Are You A New Economy Entrepreneur?

Many types of jobs and even the idea of a job for life are relics of the past as the nature of work changes. The digital economy is creating oodles of temporary jobs offering freelance work for everything from cleaners to drivers to lawyers to doctors. But what does it mean for the future?

The New Economy

Businesses and entrepreneurs in the new economy are turning their attention to the service sector and using technology to satisfy customers looking for better and cheaper ways of doing things.

Manufacturing jobs and long-term contracts between employer and employee have been in decline for many years but the process has accelerated with the advent of the internet and, more recently, the smartphone.

Computers and the tumbling costs of computing power combined with rising capacity mean start-up businesses can provide services previously supplied by large well-resourced organisations.

Today’s entrepreneurs use technology to link freelance contract workers with customers in all types of markets and for all types of goods and services.

Even at this early stage of the digital revolution entrepreneurs are using platforms to provide taxis (Uber), accommodation (Airbnb), lawyers (Axiom) on a massive scale in a way that is disrupting industries and destroying jobs.

In addition to the effect of technology the development of a two-tier economy divided between those with lots of money and little time and those with lots of time and little money is causing unease and unrest.

Entrepreneurs

Entrepreneurs, however, are taking the opportunity to connect people with extra money to people with spare time, which is having a dramatic effect on traditional organisations as they scramble to compete.

The response is similar to that of traditional manufacturing companies in the last century when they had to focus on their core capabilities and contract out non-core activities to reduce costs and remain alive.

The cost savings, however, have to be borne by someone and in today’s economy they fall on the shoulders of freelance workers as risk and insecurity are transferred from large organisations.

The freelance worker has, of course, the benefit of deciding where they work, when they work and for whom they work.

But they only get paid for results and don’t enjoy the luxury of paid holidays, sick leave, health cover or company pension schemes.

Such change is already happening and will accelerate as entrepreneurs and technologies collaborate to create good and bad, known and unknown outcomes for businesses, people and governments.

In the future, businesses will focus even more on their core activities while contracting out everything else; entrepreneurs will keep creating links between technologies, customers and freelance workers; and governments will have to act as referee to ensure fairness.

SO, entrepreneurs in the new economy are using technology to create new and different jobs and it will affect us all as old jobs disappear and new ones have to be found.