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Modern Homesteading and the Trend Towards Greater Independence
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
BCG on the New Freelancers
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."
Colliers on Coworking - It's "Established, Expanding and Evolving"
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 5, 2019
Colliers International, a global real estate services and investment management company, recently released their 2019 U.S. Flexible Workspace Outlook Report.
Purpose and a Paycheck and the New Retirement
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.
"Job Crafting", Independent Work and the American Dream
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 12, 2019
"Job crafting" describes the ways in which employees redesign and customize their jobs to foster greater work satisfaction and engagement. This is done by breaking a job into tasks and then deciding what to do less and more of.
Accountants Save Small Businesses Time, Money and Stress at Tax Time
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 24, 2019
According to a recent Intuit survey , about 60% of small businesses with fewer than 20 employees use outside accountants to help them with their taxes. And as the study chart below shows, this saves the vast majority of them time, money and stress.
Academic Studies Show Gig Economy Larger Than Government Data Suggests
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.
Coworking is Disruptive Innovation
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.
A Look at Non-Employer Businesses from the SBA
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"
Coworking Doesn't Need a New Name, But the Office Space Industry Does
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.
Connecting Artisan Makers With Retailers and Customers a Rapidly Growing Industry
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.
Rig Up and the Growth of B2B Niche and Specialty Gig Talent Marketplaces
Small Business Labs
FEBRUARY 4, 2019
Rig Up , an online talent marketplace that connects oilfield workers who are looking for a job with oil and gas companies, recently announced it had raised $60 million in VC funding.
32 Million Americans Say They Will Start a Business in 2019. Most Won't.
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 3, 2019
According to a recent Job Creators Network Foundation survey , "Sixteen-percent of Americans say they are likely to start a new business in 2019." " This works out to about 32 million Americans. Most won't.
Does It Pay to Be a Writer? Yes, But Not Well For Most
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 22, 2019
Several recent surveys focused on the pay rates on income of independent and freelance writers. The Authors Guild’s 2018 Author Income Survey collected pay data from over 5,000 published book authors.
Why Independent Work and Coworking Increase Mental and Physical Well-Being
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.
Ride Sharing Continues Rapid Grow
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 14, 2019
Pew Research recently did a study on the use of ride sharing services by Americans. Key quote on their findings: "The share of Americans who use ride-hailing services has increased dramatically. Today, 36% of U.S.
Coworking Goes to the Dogs (it had to happen)
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 31, 2019
Allwork's DOG-FOCUSED COWORKING: A Q&A WITH WORK & WOOF FOUNDER JILLIAN DRETZKA talks about Work & Woof , a combo coworking and doggie day care space in Austin, Texas. Dog friendly coworking is common. But Work & Woof takes it to a whole new level.
Gig Workers and Economic Anxiety
Small Business Labs
DECEMBER 18, 2018
Marketplace and Edison research recently released Americans and the Gig Economy, a survey of gig workers. The survey covered a lot of ground, including finding about 24% of American 18 and older are gig workers. This works out to a bit more than 60 million.
JWT Intelligence's Top 100 Trends for 2019
Small Business Labs
DECEMBER 3, 2018
The 2019 edition of one of our favorite trend reports - JWT Intelligence's annual forecast of 100 trends to watch in the coming year - is out. Yes, it really covers 100 trends across 10 broad categories.
Funding for Education Technology Startups Continues to Boom
Small Business Labs
DECEMBER 10, 2018
Crunchbase's Aceable Scores $47M, As Startups Look To The Future Of Education (And Work) covers the continuing growth of venture capital investment in Edtech. The article chart below (click to enlarge) shows some (but not all) of the bigger Edtech funding rounds in 2018.
The Gig Economy Fills a Need for Low Friction, Highly Flexible Gig Work
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 29, 2019
One area of the gig economy that is finally starting to get attention is it expands the number of low friction, highly flexible work options. By "low friction" we mean it's quick and easy to start earning money and it requires little or nothing in terms of an initial investment. With most of the online gig platforms you can sign up and be earning money in just a few days or less.
The Rise of the "Elite Expert Segment of the Gig Economy"
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 9, 2018
How To Be A Rock Star In The Elite Expert Segment Of The Gig Economy is an interesting white paper from The Luxury Institute, which claims to be "the world's most trusted luxury and premium goods and services consulting firm." " The Luxury Institute is an expert network firm.
This Old Marketing Farewell Episode: Sometimes the End Is a Beginning
Small Business Labs
DECEMBER 22, 2017
PNR: This Old Marketing with Joe Pulizzi and Robert Rose can be found on both iTunes and Stitcher. . In our grand finale episode, Robert kicks things off by pondering the decision to end something, so that something else can begin.
Brookings 2019 Trends to Watch
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 15, 2019
The Brookings Institute is a large and influential DC public policy think tank. They recently released a report with their 2019 Trends to Watch.
More on the Changing Nature of Retirement
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 19, 2018
There's been a recent flurry of articles on retirement, mostly focusing on older people staying in the workforce longer than prior generations. An examples is Harvard Business Review's When No One Retires.
Yet More on the Changing Nature of Retirement
Small Business Labs
DECEMBER 11, 2018
We've covered the changing nature of retirement so often in our Baby Boomer section we feel like we're feeding a fed horse by covering it again. But it's an important trend and there continues to be a flurry of interesting articles on working in and/or delaying retirement.
Bleisure Travel Continues to Increase
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 29, 2018
We first reported on bleisure travel , which is the the blending of business and leisure travel, back in 2015. A According to the folks at the expense reporting and management firm, SAP Concur, it continues to gain popularity.
Use of Contract Labor by Small Businesses Continues to Grow
Small Business Labs
SEPTEMBER 11, 2018
The IRS released their 2016 tax data on sole proprietors. The data covers business receipts, deductions, and net income reported by taxpayers on Schedule C of tax Form 1040.
Social Network Support Helps Turn Knitting Hobbyists into Hobbypreneurs
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 15, 2018
A recent academic paper - Knitting Community: Human and Social Capital in the Early Transition into Entrepreneurship - covers research on the process hobby knitters go through to decide to turn their hobby into a business.
"Everything, it seems, is a shared office these days"
Small Business Labs
JULY 16, 2018
The title of this post is a quote from the NY Times article Sorry, Power-Lunchers. This Restaurant Is a Co-Working Space Now. The article covers Spacious , a startup that transforms unused space - especially restaurants outside of meal times - into shared workspaces.
What Highly Skilled Independent Workers Want
Small Business Labs
SEPTEMBER 24, 2018
The global accounting and professional services firm EY has developed GigNow , an external online talent platform.
Study Finds Middle Aged Professionals Moving to the Countryside
Small Business Labs
AUGUST 16, 2018
A study out of the University of Minnesota found that in Minnesota while the younger adults were leaving small, rural towns, people in their thirties, forties and fifties were returning. The chart below shows the key findings from the study.
More on Agility from Gallup and Catalant
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 25, 2018
After posting on corporations looking to increase their agility on Tuesday, we found two new reports on business agility in our mailbox on Wednesday. Gallup pointed us to their report The Real Future of Work: The Agility Issue.
Liveops Distributed, Work at Home, Independent Call Center Workforce
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 12, 2018
Liveops provides cloud-based call center services that utilize an on-demand workforce of agents who live in the U.S. The agents are independent workers who contract with Liveops and work remotely, mostly from home.
GM's Restructuring Illustrates Multiple Trends
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 29, 2018
GM recently announced a restructuring plan that includes laying off about 14,000 employees and halting production at five of its North American auto plants. The announcement got a lot of attention, most of it rightly focused on the impact on workers and what it might mean for the broader economy.
The Number of Nonemployer Businesses Continued to Grow in 2016
Small Business Labs
JUNE 27, 2018
The U.S. Census recently released the 2016 nonemployer business statistics. Key quote from their press release : nonemployer establishments increased 2.0 percent from 24,331,403 in 2015 to 24,813,048 in 2016. Receipts increased 1.5 percent from $1.15 trillion in 2015 to $1.17 trillion in 2016.
Online Platforms Enabling the Rise of Global Micro Outsourcing Firms
Small Business Labs
NOVEMBER 13, 2018
Oxford's Internet Institute's research paper The Global Platform Economy: A New Offshoring Institution Enabling Emerging- Economy Micro-Providers covers how online platforms are creating an alternative to traditional outsourcing.
Can Traditional Employment Match the Flexibility of Independent Work?
Small Business Labs
OCTOBER 8, 2018
We've long found in our research that having work flexibility, autonomy and control are key reasons people become and like being independent workers (freelancers, contractors, self-employed, etc.).
Independent Workers Feeling More Secure
Small Business Labs
JULY 31, 2018
One of findings that most surprised us when we first started researching independent workers was how many think independent work is more secure than traditional jobs.
Is the Gig Economy a "Big Nothingburger"?
Small Business Labs
JANUARY 10, 2019
The Mother Jones article The Gig Economy is a Big Nothingburger is an excellent example of the response to a new paper - Understanding Trends in Alternative Work Arrangements in the United States - from the economists Lawrence Katz and Alan Krueger. In their paper Katz and Krueger say the estimates of the size and growth of the gig economy in their 2015 study were too high. This was due to data challenges and business cycle effects.
Why We Aren't Doing a Coworking Forecast This Year
Small Business Labs
DECEMBER 4, 2018
This is the time of year we normally release our annual coworking forecast. And this year would have been our 10 th annual forecast ( click here for our 2018 forecast ). But after a great deal of deliberation, we've decided not to do one this year.
Duluth's Booming Artisan Economy
Small Business Labs
APRIL 8, 2018
Duluth's Lincoln Park neighborhood was until recently a rundown section of this lake front city in Minnesota, with many empty storefronts and buildings. But now Lincoln Park is the center of a new artisan business boom.
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