The Global Rise of Entrepreneurship

In the years ahead, there will be a rapidly increasing number of people in every country looking at or wanting to become entrepreneurs. Why?

• First, large companies are going to be displacing increasing numbers of people—letting them go or giving them early retirement—because technology is allowing the company to be more productive and efficient with fewer employees.
• Second, there are many industrialized nations that have an aging population. For example, the United States has 78 million Baby Boomers, and many of them are choosing to retire into work. Many have not saved enough for retirement and will need to work while others don’t want an idle retirement; they want a meaningful retirement that provides both satisfaction and income. A large number of both groups will become entrepreneurs.
• Finally, we have many young people disillusioned with the bigger companies. As they get jobs at large organizations, they often feel like they’re going into a time machine backwards. They are realizing that the only way to control their destiny is to create their own company.

As a result of these three hard trends (meaning they will occur, rather than might occur), many people will be asking, “What should I do?” These people will be looking at the possibility of starting their own company … or at the very least offering their services on a contract or freelance basis.

Technology will not only displace workers, but it will also redefine entrepreneurship itself. Previously, we were in the information age where we informed people of a product or service, usually via an in-person meeting. Today we are in the communication age, which is dynamic, interactive, and creates new value fast. As more entrepreneurs embrace social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook (where they can stay engaged with their prospects and customers/clients … communicating and collaborating in real time), they’ll see their businesses grow faster than ever before.

Additionally, thanks to visual communications platforms like Skype, entrepreneurs can use their computer, smart phone, or tablet to have one-on-one or one-to-many video presentations with prospects, clients, and business associates around the world. No longer are they limited to prospecting or working in their geographic area. Because bandwidth, storage, and processing power are accelerating, the quality of visual communications is so good that they can have an increasing number of people on the video call at a time, which does wonders for selling, training, collaborating, and ultimately growing their business. Of course, visual communications will never eliminate in-person meetings, but it will definitely help entrepreneurs have the same reach as a large multi-national corporation.

Finally, in the past, it used to be safer for people to take a wait-and-see approach when deciding to start their own business. “Let’s wait and see if the industry grows more before jumping in.” Or, “Let’s wait and see if the demand for my services grows.” But today, technology is transforming how we sell, market, communicate, innovate, train, and educate in every industry. That means there is tremendous opportunity for those who take the leap now rather than employ a wait-and-see approach. The tools to rapidly accelerate the growth of your business have never been more powerful and affordable. Thanks to smart phones and tablets, social media and many other transformative technologies, today’s entrepreneurs are positioned to grow faster and stronger than ever before … so don’t wait; shape your future today!

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DANIEL BURRUS is considered one of the world’s leading technology forecasters and innovation experts, and is the founder and CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advancements in technology driven trends to help clients understand how technological, social and business forces are converging to create enormous untapped opportunities. He is the author of six books including The New York Times best seller Flash Foresight.