Entrepreneurship and Business Management for the Future
Humble Beginnings and the Future of Entrepreneurship
The beginnings of entrepreneurship were very humble. It is widely recognized that Marco Polo was the first ever entrepreneuer, opening the first paths to trading with Asia in the early 13th century. Today, we no longer are concerned with making this type of journey to be a successful entrepreneur. With the advent of modern technology, we are now able to successfully run a business from our home, from our garage or if desired, from the beach.
The future of entrepreneurship has also resulted in new and innovative methods of management. While in days past, entrepreneurs would nearly always have to hire people on a part-time or full time basis to assist with marketing, financing and other aspects of their business, today’s entrepreneur can successfully manage their business with simply (and often) free tools via the Internet. When expertise is required, the entrepreneur can hire freelance providers that bring the needed expertise to the table.
As technology continues to advance, customer management tools provide new ways of handing client relationships in an entrepreneurship. The small business owner no longer needs banks of telephones when Skype is free and readily available. Video conference technology now allows for face-to-face contact with clients, freelancers and other experts. In 2010, the book Upstarts by Donna Fend interviewed several “Generation Y” college students. Surprisingly, these interviews show that the majority of this generation has aspirations of owning their own business versus working for existing companies. Some have gone as far to suggest this generation seeks the “4 hour work week.”
Social media has exploded – as not only a means of communicating with friend and family, but also with potential customers, suppliers of services and as an entirely new means of branding a company. The more this type of media changes, the more likely we are to see a continued interest in entrepreneurship over working for a well established company.
Business Management for the Future
Business management has changed with technology. Today, with the increase in Customer Relation Management (CRM) software, keeping up-to-date with the demands of clients has never been easier. The entreprenuer of today can create a business by having a strong desire to succeed, understanding their individual strengths and weaknesses, and following the basic guidelines to be considered before deciding on a business opportunity.
Because of the explosion in small business growth which has been estimated by the Small Business Administration to be more than 60% of jobs over the last 15 years, more management tools have been developed. The growth in home based businesses (52% of small businesses) has pushed developers to come up with creative tools to help those interested in entrepreneurship succeed.
The advent of the global marketplace, accessibility of funding for small business ventures and resources offered by the Small Business Administration, SCORE and a host of other management experts means that the future of entrepreneurship is very bright. Managing a small business no longer means having to hire costly experts to sit in a desk at an expensive office. Today, experts can be found “on demand” through a variety of reputable sources.
Image Credits
- Future of Entrepreneurship via freedigitalphotos.net/FreeDigitalPhotos.net Admin
- Global Business via freedigitalphotos.net/renjith krishnan
References
- BNet: Staff: Gen Y: Defining the Future of Entrepreneurship http://www.bnet.com/blog/smb/gen-y-defining-the-future-of-entrepreneurship/252
- Forbes, Janjigian, Vahan; The Future of Entrepreneurship Looks Bright http://blogs.forbes.com/greatspeculations/2010/04/20/the-future-of-entrepreneurship-looks-bright/
- Small Business Administration: Office of Advocacy How important are small businesses to the U.S. economy? http://www.sba.gov/advocacy/7495/8420
This post is part of the series: Business Ownership
Focusing on business ownership for entrepreneurs and home based business ideas.