With the visitation of COVID-19, comes a lot of trends. From social distancing to working from home to online businesses, and a host of them. Most of these trends were in existence, even before now, but they were not as trendy as COVID-19 made them. That being said, there were businesses whose existences were brought to an end or a near end with the emergence of new and innovative trends.
As the world grows larger, certain things receive more attention and are able to get better outlooks. In the same vein, certain things got lesser attention because other activities stole the show from them. Entrepreneurship is one of the innovations that are enjoying great attention in the world now. It does not go out of fashion, rather, more and more people are showing up on a daily basis with new ideas for a big bang in the industry.
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Do you know priorities and taste change with individuals? So is it with entrepreneurship! These priorities and tastes could be seen as trends and they are the real reasons behind the general outlook of the entrepreneurship world.
Table of Contents
What Does It Mean to Be an Entrepreneur?
Of a truth, to be an entrepreneur is not as easy as the name sounds. It is not like taking a hoe to the farm, making some mounds and planting your seeds, hoping that it will yield a dangerous increase. It can be so challenging with a lot of sleepless nights, plans that do not work out, customers disappointing at the dying minute, capital that is never adequate, and a lot more.
Irrespective of the challenges, the industry records thousands of new entrants, hoping to make a difference. Sometimes, they come with new ideas and products that would set the industry on a new course.
An entrepreneur must stand out from the pack. He must be ready to identify a need that has not gained recognition by existing businesses, then, proffer solutions to such needs. He could also decide to modify the solutions to the existing needs, thereby, taking attention away from the pioneer founders in the industry.
There are serial entrepreneurs. They regularly launch new products, sell them off, and start a new one. Every startup and small business were started by entrepreneurs. Any founder of successful businesses started as an entrepreneur, no matter how wide it has become.
Examples of successful entrepreneurs who have become household names in the industry include:
- Â Steve Jobs. He started Apple in a garage. Today, it has a tablet, smartphone, and computer industry.
- Bill Gates. He founded Microsoft. Today, he is the wealthiest man in the world, with chains of businesses to his name.
- Mark Zuckerberg. He founded Facebook and has other famous businesses to his credit. He is one of the world’s most powerful forces today.
Reasons Entrepreneurs Venture into Business
There is always a motivation behind every action. Entrepreneurs are motivated to start up their businesses and their motivations are unique based on the individual. The following are part of their motivators:
- Freedom. Entrepreneurs want to be in charge of their businesses. By doing so, they run their businesses according to their own ideologies, set their own goals, monitor their business growth, as well as control their time. By being autonomous, their business success or failure rests on them; they also enjoy the profits and bear the losses.
- Legacy. They want to create a business that outlives them. With a lack of jobs globally, no one wants to see the children moving around with resumes, looking for an organization to employ them. If possible, they want to build an institution that lasts forever. Others are seeking to employ as many people as possible, to lower the number of job seekers out there.
- Flexibility. When working under someone, you do not have power over how your life runs; it runs according to how your employer wants. Some people hate rigidity and so, want to be in charge of their lives. They want to find a better work-life balance and work when suitable for them, even though they end up working more than those in a conventional setting.
- Purpose. Many people have visions of what they want to achieve in life. Some have fantastic ideas and would want to develop it on their own and expand as time goes on, instead of bringing it to another organization that would end up taking credit for their ideas.
To become an entrepreneur, you must have a hunger for learning and be willing to adopt an ideology that suits the trend. Anyone can teach you, customers, employees, competitors, children, just anyone. You must be a great leader because leadership is part of the package. You must be able to convince people to follow you and you will, in turn, invest in them so as to add values to your business. Entrepreneurship helps you to see opportunity everywhere and in everyone. Do not despise any idea because it might just what you need to hit the jackpot. Taking risks is not an option, it is a must. However, ensure the risk is a calculated one and will not force you out of business.
Innovative Trends in Entrepreneurship
For you to enjoy the industry, you need to understand the current trends and follow them. If not, you will be left behind, while your mates are enjoying the ride at the forefront. You don’t just follow the trends, make sure you follow the ones set by world-class experts in entrepreneurship. Are you lost in thought over how to go about it? Here are some of the new trends you need to follow as a seasoned entrepreneur or someone trying to locate his feet in the industry:
1. People-Centrism
While employing people, focus on those with the right innovative ideas. It is not enough to have ideas, but the right innovative ideas make a whole lot of differences. When your employees have the right ideas, efficiency and productivity are guaranteed. The management is at peace because he knows that the right people are taking care of things. Also, try your best to give them the best ground for growth and productivity. Nowadays, employees only stay in a work environment that encourages them to work at their optimum. Therefore, let the environment be people-centric.
Check: 5 Africans Who Beat the Odds to Become Successful Entrepreneurs
2. Digital Tools
Technology has become a necessity in every work environment. No business thrives on tools that encourage suffering and smiling. Entrepreneurship entails accomplishing many tasks with less time and resources. By saving time and resources, a company will save money too. This is why digital tools are necessities in every entrepreneurial environment. For example, instead of the usual walking down to the bank to queue up for an ATM, a business-minded entrepreneur is required to have a smartphone that could be used to carry out all banking transactions.
3. Content marketing
Content can never cease to be king. So, treat it as one. Content is no longer in form of texts alone. Nowadays, animated videos, YouTube, apps like TikTok, podcasts, and so on can help you reach a larger audience. 5 – 20 seconds videos and voice notes can perform magic on your products and travel as widely as possible with the right message. People spend the better part of their days on social media, the earlier you grab their attention, the better for you. Entrepreneurs are adapting quickly to content marketing and even restructuring existing content into different formats in order to attract new clients. You can turn your videos into podcasts, then, into blogposts. Anything is possible with the appropriate technology. Tools like Designer should not be ignored by leading entrepreneurs.
4. Super-Specialised Skills
To maintain their competitive advantage in the industry, many entrepreneurs are focusing on specialized skills to give their audience the best. For example, as most businesses are leveraging online skills to reach out to a greater audience, skills like virtual assistance are used to perform such tasks as administrative, digital marketing, and so on, while the organization focuses on other valuable tasks. Another example is direct-to-consumer e-commerce businesses. They focus on product development and marketing in order to serve their consumers the best while maximizing profits. These e-commerce businesses outsource some of their services to packaging and dispatch-riding companies which package and deliver their products to the doorsteps of their customers.
5. Digital Nomadism
In recent times, some entrepreneurs have chosen to work from home. This trend did not start in 2020, however, the pandemic COVID-19 increased the rate. Many entrepreneurs just started out as freelancers; but as time progressed, they tried to build a structure around their businesses, offering more professional and consultancy services. Working remotely also helps them to source for jobs from different ends. This also gives other established entrepreneurs the option of employing some remote workers who help to save money on bills like electricity and overhead costs.
Online shopping, internet accessibility, smartphones, social media, and other emerging trends have made this digital idea a prevalent one. You can do virtually anything and get across to people anywhere in the world from the comfort of your home. Many entrepreneurs are considering the option of digital nomadism because of its numerous positive sides. You can give it a try too.
6. Mobile Commerce
In this modern world, businesses have the tenacity to reach anywhere around the globe. It is just like saying distance is not a barrier to anything you want to achieve. Going customer-centric is one of the trends that entrepreneurs should not ignore as people are glued to their phones these days.
Mobile commerce is one of the trends smart entrepreneurs should not ignore because they can outsmart their competitors by meeting their customers in their homes via digital tools. Entrepreneurs focusing on e-commerce are at an advantage over traditional ones. One of the effects of lockdown was that every smart business took to online to sell their products and while purely traditional businesses cried due to low turnout, online businesses smiled their way through it all.
In the next four years, the e-commerce industry is set to reach $5 trillion, according to Statista. This will cause many retailers to move their businesses from brick-and-mortar stores to online stores with just a bit of physical location. Social media will be a viable platform to generate uncountable millions of sales. Companies like Cyfe, Tableau, and Prime Trust are doing well for themselves in this industry.
7. Globalism
Globalism has been a buzzword since the inception of computer gadgets. However, it was only large companies that took advantage of that. With digital nomadism, companies could take their businesses online and meet new customers; but with globalism, more entrepreneurs are working with international teams to expand their businesses and also build support. The media, IT, software development, and professional sectors are the hot cakes in this category. There is no need for many physical meetings; everything is done virtually. Zoom Meetings is one of the apps making globalism a trending idea. So, every entrepreneur working with a global mindset is certain to hit the gold spot soon.
Check: 5 New Skills Every Modern Entrepreneur should have
8. Disruptive Technology
Disruptive technology has been a trend for so many years in different sectors. Disruption is a word being coined out of a root word. With innovation, many existing businesses were disrupted to accommodate the buzzy world. Do you know a situation where innovation rises to displace some existing businesses and rendering them obsolete and unpopular? With disruptions, new consumers are attracted to the industry, making it one of the ‘celebrities’.
For example, in the transport sector, Uber was a disruption that changed the face of the industry. In the hotel and tourism sector, Airbnb took over the business. These disruptions pose new opportunities for the industry. There are always new businesses emerging in the industry with the disruptions, while certain old-fashioned styles are sent to the bin. However, it poses some threats to the existing businesses because they would lose their clients, except they are willing to alter their modus operandi.
9. Mobile Businesses
Many local food businesses are revamping, leading to the booming of mobile businesses. What’s interesting about the food industry is that diverse businesses emanated from it. Dispatch riding used to be a term for only the postal agencies, but not anymore. Food vendors have leveraged them to drop their products at the foot of their clients who are, probably, working from home. In most places you go, you bump into food trucks, selling food, and taking orders from diverse clients in offices, schools, homes, and so on.
Another interesting and remarkable stuff about this business is that you don’t need to have a degree or great command of English, neither do you need an office. Leveraging on social media platforms, you can just advertise your business and have your customers reaching out to you from any angle.
10. Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
Industries focusing on Artificial Intelligence are advancing rapidly without any hindrances. The world is feeling its impact in great proportions. Virtually every industry has a touch of AI. The use of algorithms to perform simple tasks of knowing customers’ experiences can help businesses to improve on customer services. Spotify is one company that uses algorithms to modify user experiences and creating a more customized session for each user.
AI also helps greatly in the improvement of customer services using chatbots and virtual assistants. This also aids in handling customer requests and making interactions fun and more efficient.
WATCH! ’10 Best Courses For Aspiring Entrepreneurs’
Ways to Maintain a Healthy Balance in Your Entrepreneurial Journey
Entrepreneurship has enjoyed a great amount of attention in this period. Almost everyone is an entrepreneur with a lot of businesses springing up from all angles, both online and offline. You will bear with me that this is another aspect of innovation. Being an entrepreneur does not just come with the ‘celebrity’ tag – working extended hours, joggling between jobs, having lots of activities lined up, working under tight schedules, living off junk foods, doing countless researches, getting off the phone with a client and picking up the next call, and so on. Some people see it as the thing in vogue, even though it is not just healthy.
Entrepreneurship, from the look of things, could be another word for ‘stress’. Some people left their 9 – 5 job because it was ‘stressful’ to become an entrepreneur with 24-hour ‘busyness’. What an irony! Never mind, there is always a cure to every kind of disease as long as the individual is ready to swallow the pills.
One of the things we are committed to doing is to give you the best. To help you make the best out of this journey and to enjoy healthy living, the following tips are sure to take care of the situation. All you need to do is to practice them and see a lot of miracles taking place in your career.
- Mindfulness will help you to improve your focus and creativity.
- Work for fewer hours
- Delegate some tasks to other team members
- Schedule your time
- Focus on profit instead of revenue
- Focus on employee happiness
- Start a business that suits your personality
- Always watch out for your competitor’s move
Lucrative Businesses Entrepreneurs Venture Into
Some people venture into entrepreneurship, knowing their way around the industry. Others are not that lucky. It may be difficult for the newbies to figure out how to start a business and what business they can successfully do without any stress. It might sound so easy, but it is a very tough decision.
The following businesses are not just profitable, they are rapidly growing and taking over the industry. With the right combination of skills, anyone can become a sought after entrepreneur in these fields.
Most of them could fall under the online business, not because they are offered online, but because the rise in technology has made it easy for them to bud online. Not all of them can be online-based, but then, you can leverage the online world to showcase your entrepreneurial skills to the world.
Check: Top 10 Most Successful Entrepreneurs in the World you Should Learn From
1. Food truck
With the hike in rent, many people are cutting down their costs. Financing a brick-and-mortar shop may be very challenging for up-and-coming entrepreneurs, hence food trucks have come to solve that issue. You can now cook your food, pack them in trucks, and assign yourself to a strategic position where your clients are to be found. You can also offer home and office services. All you need is to put up your number and location online and relax back for your clients to reach out to you. You can turn your grandma’s famous recipe into a great idea. In Nigeria, foods like Abacha, nkwobi, and ofada rice are making waves more than some intercontinental dishes.
2. Personal trainer
Your love for fitness could be turned into a budding career. You can offer one-on-one services to clients in their homes if you lack the money to start-off a gym. You can also organize group classes and have people line up to get their shape in order.
3. Mobile apps for children
For the tech savvy, you could gear your love for the apps towards the children. The demands for tablets, apps, and mobile entertainment for children are increasing daily. Educational apps could also be the magic wand you need.
4. Online courses
People no longer have time to attend brick-and-wall schools nowadays, mostly due to their tight schedules. Some people are working more than two jobs and may not have the luxury to attend seminars or programmes. But the love for learning will never go down. You can take up this opportunity to organize some paid courses in relevant fields like personal development, business, or marketing. You could also write and package and ebook and get people to purchase them. All you need is a good book cover design and an attractive description of the content.
5. Language courses
Many people are enrolling in foreign languages nowadays. This is to help them expand their horizon. If you are someone who understands some major foreign languages like French, Arabic, Mandarin, Spanish, German, and even English Language, this could be your time to shine.
6. Consulting
If you have been in the business world for a long time, it means you have a great knowledge of your field. Some people are looking for just you to put them through. Put yourself together and turn that super-knowledge into a career. Start consulting and giving people your knowledge for a fee. Conferences, seminars, and events could be good platforms too. You may not need an office, online is the new gold. Just learn how to organize webinars and you are good to go.
7. Graphic design
Brands are looking for colorful designs that would be catchy enough to snatch their competitors’ clients. Authors and online tutors are also looking for designs for their books and also to advertise their programmes. You can turn your skills as a graphic designer into freelancing and make some cool money.
8. Social media management
Businesses are begging to be taken online these days. You know what? Some of their owners are just so busy to do that! You can take up the skills and manage their businesses online. If you have been living your life on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and others, you can turn that knowledge into a money-making venture.
9. Copywriting
If you are adept with words, you can become a copywriter and write copies for companies. Make sure your words are catchy enough to attract customers to their businesses. If you still struggle with words, you can take up some copywriting courses to become perfect.
The best business tip is never you quit. If your method is not working, look for another one and make sure you are always on the move. Your business is what you make of it. Get it waving at as many audiences as possible. Spread your tentacles to accommodate more ideas and drop those that do not suit the order of the day. Don’t forget your employees while focusing on your business because they are the ones that do the job. Challenges will come along the way, but they should not beat you down. With perseverance, you are going to become the champion of the day. Success all the way.
Success all the way!
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