Small businesses are the engine of economic growth in America. Additionally, the rise of small businesses has changed the nature of the global economic climate. A number of factors have led to this change, and so it’s not possible to point to one single cause. What can be done, however, is to analyze where small business is going. There are a lot of changes that are taking place as small businesses continue to make an increasing impact on the economy overall.
The Rise of Social Media For Marketing Purposes
If 2014 was the year of businesses getting their feet wet in social media, 2015 is where companies begin using proven social media methods to reach their marketing goals. As businesses get increasingly comfortable with social media platforms and technologies, customer engagement and data collection will reach unprecedented levels, with small businesses continuing to cater to their engaged niches and make use of them to grow their customer bases.
Small Businesses Seeking Alternate Means of Capital
Because small businesses often don’t have the capital or credit resources needed to get larger loans for growth or expansion, a rise in micro-funding is taking place all across the small business landscape. Companies such as Imperial Advance are rising to meet a growing market need so small businesses continue to maintain an edge and do their part in the disruption of traditional industry, altogether changing the way people do business. 2015 will see a rise in small business loans and capital; deals that will help them grow and remain competitive.
End-to-End Human Resource Services
The examples of small business practices have influenced corporate structuring, specifically with regards to department size. In no place has this been more obvious than human resources. Whereas different people once handled everything from employee acquisition to benefits and payroll, automation has made diversification of those functions increasingly important; with individual HR managers more capable than ever to take on multiple roles in a small business, often combining all three of those disciplines into a single office. Furthermore, according to analysis by payroll company Paychex, the human resource role is being increasingly outsourced.
The Growth of the Cloud
The cloud has changed a lot of how business is done today, simply because it has allowed for the elimination of hardware costs. Even more important than the fact that hardware costs are being i reduced or eliminated, particularly in technology-based businesses, the cloud has become far more versatile than previously imagined, creating the potential to reduce or eliminate telecommunications costs altogether. As Business News Daily predicts, 2015 will see a reduction in on-site hardware due to a number of factors, including, advances in cloud-based internet security, and the increase of cloud-based VOIP displacing more traditional phone systems.
3D Printing Will Change the Nature of Small Batch Manufacturing
What was originally seen as an interesting hobbyists’ niche has become the answer for small-batch manufacturers, with designers able to customize designs at previously unfathomable levels. Small-batch manufacturing, once an outsourced need, can be brought back in house; with design teams able to interact with prototypes and customized items, changing the way production in America is handled. Expect 3D printing to begin causing reductions in outsourcing and more in-house design to take place.