Small Business Labs

JULY 7, 2021

.   The surge has, so far, continued in 2021. See our prior posts on the business applications surge for more on this topic: May 18th, 2021: Led by Retail, The Surge in New Business Applications Continues. February 12t, 2021: New Business Applications Surged Again in January.

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Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 9, 2021

billion people are using the Internet in 2021 , which is about 63% of the world's population. The UN’s International Telecommunication Union (ITU) estimates that 4.9 This, of course, means about 37% of the world's population are not Internet users, and not surprisingly, most of these folks are in developing countries.  

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2005 2021 International 309

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 9, 2021

percent in 2021. percent in 2021. percent in 2021. percent in 2021. The study breaks platform-based gig work into four categories: Drivers and delivery workers increased from 1.9 percent of the workforce in 2016 to 8.9 Household services workers rose from 3.2 per cent in 2016 to 7.9 Workers running errands from 2.3

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2016 2021 UPS 143

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 14, 2021

Edelman released their 2021 Trust Barometer , which is an annual global study on the level of trust citizens have in institutions. The Trust Barometer focuses on trust in governments, corporations, NGOs and the media and Edelman has conducted this study for two decades.

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Small Business Labs

JUNE 1, 2021

billion on influencer marketing programs in 2021. Influencer marketing has become a popular way for companies to promote their brands.    According to Influencer Marketing Hub, brands are expected to spend $13.8 As their chart below shows (click to enlarge), influencer marketing spend has been rapidly increasing.

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Small Business Labs

JUNE 8, 2021

   And while we don't expect the growth rate in the number of digital nomads in 2021 to be nearly as strong as 2020, we expect the number of digital nomads to continue to increase over the next 2-3 years. Our first reaction when COVID-19 hit was it would greatly reduce the number of digital nomad. 

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Small Business Labs

JUNE 29, 2021

estimates record sales of nearly 600,000 units in 2021, including vehicles as long as 50 feet." .  Key quote: "The snowballing demand for vans — and recreational vehicles in general — can be traced in part to the COVID-19 pandemic and the desire to stay safe while traveling. The RV Industry Assn.

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2021 Travel Collaborate 266

Small Business Labs

APRIL 1, 2021

  They recently released their 2021 State of the Amazon Seller Report. JungleScout provides a platform that helps small businesses find, launch, and sell products on Amazon. 

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2021 256

Small Business Labs

APRIL 8, 2021

McKinsey's Global Energy Perspective 2021 suggests the global demand for fossil fuels will peak in 2027 and steadily fall afterwards.   Other forecasts are even more aggressive.    A recent report by the International Energy Agency suggests oil supply and gasoline demand may have already peaked. 

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Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 28, 2021

has increased 34% in 2021 as compared to 2020.   Business applications (tax ID filings)  have been at all-time levels since the fall of 2020. And as we reported in September,  the number of independent workers (freelancers, gig workers, self-employed, etc.)

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Small Business Labs

MAY 24, 2021

After the strong growth in the number of digital nomads in 2020 , we expect another uptick in their numbers in 2021.  .  And many are taking advantage of their newfound freedom and becoming digital nomads.   See our Digital Nomad section for more on this topic.

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Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 25, 2021

Most of the 2020 increase came in the second half of the year and continued into 2021, with professional services applications from independents increasing in January by a stunning 51% over January of 2020. In 2020 professional services applications from independent workers (freelancers, independent contractors, etc.)

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Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 15, 2019

  We also expect the number of exits to continue to decline and drop below 1 million per year by 2021.  range and 2021 in the 2% range), but doesn't all into a recession.  .  Going forward we anticipate the number of new full-time entrants to continue to run in the 1.5 million range. 

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Small Business Labs

APRIL 6, 2021

   We expect these numbers to grow again in 2021.   Our work with MBO Partners has found that the number of digital nomads substantially grew in 2020 as more workers found themselves untethered from the office due to the pandemic.   

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Legal 2021 2020 Expenses 221

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 14, 2021

2021 represents a watershed year in terms of the generational makeup of the independent workforce. 2021 is the first year when this is the case.   2021 is the first year when this is the case.      A key driver of this shift has been the rapid growth of Gen Z independent workers. 

2012 57

2012 2021 UPS 57

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 7, 2021

  Key quote: As of March 2021, 11.2 According to the RVIA, recreational vehicle sales in 2021 are expected to be around 600,000, up 40% over 2020.    The chart below is from MBO Partners 2021 Digital Nomad research brief.  million U.S. That's up 26% since 2011. What's even more striking is that 9.6

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2021 2022 2020 2011 33

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 7, 2015

billion in 2021. This means over 80% of the world's population will have a smartphone in 2021.  As their chart below shows, the global number of mobile subscriptions (7.4 billion) now exceeds the number of humans (7.3 billion) Their data also shows about 47% (3.4 billion) of all humans have a smartphone.

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2015 2021 Phones 100

Small Business Labs

JULY 13, 2017

million US adult Internet users will use a sharing economy service in 2021. ." This is up from 44.8 million in 2016. And as the eMarketer chart below shows, they're forecasting that 86.5           Equally impressive are their 2017 numbers for Uber and Airbnb.    They say 36.8

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2017 2016 2021 UPS 133

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 2, 2017

 The global middle class reached 3 billion in 2015 and could surpass 4 billion by 2021 ,  And as we recently pointed out , this surging middle class is happening mostly in Asia and other developing regions of the world. over the prior year. This is just the beginning of the small business export boom.

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2004 Suppliers 2016 2014 183

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 14, 2021

In 2021, 40% said they had. Their use grew steadily from 2012 to 2020, then jumped substantially in 2021, increasing from 27% in 2020. As the study chart below shows (click to enlarge), in 2012, only 3 percent of full-time independent workers reported having used an online marketplace to find work or customers in the prior 12 months.

2012 28

2012 2021 2020 Skills 28

Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 23, 2017

million by 2021. million Americans are working in the on-demand economy, up from 3.2 million this time last year. The number is forecast to grow to 9.2 This is about a 23% compounded annual growth rate.    This is part of the findings of the recently released Intuit 2016 Dispatch From the New Economy: The On-Workforce study. 

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Kelly Services 2016 2015 Medical 134

Small Business Labs

AUGUST 25, 2016

  Ford announced plans to mass produce driverless cars and have them in commercial operation in a ride-hailing service by 2021. BTW, the Volvo XC90 is a great car on its own, so a self-driving version is bound to attract a lot of attention.  Google, of course, is still in the driverless car business.

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2021 Google Travel 100

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 7, 2021

million in 2021, an unprecedented 34% increase. This is the key finding from MBO Partners 2021 State of Independence research study. million in 2021, a 51% increase. 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

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