How to Start A Business Course - Launching Your Business: Entrepreneurs And Global Trends - Part 12/26

The world we live in is constantly changing, the people in it are evolving and the business landscape is transforming – fueled by the rapid changes and trends in technological advances and economic health, as well as political challenges and societal shifts. To be a successful entrepreneur, you must become well-versed in these three factors: Markets, Problems, and Trends.

As a small business owner, you form a vital part of the business ecosystem – you, therefore, have to adapt to and adopt these emerging trends much quicker compared to larger, more established companies if you want to survive and thrive in the future.

The future, however, holds many promises and possibilities for entrepreneurs like you. The thing that will set you apart, is whether you take advantage of what the future has to offer.

We’ll have a look at some of the key emerging trends influencing the entrepreneurial and small business landscape, as well as ways in which entrepreneurs can safeguard and future-proof their businesses, and themselves, by taking advantage of what these trends have to offer. Remember, trends are ever-changing – so it’s vital that you constantly update your industry knowledge.

Let us primarily focus on enhancing your knowledge as to the current emerging trends that can affect your new business, as well as ways in which you can transform yourself into the entrepreneur of the future. Continuous research and learning are success habits of successful entrepreneurs.

In today’s world, the only constant is change – and it’s important that you, and your business, no matter its size and make-up, evolve with it. Because the only way is forward. As Winston Churchill wrote;

“To improve is to change, and to be perfect is to change often.”

For today’s topic, we aim to:

• Learn from Start-Up Failures & Prepare for the Influence of Global Trends

To refresh our understanding of the primary pitfalls associated with becoming an entrepreneur and starting or running a business, as well as the necessary knowledge to identify and avoid these pitfalls in the future.

• Identify & Leverage Key Trends Affecting Entrepreneurs & Small Businesses
To gain a better understanding of the global, as well as business or industry-specific and workplace trends that are affecting the entrepreneurial landscape and the way small businesses operate.

• Identify & Nurture the Characteristics of an Entrepreneur with Vision
To be equipped with the necessary knowledge to future-proof our skill-set and work towards becoming the entrepreneur of the future – one with a clear purpose and vision to drive a business to success.

Top Reasons Why Start-Ups Fail
According to CB Insights, there are 20 primary reasons why start-up businesses fail – especially within the first few months of launching. These reasons were recorded based on post-mortem analyses of 101 start-up businesses. Here are a few examples:

42% of start-ups launched an offering without a market need or failed to find the optimal product-market fit
37% launched a user-unfriendly product or service, or one without a sound blueprint and business model
28% failed to implement a sound marketing plan and didn’t value customer feedback/experience
23% employed individuals with inadequate or unsuitable skills, resulting in a lack of overall progress
19% were out-competed due to inadequate competitive analyses and a lack of innovative solutions

Key focus areas for a start-up entrepreneur: Strategy, Offering, Operations, and Marketing.

Key Trends in the Business Landscape
In my previous post, we had a look at some of the pitfalls entrepreneurs face when starting and running a business, specifically within the aforementioned focus areas. One of the key tips provided was to keep a pulse on global emerging trends, as well as within industry-specific ecosystems – especially as a start-up entrepreneur.

So, let’s have a look at some of the emerging trends influencing the entrepreneurial landscape and start-up businesses, as well as key insights within each. These will include four trend categories:

MODERN WORKPLACES & EMPLOYEES
FUTURE-FORWARD TECHNOLOGY
CUSTOMER-CENTRIC COMMERCE
SOCIETY-FOCUSED PRACTICES

The Modern Workplace

The modern workplace is constantly evolving. The way entrepreneurs operate their businesses, build cultures, source, and maintain talent is facing uncontrollable and era-defining changes – many of which are impacted by economic changes, technological advances, globalization and rapidly changing demands of both the modern customer and employee. To future-proof your small business, it’s important to understand and take advantage of the key change drivers that are shifting and re-engineering traditional workplaces.

When it comes to employee performance and productivity, a healthy work environment can be a game-changer in various ways. A healthy work environment not only boosts employee morale and motivation but empowers employees to perform to the best of their abilities and deliver optimal results. It directly influences employee engagement, business performance, customer satisfaction, and ultimately, sales and profitability – essentially, it’s extremely decisive to the overall competitiveness and overall success of your small business.

According to Finance Online (2020), a healthy workplace environment could deliver an approximate 17% increase in employee productivity, a 10 % increase in customer ratings, and a 21% increase in profitability.

Creating and managing a healthy workplace and culture is daunting, especially given the changing dynamics of the work environment and the demands of modern employees. When launching your business, you should keep these demands in mind and build a healthy work environment from the onset – if not valued and addressed properly, your business could fail within the first few months. As a result, you need to remain abreast of the modern workplace trends and implement them as soon as possible to remain competitive among both your employees and ultimately, your customers.

Here are some key trend insights that will empower you to define and design your workplace ethos, and create a positive and productive, as well as, agile and collaborative work environment – tailored to the needs of the modern employee.

These will focus on the following:

• The modern workforce, with an exploration of an exciting new workforce generation
• Digital nomadism, and a growing innate interest in and benefits of remote working
• Flexible working schedules, and a growing desire for them among modern employees
• Investing in employee well-being and work-life balance, and its rising importance
• Upskilling for the future, including yourself and your current/future workforce

• Social purpose as a priority, and the growing importance thereof within a business.
• Centralized workflow and communication processes, and the benefits thereof.

Generation Z

Over the years, entrepreneurs have experienced multiple era-defining demographic shifts – transitioning from Baby Boomers to Generation X to Millennials. Each of these generations has approached the workplace in a unique manner but maintained relatable workplace attitudes and habits – making it slightly easier for business leaders to adjust to their workplace demands.

However, there’s a new generation entering the market – Generation Z. Born between the mid-1990s and the early 2010s, Generation Z is the latest entrant in the modern workforce, and they’re certainly approaching things differently – more so than previous generations.

According to Finance Online (2020), this generation accounts for approximately 36% of the global workforce and will continue to take over in the years to come.

And, small businesses account for approximately 65% of job creation across the globe. Because of this phenomenon, entrepreneurs starting and running small businesses need to understand and explore the mindsets and skills that this generation has to offer.

They are technological mavens, born and raised in a fast-paced and internet-centric environment. They, therefore, expect to work for a business leader who values innovation and desires to work within a modern workplace swarmed with digital collaboration software tools. They also tend to be pragmatic in the way they approach their careers and education.

To empower you as the entrepreneur, let’s have a brief look at some of their characteristics and desired workplace approaches:

• Career Aspirations: They prefer to work in industries that they interact with in their personal lives as opposed to industries they aren’t frequent consumers of.

• Career Development: They desire diverse and entrepreneurial opportunities within the safety of stable employment and will remain loyal to a business that can offer this.

• Education & Learning: They proactively seek out personalized learning opportunities to enhance their skills and prefer to learn independently via online learning platforms.

• Working Styles: They prefer individual tasks over team-based activities however they still value physical connection, as they prefer independence but not isolation.

• Core Values: They no longer form opinions of a business solely based on the quality of their products/services but now on their ethics, practices, and social impact. They’ll also prioritize financial security over “personal fulfillment”.

Fun Fact: Top reasons for what Generation Z workforce look for;

58 % Salary & Benefits
48 % Job Security
45 % Pleasant Atmosphere
35 % Career Progression
33 % Financially Healthy
31 % Flexible Schedules
28 % Good Training
26 % Strong Leadership

Digital Nomadism

The second workplace insight is Digital Nomadism – better known as Remote-Working. Although this concept is considered a rising trend, many entrepreneurs, and their employees, have scrapped the office job for working-from-home possibilities for years. Apart from lifestyle preferences and cost benefits, the advancements in workplace technology and the demands of new generations have propelled interest in these opportunities and forced businesses, of all shapes and sizes, to redefine the modalities of remote working.

Moreover, the adoption of time management, communication, and employee productivity software tools points to the growing prominence of remote work. Modern employees, and entrepreneurs, favor the newfound freedom and flexibility that comes with remote working. Because, working remotely allows both the professional and personal aspects to coexist harmoniously – which new generations find desirable, given their lifestyle preferences.

The nature of remote work is rapidly changing, propelled by the entry of digital nomads and the rapid increase of workforce innovations. Remote work will become more prevalent as the global workforce transitions to the new norm. While this trend is still in its novelty phase, its future is promising.

Fun Fact:

According to Upwork (2019), 73% of all businesses will have remote workers by 2028.

Flexible Schedules

The 3rd insight related to workplace trends is flexible working schedules. The commonly known 9-to-5 has long been second nature for the working class. If you’re anything like me, you’re actually negatively impacted by an inflexible working schedule – a schedule that doesn’t account for the fact that you have, well, a personal life.

In fact, 71% of workers say rigid work schedules impact their personal life negatively.

However, modern entrepreneurs and employees are gravitating towards digital nomadism and the ability to work anywhere, anytime. The lives of entrepreneurs and employees have become increasingly busy, so it’s about that work-life balance, essentially. And, with trends in globalization and technology, remote working has been made increasingly more attractive.

In fact, the innate desire for flexible working schedules is so deep, that some entrepreneurs and employees say they’ll take a flexible schedule over healthcare coverage.

Employee Well-Being

Remote working, flexible schedules, well-being, and work-life balance go hand-in-hand. As mentioned earlier, entrepreneurs and employees are living increasingly busy lives. Over the last decade, stress and mental health issues have become prevalent – working longer hours to earn a better income, forgetting their success habits, and ultimately experiencing total burnout.

Modern entrepreneurs and employees are now seeking a better work-life balance and the perks associated with well-being. In fact, many of your future employees will determine whether working for you is a good fit, based on your work-life balance benefits. In order to keep the operations of your business moving forward, you have to focus on your employees – keep them happy and provide them with the satisfaction that will drive their dedication and productivity, ultimately contributing to the success of your business.

Although remote working is a rising trend, some entrepreneurs choose to or must have headquarters/offices to perform certain activities effectively. Should this be the case, make sure to select a workspace that encourages collaboration and connectedness, with various onsite amenities to make coming to work, in a working-from-home climate, more attractive. These could include fitness centers, cafeterias, childcare, and even medical care.

Think Google. They are known for their onsite amenities, but this can be expensive – especially for start-up entrepreneurs. However, there are many co-working spaces across the globe that offer membership packages, providing you with access to these types of amenities. In line with improving employee well-being, a new feature is outranking all the onsite amenities. According to one study, employees now prefer offices with views of the outdoors and natural light.

Fun Fact:

The study found that natural lights and views boost employee happiness and well-being by 78%. Better still, they improve work satisfaction (73%), employee performance (70%), and commitment (54%).

Futuristic Upskilling

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Let’s have a look at our 4th insight under workplace trends – Upskilling for the future. With the changes in the global workforce, advances in workplace software and technologies, as well as increases in remote-working and entrepreneurial opportunities, and the number of available jobs skyrocketing – businesses are required to implement innovative hiring and talent retention strategies.

As mentioned before, career development, learning, and education have become vital attractors for most modern employees. The modern workforce is also becoming increasingly aware of the changing recruitment landscape and the skills required to safeguard their recruit ability into the future.

The same applies to entrepreneurs – in order to become the entrepreneur of the future, you have to work on your personal skill set and ensure you’re equipped to, not only run your small business but maintain a competitive advantage. Nurturing your own skills and the skills of your employees, perhaps in a more personalized and immersive manner, could result in high-performance teams.

The introduction of smart technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered software and solutions, as well as Robotic Process Automation (RPA), is also changing the recruitment landscape – replacing mundane jobs and skills, previously fulfilled by the human workforce. It’s vital to focus on the skills required for the jobs of the future – especially the soft skills.

With technology making its mark in basically every facet of the strategic and operational landscape of businesses, it’s predicted that the focus will shift to soft skills. Here are a few examples:

Emotional Intelligence (EQ): A person’s ability to be aware of, control and express their own emotions as well as being cognizant of the emotions of others describes their emotional intelligence. You exhibit high emotional intelligence if you have empathy, and integrity and work well with others. A machine can’t easily replace a human’s ability to connect with another human being, so those who have high EQs will be in demand.
Analytical / Critical Thinking: A person with critical thinking skills can suggest innovative solutions and ideas, solve complex problems using reasoning and logic and evaluate arguments. They’ll collect the pros and cons of a situation and be open-minded to the best possible solution. People with strong analytic thinking will be needed to navigate the human/machine division of operational activities.
Diversity & Cultural Intelligence: As our world and workplaces become more diverse and open, it’s vital that individuals embody the skills to understand, respect, and work with others despite differences in race, culture, language, age, gender, sexual orientation, political or religious beliefs, and so forth. The ability to understand and adapt to others who might have different ways of perceiving the world will not only improve how people interact within the company but is also likely to make a company’s products and services more inclusive and successful.
Technology-Savvy: The 4th Industrial Revolution is fueled by technological innovations such as artificial intelligence, big data, virtual reality, blockchains, and more. This means that you and your employees will need a certain level of comfort around technology. On a more fundamental level, everyone needs to be able to understand the potential impact of new technologies on their industry, business, and careers.
Judgement & Decision-Making: Human decision-making will become more complex in the modern workplace. While machines can process information and provide insights at a speed impossible for humans to gather, ultimately, a human will need to make the decision recognizing the broader implications the decision might have on other areas of business, and personnel and the effect on other more human sensibilities such as morale. As technology takes away more menial and mundane tasks, it will leave humans to do more higher-level decision-making.
A few other soft skills include leadership abilities, interpersonal communication skills, active learning with a growth mindset, creativity, and innovative thinking, as well as the ability to embrace change. Although these are challenging to quantify, they’ll play a vital role in your business in the future.

Social Purpose

Let’s explore the 5th workplace trend – Social Purpose as a responsibility. We now understand that the business world is volatile and attracting not only your customers, but top talent becomes increasingly challenging – especially due to the entry of new generations into the workforce, the ever-changing socio-political climate, and increasing job-hopping rates.

Today, modern employees are no longer hunting for companies with a seemingly good image and high-end office space – they are attracted to companies who show a true desire to uphold the values of social responsibility.

Remember your IKIGAI and the things the world needs? Well, these things go far beyond consumables – they stretch into philanthropic initiatives that can contribute to societal health and community well-being. Today, we see businesses incorporate their philanthropic purposes into their vision and mission, as well as embed these values into their consistent marketing plans.

Centralized Communication

Let’s have a look at the 6th insight under workplace trends – Centralized Communication. With the advances in the workplace, remote-working, and the software and technologies that came along with it, the way entrepreneurs and their employees communicate with each has changed. A plethora of available applications has revolutionized business communication, which has made internal exchanges fast and efficient.

Remember what we said about the modern workforce? They find a business attractive that values innovation and technology and provides digital collaboration tools for efficient engagement and delivery. So, let’s have a look at some examples for you to explore a little further. Here are a few AI-Powered software applications & tools:

X.AI: Tools like this give employees AI-powered virtual/personal assistants that perform administrative tasks like scheduling, rescheduling, and canceling meetings. How cool is that? In fact, nearly 1 billion users will rely on AI-powered virtual assistants by 2025.
AISense: AISense, available as a feature of Zoom, automatically transcribes meetings and publishes them as searchable text.
AtSpoke: AI service desks like AtSpoke allow employee support teams to balance their service commitments with other important responsibilities by reducing interruptions from rote, repetitive requests.
Skype Translator: AI is also transforming workplace communications by allowing employees who speak different languages to easily understand each other in near-real-time conversations. Skype Translator’s AI automatically translates for both parties in a conference call.

There are also a few other, more commonly known applications you can use to integrate into your operations, such as Monday.com, Trello, Flock, Zoho, Hive, Scoro, Smartsheet, Asana, and Wrike.

The use of these softwares and technologies ultimately depends on the size of your company, as well as your operational requirements and the capital you have available – some applications are quite expensive. But the important thing is that you know they exist for the workplace, and not only for customer engagements.

idea, response, enlightenment-1020124.jpgKey Takeaways

Embrace the modern workforce and the transformation of workplaces.
Create a working environment that will attract and retain top talent.
Consider the benefits of remote working and flexible schedules.
Promote employee engagement and reduce employee stress levels.
Consider the positive impacts on employee well-being and work-life balance.
Emphasize social purpose throughout active marketing and practice.
Embed a philanthropic initiative into your start-up business plan.
Invest in technologies to enhance business communication and processes.
Nurture your and your employees’ soft skills in preparation for the future.

Future-Forward Technology

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Innovative technologies, which include some disruptive technologies, have been evolving daily since the start of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Both new entrepreneurs and larger established businesses are aware of these disruptive technologies, as they’ve been democratized.

One threat to more established entrepreneurs is that the cost of entry to their markets has been lowered. Start-up entrepreneurs can establish and maintain a good competitive advantage if additional funding, or even trade partners, are sourced to embed these technologies within both operations and strategic endeavors.

We’ll deep dive into some of the technologies you can use, but we’ll briefly discuss some of the Top Technological Trends to look out for today. Some, we’ve already discussed under modern workplaces and operations, but other technologies also impact your strategic initiatives – specifically around product or service development, customer engagement, and experience, as well as marketing tools and tactics.

Artificial Intelligence & Smart Technologies
According to Investopedia (2020), Artificial intelligence (AI) refers to the simulation of human intelligence in machines that are programmed to think like humans and mimic their actions. The term may also be applied to any machine that exhibits traits associated with a human mind such as learning and problem-solving.

We’ve discussed the possible uses of AI, and other Smart Technologies, within your operational processes, systems, and controls, but AI can also be used in the more strategic parts of your business, including enhancing:

• Supply Chain Processes (Demand Forecasting, Production Planning, Predictive Maintenance)
• Customer Service (Data & Relationship Management)
• Marketing Activities (Analyzing Social Media, Sentiment Analysis)

There are so many possibilities! I encourage you to conduct further research as to the various ways in which smart technology can be embedded into your business.

Immersive Technologies
Immersive Technologies include Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) and can transform how your customers/users interact and see the world, thus resulting in a novel interactive experience.

Initially limited to gaming and entertainment industries, these technologies are now helping other industries and businesses enhance customer engagements – ultimately boosting their sales. Since these technologies are becoming more affordable, many small business entrepreneurs are now deploying them in their operations and strategies.

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A recent survey among US manufacturers found that the most widely-deployed industrial use of AR and VR are within product design and developments (38%), safety and manufacturing skills training (28%), maintenance, repair or equipment operations (19%), and remote collaboration (19%).

In healthcare, for example, they use immersive technologies to improve patience, experience, and engagement, provide psychological relief and virtual treatments, conduct body mapping, provide interactive patient information, and even assist with surgical training.

In real estate, immersive technologies provide home-buyers with the opportunity to view houses without actually visiting the property and provide home decorators the ability to view decorative options before selecting or purchasing.

In fashion design, these technologies provide both fashion designers and customers the ability to try-before-you-buy and perhaps conduct body/silhouette scans to ensure the optimal fit.

Customer-Centric Commerce
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Customer-centric commerce focuses on adopting new commerce trends and modern techniques to attract and retain customers, enhance customer experiences, as well as increase sales and profit. These trends include, among other things:

Social Commerce
Mobile Commerce
Niche Markets
Hyperlocal Stores
Mobile Businesses

Social Commerce

It’s the use of social networking platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, and TikTok to promote and sell products or services. It’s a natural progression of e-commerce websites and is taking advantage of your customers’ active presence and activities on social media, to aid faster and more effective purchasing decisions.

As an entrepreneur, you’ve probably thought of ways in which you can promote and sell your offering – dependent on the nature of your business of course. But, using social media to generate sales is an incredibly useful tactic and is expected to be adopted by other known platforms in the future.

Let’s take a look at some examples:

Facebook Shops
Is a mobile-first shopping experience where businesses can easily create an online store for free. This feature enables you to select feature items, and product collections and tell your brand story with customizable fonts and colors. In Facebook Shops, you’ll be able to connect with customers through WhatsApp, Messenger, or Instagram Direct to answer questions, offer support, and more – which is incredible!

They’re also working with partners such as Shopify and WooCommerce to give entrepreneurs and small businesses the support they need. These organizations offer powerful tools to help entrepreneurs start and run their businesses – online. They’ll also be adding features across their applications such as Instagram Shop, which will include live shopping features and loyalty programs, to help consumers discover and shop for things they love.

Instagram Shopping
It gives your business an immersive storefront for consumers to explore your best offerings. With Instagram Shopping, you can share featured products through your organic posts and stories, or have people discover your products in Search and Explore. When someone taps a product tag on your post or a product sticker in your story, they’ll be taken to a product description page where they will see (1) an image of the product from your post, (2) a description of the product, (3) how much the product costs and (4) a link that takes them directly to your website/mobile application, where they can ultimately purchase the product.

As mentioned, social commerce is where social media and e-commerce meet. The medium makes it easier to give and receive feedback, and ultimately promote and sell your offering. In some sense, it recreates an in-person marketplace digitally – given the close-knit range between your business and consumers. Thus, giving users an authentic feel by making it more personal.

This is its greatest come on and this will concretize its standing among other e-commerce avenues in the years to come. In the coming years, social networks will provide their users with new tools for social selling. To wit, many marketers and other business experts will compile best practices for social commerce. Entrepreneurs and aspiring entrepreneurs should watch out for these.

Mobile Commerce

Let’s take a brief look at mobile commerce. The modern ways of doing business seem to focus on getting to where customers are and engaging with them on these platforms – instead of sending them on a wild goose-chase to find your website or store. A significant portion of consumers is now glued to their phones – averaging around 4 hours per day on their phones. So, why shouldn’t entrepreneurs take advantage of this trend?

Just like how the internet and the rise of mobile technology allowed for digital nomadism and globalized business, it has also paved the way for improved and affordable mobile commerce options. Now, entrepreneurs and small businesses have the chance to compete with larger companies and engage with customers directly from the comfort of their own homes.

According to Finance Online (2020):

• Experts expect major US and international brands to close 12,000 stores by the end of 2021.
• Malls were built twice as fast as population growth from 1970 to 2015, now getting torn down at a similar rate.
• From 2010 to 2017, e-commerce total sales rose to 166% and will continue to rise.
• Moreover, by 2021, mobile commerce is expected to account for 54% of total e-commerce sales.

To take advantage of this trend, make sure to consider both social and mobile commerce in your business model – start engaging with customers directly, from the onset. It’s also much cheaper than setting up a physical store.

Niche Markets

Let’s take a look at niche markets. Being customer-centric creates new niche markets because businesses are pressured and influenced to cater to new customer preferences and demands. This creates a new chain of supply and demand in certain demographics or psycho-graphics.

Entrepreneurs should keep an eye on niche markets that arise, as they provide incredible opportunities for customer-base expansion.

Examples of niche markets include catering for:

• Vegan and vegetarian consumers and adding preferred options to menus.
• Collaborations between brands in the fashion industry and attracting new customers
• LQBTQ+ community, gamers, environmentally conscious people, remote workers, and locals.

The reason the popularity of niche markets is increasing is due to lifestyle changes and preferences/choices that represent those lifestyles. Consumers want to uniquely represent where they are from through fashion, accessories, and food consumption, among other things. And therefore, very specific products are hitting the market.

Hyper-local Stores & Mobile Businesses

In relation to niche markets, many entrepreneurs are also setting up hyper-local stores and mobile businesses. Hyper-local stores sell products and services unique to their localities and are desired by consumers within their immediate areas.

Many new entrepreneurs find this opportunity attractive, as it enables them to express themselves and what they’re interested in very clearly – sometimes, these are considered passion projects.

Examples of hyper-local shops include locally produced and organic food/beverages, thrift stores, antique and art stores, and more.

They’re essentially specialty stores – focusing on a specific niche market, whether online or offline.

Mobile businesses are also booming and have gained popularity in the food, beauty, cleaning, moving, health, and other service sectors. What’s great about these businesses, is that you don’t have to put up a front office, and you’re able to interact with your customers where they wish to be interacted with.

Society-Focused Practices
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Society-focused practices include, among other things, green business, and social responsibility. There is a growing demand by modern consumers to become more environmentally friendly, which includes transforming their lifestyle and decisions into Eco-conscious efforts.

This has created a growing number of green business opportunities, including the rise of eco-conscious operations, niche markets, and offerings – so naturally, some entrepreneurs are gunning for environmentally friendly practices. Some even call themselves eco-entrepreneurs.

The eco-conscious movement spans different industries and many businesses have adopted green practices, including some of the following examples:

• Waste Management & Recycling
• Manufacturing of Green Products, focusing on organic & chemical-free offerings
• Eco-Friendly Retailing
• Green Consulting, and many more.

As important as it is to become and remain environmentally conscious as an entrepreneur, it’s also crucial to become socially responsible. Many approach corporate social responsibility (CSR) efforts as just another type of PR stunt. Some companies have these departments just to keep up appearances.

However, in the age of social media, this has changed – consumers track their every move, especially modern generations. Ethical marketing, and more importantly, ethical practices are vital for business success – you have to be authentic in everything that you do and say. Business is essentially about profit, but more so about giving back.

The younger generations seem to be more socially conscious. For them, it’s all about ethically-sourced raw materials and ethical consumption products, better working conditions for employees, gender equality and gender-neutral products, and environment-friendly policies – to name a few.

This is one societal shift that created new niche markets. Moreover, entrepreneurs can also attract great talents through socially-responsible policies and programs. Entrepreneurs should keep up to date with the latest social responsibility trends, as there are opportunities to exploit, but more importantly, worthy causes to support.

To end off, I’d like to remind you of our quote in the beginning:

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“To improve is to change, and to be perfect is to change often.”

Don’t fear what’s to come – rather embrace it, so that you can become the entrepreneur of the future and also, future-proof the success of your business.

Remember, you form a vital part of the business ecosystem – you, therefore, have to adapt to and adopt emerging trends much quicker compared to larger, more established companies if you want to survive and thrive in the future.

The future holds many promises and possibilities for entrepreneurs like you. The thing that will set you apart, is whether you take advantage of what the future has to offer.