health than those in traditional jobs. The reason will come as no surprise to regular readers.

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Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 28, 2021

And as we reported in September,  the number of independent workers (freelancers, gig workers, self-employed, etc.) A 2013 article by antiwork movement intellectual leader David Graeber, which he turned into the book B t Jobs: A Theory in 2018.  has increased 34% in 2021 as compared to 2020.  

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Small Business Labs

MARCH 3, 2020

  It's based on extensive surveys and interviews across 33 countries and updates similar efforts conducted in 2013 and 2016.    The study covers a lot of ground (the study report is 120 pages long) and identifies 12 key trends that Ipsos believes will dominate the world in the 2020s. 

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Small Business Labs

MARCH 5, 2019

We first reported on the old Kauffman Index back in 2007 and have followed it every since. But after peaking in 2010, it declined until 2013 and then started to increase again.  There have been a number of reports on the decline of entrepreneurship in the U.S. We will, of course, continue to follow the new indicators.

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Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 26, 2018

It generated a lot of media attention, most of which focused on the data showing the average rideshare driver's earnings per month declined 53% between 2013 and 2017 (click on the chart to enlarge). Yes, the study did find that the monthly earnings for the average gig worker driving people or goods decline by 53% between 2013 and 2017.

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Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 23, 2015

The IRS recently released the 2013 data on sole proprietors. This data covers business receipts, deductions, and net income reported by individual taxpayers on Schedule C of Form 1040. This is how most independent workers and small businesses report business income for tax purposes. million sole proprietors who reported $1.30

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Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 1, 2015

full-time independent workers/freelancers who report having health insurance increased from 64% in 2013 to 82% in 2015.  million more freelancers have health insurance than in 2013.   Three quarters of full-time independents report working more than 30 hours in an average work week.  

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Small Business Labs

JULY 9, 2014

The Staffing Industry Analysts  is reporting there are currently more than 145 online staffing platform businesses operating globally.   They also reported in 2013 the industry generated roughly $1.4-$1.6 billion in "gross spend"  This is the dollar value of work completed and paid for.

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Small Business Labs

JULY 24, 2017

A recent study by researchers at the University of Birmingham found "that employees with higher levels of autonomy in their work reported positive effects on their overall well-being and higher levels of job satisfaction." " In other words, independent workers with autonomy and control are highly satisfied and like their work.

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Small Business Labs

JULY 23, 2014

  People reporting they are working part-time for economic reasons (PTER) would prefer to work full-time but are working part-time because of slack work or business conditions, or because they could find only part-time work.    People reporting they work part-time for non-economic reasons (PTNER) are choosing part-time work. 

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Small Business Labs

JANUARY 4, 2016

  According to Pew Internet's Home Broadband 2015 report, "the share of Americans with broadband at home has plateaued, and more rely only on their smartphones for online access." " As the chart below from their report shows, since 2013 U.S.  

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Small Business Labs

MAY 2, 2016

Again from the 2013 State of Independence report on the independent workers without work flexibility and control: "They are much less satisfied with independent work and almost half (49%) report being dissatisfied. Gig workers who do not have work flexibility or control tend to not like gig work.

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Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 30, 2014

Back in 2006 we reported that craft brewers - also known as microbrewers - had captured almost 6% of U.S. Since 2009 the craft beer industry has continued to advance, with 2013 being a banner year. in 2013 despite an overall beer sales decline of 1.9%. beer sales, up from effectively 0% a decade or so earlier. Since 1% of the U.S

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Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Interesting data from Pew Research's The Growing Pay Gap Between Journalism and Public Relations shows that the PR field is booming even while the total number of reporters in declining. As the Pew chart below shows, over the 10 year period from 2004 to 2013 the number of reporters fell by 17%.

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Small Business Labs

JANUARY 24, 2017

As the chart below shows, the percentage of full-time independent workers with health insurance has increased from 64% in 2013 to 83% in 2016. million more independent workers have health insurance than in 2013.  So the impact of Obamacare on the self-employed is even greater than reported in the Treasury study.

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Small Business Labs

AUGUST 18, 2015

TrueBridge Capital Partners recently released a report on the State of the Venture Capital Industry.  Key quote from the report: 200 funds invested in five or more deals in 2014, 4% fewer than in 2013 and 83% fewer than in 2001. A couple of charts jumped out at me. The first is the number of active VC firms.

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Small Business Labs

JUNE 18, 2014

Ten percent of contingent workforce buyers planned to use online staffing in the next two years; that’s a jump from a similar survey in 2013 when only 3 percent planned to use online staffing over the next two years. The marketplace themselves are also reporting continued strong growth. 

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Small Business Labs

AUGUST 7, 2018

employment has grown consistently since 2013.   All of these impacts and changes are covered in more detail in the 2018 MBO Partners State of Independence report , which we work with MBO Partners on. The economy added another 157,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell slightly to 3.9%.

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Small Business Labs

MARCH 15, 2016

Every so often a report comes across our desk that makes us go "wow!" " McKinsey's Digital Globalization: The new era of global flows is such a report. Key "wow" producing quote: the share of exports by large multinational corporations dropped from 84 percent in 1977 to 50 percent in 2013.

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Small Business Labs

APRIL 7, 2016

Tech Crunch recently reported Mars acquired Whistle for north of $100 million.  Alert readers will remember we covered Whistle in our 2013 post on the quantified dog.  The dog below is wearing one of these devices. Mars owns popular pet brands including Pedigree, Whiskas and Iams.

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Small Business Labs

AUGUST 1, 2013

They recently released their 2013 - 2014 U.S.  According to the report, the U.S. pet market will reach $62 billion in 2013, up 4.7% It's from the research folks at Packaged Facts. They do studies on consumer markets, including pet spending. Pet Market Outlook. Medical and food spending are the biggest segments.

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Small Business Labs

APRIL 22, 2014

.  Not surprisingly, their freelance workforce greatly exceeds the 40 full time staff reporters Forbes employs.   This model has been very successful for Forbes. As the chart below from their article shows, page views have exploded since they started using this model. So how do the paid freelancers do?

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Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 18, 2014

 The full report is only available to their clients, but they publicly released their high level forecast numbers.   A related forecast data point comes from the 2013 MBO State of Independence study , which forecasts that the independent workforce will grow about 5.7% staffing industry forecast.   While 3.1%

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Small Business Labs

MAY 2, 2017

Conducted in 2012 and 2013, the study tracked the finanical lives 235 low- and middle-income households.   See the Intuit On-Demand Workforce study report for more on this topic. People turn to 2nd jobs and side gigs to help moderate the impacts of these problems. This was no easy feat.

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Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 24, 2015

  For most independent workers, the good outweighs the bad and the majority report they prefer being independent. Independents reporting being happy with their levels of work autonomy, control and flexibility generally report being highly satisfied with being an independent worker. This makes sense.

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Small Business Labs

JUNE 5, 2013

Mary Meeker's 2013 State of the Internet presentation (required reading for those interesting in what's going on with the Internet) also focuses on wearable computing.   For a relatively brief overview of wearable computing, see CNET's Minority Report in Waiting: Wearable Tech on the Cusp of Going Mainstream.

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Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 17, 2013

Those who feel they don't have control over their careers, work assignments, work place, or work schedules see independent work very differently: "They are much less satisfied with independent work and almost half (49%) report being dissatisfied.   We've posted in the past about the two sides of independent work.

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Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 23, 2014

 According to the World Travel Market Global Trends report golf is in a decline, dropping from 25 million players in the early 2000s to 19 million in 2013. It reports that Portland's  Hotel Monaco provides free pet readings by psychic who is also a Reiki master and intuitive pet communicator.

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Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 8, 2013

New Data Reveals Why Freelance Writers are Smart from the Make a Living Writing blog provides an excellent summary of the information contained in the 2013 MBO Partners State of Independence report.

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Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 20, 2012

  NVCA  also reported that the level of 2012 venture funding will likely substantially fall relative to 2011. According to a quite negative report from the Kauffman Foundation , the majority of VC firms have underperformed public markets. Expect this problem to continue in 2013 and get worse before it gets better.

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Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 18, 2013

. "All expectations are that the industrial robots market will continue to expand at around 9 percent to 14 percent per year for the rest of this decade," said Frank Tobe, owner and publisher of The Robot Report, which tracks the industry. But: “Am I the 2013 version of a buggy whip manufacturer?"

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Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 22, 2010

Reports and Resources Intuit 2020 Research Report Todays Hobbyists are Tomorrows Hobbypreneurs Homepreneurs: A Vital Economic Force Research Brief - Small Business Credit Outlook The Economic Stimulus Package: Whats in it for Growing Businesses? .  Carolyn is leading the coworking study and Steve is a member of the project team.

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Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 9, 2013

The 2013 MBO Partners State of Independence Report was released today.    - Satisfaction with independent work continued to be high, with 64% of the respondents reporting they are highly satisfied. This is consistent with the satisfaction levels reported in the prior two years. - we're aware of.

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Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 12, 2017

Ford (yes, that Ford) recently released their 2018 Trends Report. Ford has been doing an annual trends report since 2013. Like prior years most of the reported trends are not new or surprising. And that, we think, makes the report well worth reading for anyone interested in trends.

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Small Business Labs

MAY 27, 2014

 But several recent studies report that small business formation and entrepreneurship are in decline. For example, the MBO Partners State of Independence study showed that in 2013 26% of all solopreneur firms - roughly 4.6 Elance alone, for example,  is reporting it's creating more than 50,000 new U.S.

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Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 11, 2013

For more on life as a freelancer, see the just released MBO Partners 2013 State of Independence report. ." The other advantage to reading this story is the page has a link to I Went to a Sex Dungeon for a Kink Lesson , an article one doesn't normally come across while reading about freelancing.

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