Tuesday, November 16 is National Entrepreneurs Day, but in a way, when one plies their trade as an entrepreneur, every day brings with it another chance to seize an unforeseen opportunity, channel their indefatigable spirit of determination and grab that big brass ring everyone talks about.
Let’s gaze into the crystal ball and be a bit of an accelerator prognosticator for what entrepreneurship will look like in 2022 and beyond. Here are three trends on which to keep your entrepreneurial eyes fixed:
- Go Beyond Borders
“Mr. Gorbachev, tear down that wall!”
Ronald Reagan may have been a polarizing figure, but The Gipper was eerily prescient when he uttered those words back in 1987.
Throughout the pandemic, we’ve been locked down, shut-in and closed off — but not virtually, as e-commerce exploded. Growth Intelligence found that approximately 85,000 businesses launched online stores during the pandemic in order to survive — and thrive. Now that those businesses have found success online, they’ll see how feasible it is to continue adding to that success and building their bottom line across international borders without the expense or risk of opening brick-and-mortar locations.
Expansion across geographic borders can be intimidating for entrepreneurs who might not know the local culture or have existing relationships in the area, but the shift to e-commerce has made it much easier and able to happen organically. With the right partner, businesses can find fertile new ground and growth potential overseas.
None of us can achieve success without some help along the way. With people, it takes a village to raise a child. With businesses, it also takes a village — but these days, a global one — to raise it up and make it successful.
- Get Creative to Avoid Labor Pains
In 2020, 49 percent of business owners reported that they had job openings that could not be filled, and investing in the right human resources is one of the most important and challenging parts of starting a business.
Entrepreneurs need to be creative in the strategies they employ to attract the right talent to work for them, and moreover, to retain them. Just look at Entrepreneur Dan Price of Gravity Payments in Seattle and his now-famous pledge to pay a $70K minimum wage to his employees as an example.
It’s of key importance to not view labour as an expense but rather as an investment in the future. Tapping into the economy via incubators and accelerators is a great play if you’re nervous to invest in a new job position as it can provide valuable sets of skills and expertise when you need it the most but allows entrepreneurs to be more flexible with their costs and reinvest capital back into their company.
Want the best people? Invest in them. They’ll pay dividends.
- A Change Is Gonna Come
Sam Cooke, meet Shakespeare.
To that end, entrepreneurs need to be aware of a change when it comes to opportunities in the green and cleantech realm.
Just look at the weather forecast. Hurricanes. Rising oceans. Wildfires. Things are taking a turn for the worse when it comes to climate change, but there’s a glimmer of hope amidst the dire predictions of impending doom. A way to forestall, or even roll back some of the damage means a potential new boom time for green tech companies.
An August 2021 report compiled by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a marked increase in investments in green technologies and a massive grant program from the federal government all send clear signals that there is a global desire, need and support for clean solutions to tomorrow’s problems today, which will serve to accelerate an already burgeoning industry.
But be ready to back it up: we’re likely to see a steep increase in consumers who demand to see businesses — no matter the size or scale — clearly demonstrate their environmental sustainability action plans regardless of their industry. It’s critical that businesses put a concerted effort into their sustainability efforts, walk the talk and ensure their efforts extend to every consumer touchpoint.
Change is coming. Be a part of it.
