Business Opportunities Weblog

January 10, 2008 by Rich Whittle | 0 Comments

The Street:

I do see some big trends shaping small business this year that you should take note of. Here are my top 3 for 2008:

No. 3:
Green is the new black. Whether it was Al Gore winning an Oscar or Russia staking claim to the Arctic — now that takes chutzpah — it’s all too obvious that climate change is real. It is also an opportunity for you.

As Time Magazine recently put it: “Green investment by American venture-capital firms reached $2.6 billion in the first three quarters of 2007, the highest level ever recorded and nearly 50% more than the total for the whole of 2006.”

Meaning: Green start-ups searching for cash “have gone from a desert to drinking from a fire hose,” says Nancy Floyd, head of the alternative energy-focused venture capital firm Nth Power.

No. 2:
Work is what you do, not where you go. The ability to work anywhere at any time continues to radically change how we all do business, and not always for the better.

The good news is that the opportunity to outsource mundane tasks makes it very possible to work smarter, not harder.

No. 1:
It’s the economy, stupid! Like the old unofficial Bill Clinton campaign slogan, 2008 will be dominated by a slowing economy.

The subprime crisis is not only affecting homeowners and banks, but small businesses as well. Credit is getting tighter and businesses are spending less, resulting in a chain reaction of slow or no growth.

Combined with a presidential election, continued high gas prices and an unsettled international scene, the top trend this year is a cautionary economy. Plan accordingly.

Photo by MSDesigns.

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Tags: Small Biz, Trends