SB Informer
Wednesday, January 24, 2007; 03:47 AM
A new year
is upon us and with that comes new opportunities for small business
owners everywhere. What new technologies will your business embrace
this year? What new partnerships will you form? How will you take
advantage of the changing marketplace?
In answering these questions, entrepreneurship expert Evan
Carmichael suggests the importance of examining the rising trends that
are promising to impact small business in the coming year. “The
beginning of a new year is a good opportunity for entrepreneurs to
revive their drive for success and give their business a fresh start,”
says Carmichael, “but in order to move forward, they need to look ahead
at what is to come.”
Top on Carmichael’s list of small business trends for 2007 is the
continued rise in importance of being able to do anything and
everything online. “Small businesses today can’t just have a one-page
website,” he says. “The division between IT and business is shrinking.
From e-marketing to selling products online to offering podcasts, small
business owners need to embrace everything the Internet has to offer.”
A glimpse at the number of users on FeedBurner’s website – an
online news feed management provider – is evidence of Carmichael’s
point. Today, FeedBurner tracks over 1.6 million podcast subscribers, a
figure that has doubled in the past six months alone. Similarly, a 2006
PEW Internet Project report states that 12 percent of Internet users
have downloaded a podcast. “This year,” says Carmichael, “small
business owners need to seriously explore these various types of online
tools as means of better reaching their customers.”
A second trend that will affect small business this year, says
Carmichael, is the focus on everything ‘green’. “Consumers are starting
to demand more from those they do business with,” he says. “Whether
it’s behaving in a more sustainable way, supporting environmental
causes, or offering green products, small business owners can take
advantage of this growing concern.”
Venture capitalists are beginning to pick up on this trend, where
in the U.S. they invested over $150 million in green-focused startups
in 2005, double the amount of the previous year. A study by the Organic
Trade Association shows similar growth: in 2005, consumer sales of
nonfood organic products in the U.S. totaled $744 million. “Instead of
being encouraged by their customers to become more
environmentally-friendly,” says Carmichael, “small business owners can
take the lead and inspire their consumers.”
Finally, Carmichael points to the rising trend of entrepreneurs
that come from all walks of life to try their hand in business.
“Whether they’re students trying to pay their way through college, or
seniors who are bored with retirement, more and more people are
realizing that it’s never too early or too late to start a business,”
says Carmichael. “A single mother who has her own company, for example,
is no longer the anomaly it once was.”
A recent study by the U.S. Center for Women’s Business confirms
Carmichael’s point. The research found that one in eleven adult women
is an entrepreneur, the majority of who are mothers. Similarly, 30
percent of the entrepreneurs who use the services of the Center for
Women & Enterprise are single mothers.
“The new year has just begun,” says Carmichael. “Now is the time to
plan for the next big thing. Pay attention to the trends and ensure
your small business doesn’t get left behind.”
Evan is an entrepreneur and international speaker. At the age of 19, he
became an owner and Chief Operating Officer in Redasoft, a
biotechnology software company. The company quickly grew to over 300
organizations as clients, including NASA and Johnson & Johnson, in
30 countries. He started Evan Carmichael & Associates with the goal
to give entrepreneurs the Inspiration to follow their passion and the
strategies they need to succeed. Evan has delivered over 100 keynote
presentations to entrepreneurs in North America, Europe, and Asia. He
has been interviewed by newspapers, radio stations, and television
stations including The Globe and Mail, CHUM FM, CityTV, Global TV, OMNI
TV, Enterprise, and the Toronto Sun. Evan's website,
http://www.evancarmichael.com is the world's #1 website for small
business motivation and strategies.
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