Recently on my podcast I observed that if you want to succeed in business today, you need to “embrace your inner-geek.” (Shameless plug: Small Business with Steve Strauss is a lively roundup of entrepreneurial interviews and insights that I think you would really enjoy!)

The fact is, business is changing rapidly right now and although small business people tend to be late adopters (actually, “tended” is the more apt word, see No. 9 below), it does us little good to pretend this is not so; the comfort zone doesn’t work in this economy.

Yes, from Donald Trump to Facebook Live to privacy concerns, things are really changing. So gather round the table kids as we gaze into the crystal ball for my annual look at the Top Trends in Small Business:

No. 10. The Rise of Trumpenomics: Predicting what the president-elect is going to do is a fool’s errand and I really don’t want to be that fool. That said, a few things are clear from the election and the incoming administration, especially insofar as economic and business policy is concerned:

  • We are entering an era of decreased regulations and lower taxes for business. Trump has said he wants to cap corporate taxes at 15% (although because of flow-through provisions on S Corps, that may not change the world of small business all that much.)
  • Construction and related industries look to boom if infrastructure spending proceeds as proposed
  • Deals will get done. After all, the president-elect did co-write a book called, The Art of the Deal.

No. 9: Shifting business models: It finally happened – Millennial small businesses now outnumber Baby Boomer businesses. This demographic shift has several ramifications, including the fact that Boomers are selling their physical businesses and Millennials are changing the way we are doing business.

As we will see next week in this list, the millennial way of doing business is different, very different. More apt to quickly adopt new technology, more willing to think creatively, and expecting to work when, where, and how they want, millennial entrepreneurs and employees alike are transforming the world of work.

No. 8. In the freelance economy, everyone is an entrepreneur: We have entered a world where work is radically different than even a decade ago. Far more people are freelancing, working side-jobs, creating their own gig at night, job-sharing, and what have you. In this economy, even if you have not have started a business – the traditional definition of being an entrepreneur – you are still an entrepreneur.

What is an entrepreneur? It is someone who takes a risk to start a business yes, but it is also someone who needs to create and project a valuable brand (be it personal or business), take the initiative, and work independently.

Who does that sound like? You I bet.

To succeed in the economy today, you need to adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, no matter your profession.

No. 7. Tools for Titans: One of my favorite prognosticators/entrepreneurs is Tim Ferris. Tim is the author of The 4-Hour Workweek, an inveterate innovator, blogger, podcaster, and experimenter (and Tim, if you are reading this, we would love to have you on my podcast!) He has a new best-selling book out now called Tools of Titans in which he shares the top tips and strategies of top performers.

Helping folks in the freelance economy is a great gig because there are so many of us now.

Indeed, Tim is not alone in creating and sharing ideas and tools for not just titans, but the rest of us. If you look around, you will see that large companies are making incredibly sophisticated tools for the small business marketplace – for you – be it a new app or what have you.

This is why you can’t be a techno-phobe today; there are simply too many great tech tools available to ignore.

No. 6. Say Goodbye to Marketing (or at least, marketing as you knew it):There was a time when marketing meant spending a lot of money to get your message in front of as many people as possible.

Ha.

Question: How did customers make decisions previously? They would hear about a new product on TV or the radio, go down to a showroom, check it out, and then buy it (or not.)

Double ha.

How do they decide today? People are far more likey to hear about a product on social media (or a podcast or a blog, etc.), check out what other people are saying about the product, read online reviews, compare the price on Amazon, and then decide.

What this means for you is that you need to begin to engage in this sort of content marketing if you don’t already – webinars, podcasts, Facebook, blogging, etc.

Next time: The Top 5 small business trends for 2017!