Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 1, 2016

The chart is from an article from The Information. This is a paid subscription site ($399 annually) that covers the technology industry. Well worth subscribing to if you have a strong interest in the tech industry. .  But it's clear traditional media companies are losing share in advertising at an amazingly fast clip.

Facebook 100

Facebook Google AT&T 100

Small Business Labs

APRIL 25, 2016

  But the ridesharing industry is not just stopping there. It's starting to have major impacts on adjacent industries.  Business travelers, the mainstay of the rental car industry, are also switching from rental cars to ridesharing.

Travel 100

Travel Expenses AT&T UPS 100

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 7, 2016

These are good times for the temporary staffing industry. As the American Staffing Association chart below shows, the industry has been booming since the steep declines caused by the Great Recession.    2015 was another record setting year and pretty much everyone in the staffing industry is predicting good times ahead.

Temping 100

Temping Legal 2015 2012 100

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 21, 2021

The article chart below, which shows the 7 largest companies in the world by market capitalization, really jumped out at us.     In fact, there are ecosystem companies in almost every industry and most have SMBs and independent workers as important ecosystem partners.   McKinsey's Ecosystem 2.0:

Google 267

Google Facebook Management 267

Small Business Labs

MARCH 6, 2014

Deloitte University's Industrialized Crowdsourcing is one of the best, relatively short descriptions of crowdsourcing I've read. The article goes on to describe the major applications of crowdsourcing: 1.  Examples include data entry and picture tagging. .

Skills 100

Skills 100

Small Business Labs

AUGUST 22, 2016

The Staffing Industry Analysts (SIA)  recently released a study showing that nearly  30% of the U.S. Staffing Industry Analysts describes the latter as “human cloud workers.” workforce are gig workers. This works out to be about 44 million Americans. They also found that contingent workers represented $792.4

2016 100

2016 Management 100

Small Business Labs

AUGUST 25, 2015

The 3D printing industry is at an interesting point, with both good and bad news coming out on a regular basis. But even as it slumps a bit, there's still a lot enthusiasm around the 3D printing industry and no change in the view 3D will eventually fundamentally change how things are made.

UPS 100

UPS Google 100

Small Business Labs

MAY 13, 2020

Yesterday we covered a series of recent articles saying it will take 2-3 years for the economy to recover to pre-pandemic levels. One reason for this view is almost all industries are being negatively impacted by the recession. A score of 0 would mean all industries lost jobs and a score of 100 would mean all gained jobs. 

Restaurants 260

Restaurants 260

Small Business Labs

MAY 9, 2012

According to the Kauffman Foundation, the VC industry is very broken. And He Is Us" is a damning analysis of Venture Capital as an asset class and the Venture Capital industry in general. The news here isn't that the VC industry is broken.   The Kauffman Foundation has long been a close friend of the VC industry.

Expenses 100

Expenses Collaborate Finance 100

Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 29, 2010

.  The American Staffing Association reported that 2010 Q2 staffing industry revenues were up 33% versus Q2 2009.  Yes,     This revenue translated into the staffing industry employing 2.4   Key quote from the article: In the U.S.,   Key quote from the article: In the U.S.,

2009 100

2009 2010 Skills UPS 100

Small Business Labs

APRIL 22, 2021

We learned this interesting fact from the New York Times article Welcome to the YOLO Economy.      The article describes the growing number of people who are, in the words of the article, "quitting prestigious and high-paying jobs to pursue risky passion projects."

Learning 260

Learning UPS 260

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 14, 2020

The K-shape is driven, in part, because industries that employ high percentages of low and moderate wage jobs are not recovering as quickly as other industries. Chamber of Commerce article The K-Shaped Recovery and the Cost of Inaction.  According to an NPR survey and covered in their article Nearly Half Of U.S.

AT&T 215

AT&T 215

Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 12, 2021

  They recently released a series of articles on freelancing.    These include: Why journalists are leaving their full-time media jobs to go freelance : this article covers one journalist's freelance journey, which started less than a year ago.  Similar shifts are happening in most industries.  

Forms 192

Forms Finance Training 192

Small Business Labs

AUGUST 2, 2021

  Key quote from the article on the units: "Located at the edge of Studio City, across from Universal Studios, Thirty Four Fifty West has hybrid zoning that permits people to have a full professional office or creative studio with industrial grade electrical and the like in spaces where they can also live in luxury."

219

219

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 10, 2020

The global marketing agency Wunderman Thompson's article Ghost Kitchens covers the growing popularity of delivery-first dining and the related growth of ghost kitchens, which are also called cloud kitchens. The Wunderman Thompson article does a nice job of covering the trend, so we'll not bother rehashing their article.

Restaurants 199

Restaurants Agencies UPS 199

Small Business Labs

JUNE 8, 2021

" The article focuses on the challenges digital nomads face and how platforms help digital nomads overcome them. Another interesting article on digital nomads is Work and Wander: What Today’s Digital Nomads Signal for the Future of Travel , from Adventure Travel News.  These include: Finding places to stay.

Travel 266

Travel 2021 2020 AT&T 266

Small Business Labs

APRIL 27, 2021

The article also cited other problems that fashion freelancers face. The article explains why: Giulia Mensitieri is an anthropologist and author of  The Most Beautiful Job in the World , which exposed a culture of exploitation across the industry. So one may ask, why do they do it?

2020 175

2020 Stress Health 175

Small Business Labs

MARCH 23, 2021

   And according to Crunchbase News bad pet pun infused article Pets Became Purrfect Pals During Pandemic While Startup Funding Didn’t Lay Down , 55 pet startups raised $281 million in venture funding in 2020 (chart below).    Regular readers know the pet humanization trend is driving the growth of the pet industry.  

2018 181

2018 2020 2019 Training 181

Small Business Labs

OCTOBER 19, 2021

Their recent article Social Commerce:  The Next Wave in Online Shopping outlines why they're forecasting social commerce to boom over the next 5 years. As their article chart below shows (click to enlarge), they're forecasting social commerce globally to grow from about $390 billion in2020 to nearly $3 trillion by year-end 2025. 

2025 167

2025 Social Media Networking Goals 167

Small Business Labs

AUGUST 31, 2020

  But the TechCrunch article mentions several other examples, with our favorite being Pivot Bio. And, not surprisingly, there are synthetic biology platform companies helping to build the industry.  ." The best known synthetic biology company is probably Impossible Foods. 

UPS 196

UPS 196

Small Business Labs

APRIL 1, 2019

CreditUnions.com's article 3 Ways to Connect Through Coworking Spaces provides an excellent example of how coworking is spreading across industry verticals and niche markets. The article highlights 3 credit unions that have opened coworking spaces.   Credit unions have always been about community.  

Learning 213

Learning 213

Small Business Labs

JULY 1, 2021

  And as is covered in the Axios article The Rise of "Third Workplaces" , the shift to remote work is not just a binary choice between your home and your office.    And, of course, the coworking industry was built on the idea that people need 3rd places to work.   That's not a small market.

172

172

Small Business Labs

NOVEMBER 27, 2018

is formed in a niche market that may appear unattractive or inconsequential to industry incumbents, but eventually the new product or idea completely redefines the industry. When we first started tracking coworking back in 2007 we thought it had the potential to disrupt the commercial office space industry.

2015 231

2015 2007 2008 2011 231

Small Business Labs

APRIL 22, 2019

Over 500 attendees showed up to discuss the state of the coworking industry and learn from one another. It was clear from the discussions and presentations that the state of the coworking industry is excellent. And now there's a coworking option for this industry.  The 2019 U.S.

2019 214

2019 Learning UPS 214

Small Business Labs

JUNE 29, 2021

  The LA Times article  Shower? The RV Industry Assn. These are digital nomads who travel in vehicles that have been converted into roaming residences.    In the digital nomad study we collaborated with MBO Partners on, we found 1.9 million Americans describe themselves as VanLifers.  Flat-screen TV?

2021 266

2021 Travel Collaborate 266

Small Business Labs

APRIL 11, 2019

Most revenue estimates for the podcast industry continue to be small - ranging from $500 - $700 million in 2018. But as the TechCrunch article Y Combinator Bets on the Booming Podcast Industry points out, revenues are expected to rapidly increase.  The use of internet audio in cars has become easier and more widespread.

2019 183

2019 2018 AT&T 183

Small Business Labs

MARCH 6, 2018

There have been a number of recent articles pointing out that despite having to compete with several giant beer companies, the craft brewing industry has dramatically expanded over the past decade. We even featured the industry in a 2008 research report, The New Artisan Economy,  which we did with Intuit.

2008 174

2008 Equipment Goals Skills 174

Small Business Labs

DECEMBER 16, 2019

Quartz’s members-only article (meaning you have to be a paying subscriber to see it) The stars, teams, and investors turning esports into big business nicely covers the rise of esports.   According to the article, esports started in 1982 with a TV show Starcade, in which teenagers competed in arcade games. . 

2019 130

2019 Training 130

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 11, 2018

According to the British recruiting firm Sterling , the consumer goods industry is: " having to contend with the battle of the interim employee; a growing trend of permanent employees deciding to ‘go interim’." They blame a combination of skilled labor shortages and the industry not being an attractive employer.

Skills 162

Skills 162

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 1, 2020

And, like Braintrust, the article argued that coops would provide workers with more income and control.    But 4 years later, coops haven't made a dent in the online talent marketplace industry. coop version of Task Rabbit. But many great ideas and business concepts fail a couple of times before succeeding. 

2016 205

2016 2014 2015 Interviewing 205

Small Business Labs

APRIL 7, 2020

Based on an industry by industry analysis (1), our base case estimate is 21% of U.S.    Notes: (1) Our analysis looked at industry level historical closure rates (see the U.S. Morgan Chase Institute's study Cash is King: Flows, Balances, and Buffer Days is a good source for cash balance data by industry). 

2015 190

2015 Restaurants Retirement Travel 190

Small Business Labs

JULY 19, 2021

Sometimes we post articles on topics few people are interested in.    This is such an article.      Federal Statistical Needs for a National Advanced Industry and Technology Strategy is a report from the D.C. innovation think tank ITIF. 

Agencies 200

Agencies Budget International Management 200

Small Business Labs

SEPTEMBER 28, 2020

As the Crunchbase article 3D Printing Investment Going Vertical As Big Exit Looms points out, 3D printing has been around a long time and, so far, has not lived up to its hype.  3D printing is actively used in a lot of industries to manufacture things.  Soon, they were to be nearly as commonplace as smartphones.

2017 161

2017 2012 UPS 161

Small Business Labs

JANUARY 19, 2021

   In the Barron's article Poshmark CEO Sees Huge Market for Used Goods.   The traditional direct selling industry (also known as multi-level marketing) has been around at least since the 1940's, with well known brands such as Avon, Tupperware and Mary Kay.   " Social selling isn't new. 

Social Media 192

Social Media 2014 Clothes 2020 192

Small Business Labs

JULY 18, 2019

Chamber of Commerce's article The Pet Economy Kicks Into Overdrive. The article covers the growth of the pet economy. According to the article, "the U.S. " The key reason the article gives for this growth is pretty much the same as we covered in our article in our article Pets Used to be for Kids.

2005 170

2005 2018 UPS 170

Small Business Labs

FEBRUARY 27, 2018

As the coworking industry continues to expand, so do efforts on the part of coworking spaces to differentiate themselves and target niche market segments with specialized services. The Laya Center is an interesting example of this trend, which is covered in several recent news articles. And, of course, it offers a workspace.

Networking 165

Networking UPS 165

Small Business Labs

JUNE 12, 2018

The article stresses how much lower the cost of doing business - and living - is in the Midwest. But as the article chart below points out, the Midwest is also an economic powerhouse that has traditionally been undervalued by the tech industry. While we very much liked The Hustle's article, we have one quibble.

2010 134

2010 Stress AT&T UPS 134