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The trend towards desiring greater levels independence - and the autonomy, control and flexibility that comes with it - takes many forms. MORE
Two companies that connect artisan makers with retailers and customers announced large funding rounds last week. The wholesale marketplace Faire raised $100 million while the wholesale and licensing business Minted said they raised $208 million. MORE
Quartz's Life coaches are the new personal trainer highlights a trend we've been tracking since 2008 , the growth of personal services. These are what noted labor economist David Autor calls "wealth work" A good example is the growth are personal trainers. MORE
The term disruptive innovation was coined by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen and popularized by his classic 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma. MORE
There's a mini controversy going on around whether or not coworking needs a new name. The recent Allwork article Why Coworking Needs a New Definition covers the new name side. MORE
"Risk shift" is the trend towards economic and other risks - and the responsibility for risk management - being shifted from institutions to individuals. MORE
Regular readers know we like Pet Trends here at Small Business Labs. So we had to cover the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's article The Pet Economy Kicks Into Overdrive. The article covers the growth of the pet economy. MORE
Last week the Big 3 strategy consulting firm BCG released THE NEW FREELANCERS: TAPPING TALENT IN THE GIG ECONOMY , a study on "those who find temporary work through digital labor-sharing platforms." MORE
The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy recently released A Look at Non-Employer Businesses , a one-page summary of key data on non-employers businesses. "Non-employer" MORE
According to the U.S. Census, the number of nonemployer businesses in 2017 increased to 25,701,671, up 3.6% from 2016. Nonemployers are businesses that have an owner, but don't have paid traditional full or part-time employees (W2 employees). MORE
Business Insider's California is attempting a massive labor experiment that could grow into a disaster for millions of workers outlines some of the many problems with California's new AB5 worker classification law. MORE
WeWork's troubles seem to be going from bad to worse. They lowered their target IPO valuation from their last private funding round value of $47 billion to under $20 billion - and maybe as low as $10 billion. MORE
The 2019 U.S. version of the Global Coworking Unconference Conference Series (GCUC) happened last week in Denver. Over 500 attendees showed up to discuss the state of the coworking industry and learn from one another. MORE
As we pointed out earlier this week , firms of all sizes and types are increasing their use of freelancers and other forms of non-employee labor. MORE
Each of the past 6 years the trends group at the global advertising giant Wunderman Thompson has released an annual trends report covering 100 trends to follow in the coming year. Yes, they really do have 100 trends. And the JWt Intelligence Future 100 Report: 2020 takes 226 pages to cover them. MORE
Recode's How remote work is quietly remaking our lives provides a deep dive on the growing impacts of the shift towards working remotely. Key quote: "The changes remote work has introduced have happened so gradually you may not have noticed. MORE
The Brewers Association recently released their small and craft brewing economic impact report for 2018. The study found that the craft brewing industry contributed $79.1 Billion to the U.S. Economy in 2018 and provided directly and indirectly about 550,000 jobs. MORE
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. MORE
Our article yesterday covered a study showing how work autonomy and control resulted in mental health benefits for the self-employed. As a follow-up, the chart below (click to enlarge) is from the Freshbooks 2019 Self-Employment in America Report. MORE
Despite trade wars, tariffs, and the erection of other barriers to cross-border commerce, independent workers, freelancers and solopreneurs are increasingly finding customers outside U.S. borders. MORE
A recent academic study found that self-employed gig workers in the UK score higher across a range of psychological well-being measures than workers in the mainstream economy. MORE
The Federal Reserve recently released its 2019 Small Business Credit Survey. A key finding is the use of online lending sources by small businesses is rapidly expanding. MORE
Several papers related to the gig economy presented last week at the American Economic Association annual meeting caught our eye. MORE
The large, global market research firm Ipsos recently released its Global Trends 2020 study. It's based on extensive surveys and interviews across 33 countries and updates similar efforts conducted in 2013 and 2016. MORE
The Atlantic's The Great Affordability Crisis Breaking America covers how the rapid rise in the prices of housing, healthcare, education and childcare and their impact on Americans. MORE
Gig Mindset is a different kind of book on the gig economy. Almost all gig economy books focus on how to become a freelancer or some form of independent worker. MORE
One of the ongoing questions around independent/gig work is its impact on the financial well-being of independent workers (freelancers, gig workers, self-employed, etc.). MORE
OK, it's well known that Internet advertising has been growing rapidly. But even knowing that, the chart below (click to enlarge) is still stunning. The chart is from Adage's Marketing Fact Pack 2020 and shows that the internet's share of U.S. MORE
McKinsey's The overlooked essentials of employee well-being focuses on how companies can improve the well-being of their employees. MORE
In case you hadn't heard, podcasting is booming. According to The Infinite Dial 2019 , an annual survey conducted by Edison Research and Triton Digital, more than half of all adult Americans have listened to one. MORE
MBO Partners released their 2019 State of Independence study this week. This is the 9th year of this ongoing study, which provides an in-depth look at American's independent workers (freelancers, independent contractors, self-employed, etc.). MORE
California's new gig economy law, AB5, is not being well received by independent creative professionals. Freelance writers, musicians, actors, artists, and other creative professionals are finding the new law is damaging their livelihoods. Indie musicians are a good example. MORE
Pew Research's As Economic Concerns Recede, Environmental Protection Rises on the Public’s Policy Agenda covers a recent survey asking Americans about their policy priorities. MORE
Fiverr this week announced a new service offering called "Studios" This service gives freelancers the ability to easily join forces to sell and tackle larger and more complex client assignments than a freelancer could do on their own. MORE
One of the more interesting findings from the 9 years of data from the MBO Partners State of Independence study series is how many Americans enter and exit independent work. MORE
Landing recently raised $30 million to provide a "living as service" service. The firm's founder describes this as : " an all-inclusive long-term living experience that allows a new generation of renters the freedom to choose where and how they live." MORE
Upwork released their 2019 Freelancing in America study. It's the 6th year Upwork has conducted this study. The study found about 57 million Americans are freelancing. This equates to 35% of the workforce. MORE
ProPublica's If You’re Over 50, Chances Are the Decision to Leave a Job Won’t be Yours covers a fascinating study looking at the job paths of workers aged 50 or older. The study used data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study. MORE
The San Diego Union Tribune's Would you live in a van? Two San Diego women launch startup for boho traveler movement covers a new app - conveniently called The VanLife App - targeted at VanLife nomads. MORE
Benedict Evans , who is a well-known VC and tech industry pundit, recently released Tech in 2020: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants. MORE
Purpose and a Paycheck is a new book from Chris Farrell, a leading expert on retirement and workforce issues facing people over the age of 50. MORE
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 18, 2019
Brookings' Meet the Low Wage Workforce reports that 53 million Americans, or about 44% of all workers aged 18-64, have low-wage jobs. According to Brookings, the national average for a low-wage job is one that pays $16.03 per hour or less.
Small Business Labs
JULY 9, 2019
Despite trade wars, tariffs, and the erection of other barriers to cross-border commerce, independent workers, freelancers and solopreneurs are increasingly finding customers outside U.S. borders.
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Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 11, 2020
The Atlantic's The Great Affordability Crisis Breaking America covers how the rapid rise in the prices of housing, healthcare, education and childcare and their impact on Americans.
Small Business Labs
MARCH 5, 2020
Gig Mindset is a different kind of book on the gig economy. Almost all gig economy books focus on how to become a freelancer or some form of independent worker.
Small Business Labs
APRIL 9, 2019
According to MetLife's 2019 U.S. Employee Benefits Study, 23% of Americans with full-time traditional jobs intend to switch to gig work over the next 5 years. Another 14% say they are considering it.
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 27, 2020
The San Diego Union Tribune's Would you live in a van? Two San Diego women launch startup for boho traveler movement covers a new app - conveniently called The VanLife App - targeted at VanLife nomads.
Small Business Labs
AUGUST 29, 2019
One of the ongoing questions around independent/gig work is its impact on the financial well-being of independent workers (freelancers, gig workers, self-employed, etc.).
Small Business Labs
MARCH 3, 2020
The large, global market research firm Ipsos recently released its Global Trends 2020 study. It's based on extensive surveys and interviews across 33 countries and updates similar efforts conducted in 2013 and 2016.
Small Business Labs
MARCH 14, 2019
As we pointed out earlier this week , firms of all sizes and types are increasing their use of freelancers and other forms of non-employee labor.
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 18, 2020
Benedict Evans , who is a well-known VC and tech industry pundit, recently released Tech in 2020: Standing on the Shoulders of Giants.
Small Business Labs
JULY 8, 2019
According to the U.S. Census, the number of nonemployer businesses in 2017 increased to 25,701,671, up 3.6% from 2016. Nonemployers are businesses that have an owner, but don't have paid traditional full or part-time employees (W2 employees).
Small Business Labs
JUNE 20, 2019
MBO Partners released their 2019 State of Independence study this week. This is the 9th year of this ongoing study, which provides an in-depth look at American's independent workers (freelancers, independent contractors, self-employed, etc.).
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 25, 2020
Pew Research's As Economic Concerns Recede, Environmental Protection Rises on the Public’s Policy Agenda covers a recent survey asking Americans about their policy priorities.
Small Business Labs
APRIL 22, 2019
The 2019 U.S. version of the Global Coworking Unconference Conference Series (GCUC) happened last week in Denver. Over 500 attendees showed up to discuss the state of the coworking industry and learn from one another.
Small Business Labs
APRIL 23, 2019
The Federal Reserve recently released its 2019 Small Business Credit Survey. A key finding is the use of online lending sources by small businesses is rapidly expanding.
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 20, 2020
OK, it's well known that Internet advertising has been growing rapidly. But even knowing that, the chart below (click to enlarge) is still stunning. The chart is from Adage's Marketing Fact Pack 2020 and shows that the internet's share of U.S.
Small Business Labs
MAY 28, 2019
"Risk shift" is the trend towards economic and other risks - and the responsibility for risk management - being shifted from institutions to individuals.
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.
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 19, 2019
Purpose and a Paycheck is a new book from Chris Farrell, a leading expert on retirement and workforce issues facing people over the age of 50.
Small Business Labs
AUGUST 19, 2019
A recent academic study found that self-employed gig workers in the UK score higher across a range of psychological well-being measures than workers in the mainstream economy.
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 28, 2019
Last week the Big 3 strategy consulting firm BCG released THE NEW FREELANCERS: TAPPING TALENT IN THE GIG ECONOMY , a study on "those who find temporary work through digital labor-sharing platforms."
Small Business Labs
SEPTEMBER 23, 2019
WeWork's troubles seem to be going from bad to worse. They lowered their target IPO valuation from their last private funding round value of $47 billion to under $20 billion - and maybe as low as $10 billion.
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 13, 2020
Landing recently raised $30 million to provide a "living as service" service. The firm's founder describes this as : " an all-inclusive long-term living experience that allows a new generation of renters the freedom to choose where and how they live."
Small Business Labs
AUGUST 5, 2019
Fiverr this week announced a new service offering called "Studios" This service gives freelancers the ability to easily join forces to sell and tackle larger and more complex client assignments than a freelancer could do on their own.
Small Business Labs
AUGUST 20, 2019
Our article yesterday covered a study showing how work autonomy and control resulted in mental health benefits for the self-employed. As a follow-up, the chart below (click to enlarge) is from the Freshbooks 2019 Self-Employment in America Report.
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 23, 2020
Each of the past 6 years the trends group at the global advertising giant Wunderman Thompson has released an annual trends report covering 100 trends to follow in the coming year. Yes, they really do have 100 trends. And the JWt Intelligence Future 100 Report: 2020 takes 226 pages to cover them.
Small Business Labs
JULY 18, 2019
Regular readers know we like Pet Trends here at Small Business Labs. So we had to cover the U.S. Chamber of Commerce's article The Pet Economy Kicks Into Overdrive. The article covers the growth of the pet economy.
Small Business Labs
AUGUST 26, 2019
According to data from the 2019 MBO Partners State of Independence study , 83% of full-time independent workers report working remotely at least some of the time, and 31% report working remotely full-time.
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 15, 2019
One of the more interesting findings from the 9 years of data from the MBO Partners State of Independence study series is how many Americans enter and exit independent work.
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 7, 2019
The trend towards desiring greater levels independence - and the autonomy, control and flexibility that comes with it - takes many forms.
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 14, 2019
Recode's How remote work is quietly remaking our lives provides a deep dive on the growing impacts of the shift towards working remotely. Key quote: "The changes remote work has introduced have happened so gradually you may not have noticed.
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 16, 2018
McKinsey's The overlooked essentials of employee well-being focuses on how companies can improve the well-being of their employees.
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 7, 2019
Several papers related to the gig economy presented last week at the American Economic Association annual meeting caught our eye.
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 27, 2018
The term disruptive innovation was coined by Harvard professor Clayton Christensen and popularized by his classic 1997 book The Innovator’s Dilemma.
Small Business Labs
DECEMBER 17, 2018
Two companies that connect artisan makers with retailers and customers announced large funding rounds last week. The wholesale marketplace Faire raised $100 million while the wholesale and licensing business Minted said they raised $208 million.
Small Business Labs
SEPTEMBER 30, 2019
The Brewers Association recently released their small and craft brewing economic impact report for 2018. The study found that the craft brewing industry contributed $79.1 Billion to the U.S. Economy in 2018 and provided directly and indirectly about 550,000 jobs.
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 27, 2020
California's new gig economy law, AB5, is not being well received by independent creative professionals. Freelance writers, musicians, actors, artists, and other creative professionals are finding the new law is damaging their livelihoods. Indie musicians are a good example.
Small Business Labs
APRIL 11, 2019
In case you hadn't heard, podcasting is booming. According to The Infinite Dial 2019 , an annual survey conducted by Edison Research and Triton Digital, more than half of all adult Americans have listened to one.
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 20, 2018
The U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Office of Advocacy recently released A Look at Non-Employer Businesses , a one-page summary of key data on non-employers businesses. "Non-employer"
Small Business Labs
MARCH 11, 2019
Quartz's Life coaches are the new personal trainer highlights a trend we've been tracking since 2008 , the growth of personal services. These are what noted labor economist David Autor calls "wealth work" A good example is the growth are personal trainers.
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 26, 2018
There's a mini controversy going on around whether or not coworking needs a new name. The recent Allwork article Why Coworking Needs a New Definition covers the new name side.
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 8, 2019
ProPublica's If You’re Over 50, Chances Are the Decision to Leave a Job Won’t be Yours covers a fascinating study looking at the job paths of workers aged 50 or older. The study used data from the University of Michigan Health and Retirement Study.
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 8, 2019
Upwork released their 2019 Freelancing in America study. It's the 6th year Upwork has conducted this study. The study found about 57 million Americans are freelancing. This equates to 35% of the workforce.
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