This year, the face and type of businesses will
change as a significant number of baby boomers exit
the workforce while an even greater number of millennials
enter it. With these forces guiding us, we anticipate
the following trends in the upcoming year.
1. Time to Exit. As baby boomers age out of their
companies and have less desire to work full time, we
anticipate that more and more established businesses
will be sold—especially the more traditional ones, such
as manufacturing, real estate, and retail. The economic
recovery will also fuel sales of younger enterprises as
entrepreneurs cash in on businesses that have been set
up in the last decade. For these reasons, the timing for
sales of small- and mid-sized businesses will be crucial,
as the market may be saturated over the next few years.
2. Technology for Everyone. The integration of
technology into business operations shows no signs of
slowing down, especially when it comes to Software as
a Service (SaaS) and Do-It-Yourself Platforms. Business
owners without tech savvy or resources can turn to an
ever increasing number of platforms and apps designed
to circumvent expensive IT consulting or outsourcing.
Platforms such as WordPress and SquareSpace allow
businesses to customize websites based on their needs
without having to incur the costs and time associated
with building a website from scratch. Additionally,
systems like Square and Revel allow businesses to use
an affordable point-of-sale system that is a fraction
of the cost of traditional systems and that can be used
in a variety of environments. Sales and customer
service are other areas that are relying on easy-to-use
software products.
3. Paperless Office. Despite the current ubiquity of
cloud computing and shared servers, offices continue
to keep a large amount of paper records. According to
the Wall Street Journal, “America’s office workers print
out or photocopy approximately one trillion pieces of
paper” a year. Small- and medium-sized businesses
have been the slowest to digitize their workflow, despite
using shared servers. However, given the time and
cost of printing, scanning, managing, and ultimately
discarding paper, it is no surprise that offices will continue
the push to go as paperless as possible.
4. Remote Training and Meeting with Employees.
As predicted in 2016, working remotely continues to
rise in popularity as many companies are reducing
office space and employees are placing a premium on
flexibility. In 2017, we will see more companies begin to
hire and train employees remotely, particularly companies
hiring sales and marketing personnel, software
programmers, web developers, customer service representatives,
and other service-related staff. This allows
companies greater flexibility in hiring employees without
regard to geographic location. Video conferencing
programs such as Skype and Google Hangout will facilitate
these long-distance relationships with employees
and vendors.
5. Crowdfunding. Crowdfunding has gained incredible
momentum as a method of alternative financing
over the past ten years. It was estimated in 2015
that over 34 billion dollars were raised on these
platforms worldwide. According to Forbes magazine
in 2016, “globally crowdfunding is trending to surpass
venture capital by the end of this year.” Crowdfunding
platforms like Kickstarter, Gofundme and
Indiegogo will continue to be a financing method for
entrepreneurs, allowing companies to raise money
for a new product while simultaneously gauging public
interest in their product or service and creating
brand recognition.
6. Millennials Entering Management. Currently,
millennials are the largest segment of the U.S. population.
With its oldest members entering their 30s, the
millennial generation will be taking on more leadership
and management positions. A lot has been said about
millennials, including that they are entitled and lazy,
yet millennials are reinventing the traditional workspace
formula by rapidly embracing technological advancements,
valuing flexibility, and using nonconventional
work processes. According to Adam Torren, contributor
for Entrepreneur.com, millennials “effortlessly
adopt new technologies as they’re announced, therefore
erasing the awkward adjustment phase every previous
generation of offices has endured after a computer
and equipment update.”
Business Insights is hosted by the Law Firm of Kumar, Prabhu, Patel & Banerjee, LLC
(KPPBLaw.com).
Bidisha Idnani an associate attorney at KPPB Law and practices civil litigation.
Disclaimer: This article is for general information purposes only, and does not constitute legal, tax, or other professional advice.