Last week I wrote about my predictions for 2020.
One of the items I touched on was that we would see a rise in a trend I called “Micropreneurship”
I wanted to write this post to go a bit deeper into this phenomenon and to highlight some of the resources out there for aspiring micropreneurs.
What Is Micropreneurship?
I define micropreneurship as “the process of building a small-scale entrepreneurial endeavor enabled by a new generation of technology platforms and tools”. These aren’t startups. They aren’t investment portfolios.
They are blogs, Shopify stores, and online courses.
They are eCommerce plays, newsletters, and recipe guides.
Some of them are side-gigs. Some of them are full-time jobs.
What all of them have in common is that they are made possible by new technologies and services that are increasing the access people have to entrepreneurship. It used to take time and thousands of dollars to get a small business off the ground. Now it takes the few minutes necessary to sign up for Substack, Notion, or Webflow.
The future is here, it just isn’t evenly distributed. If you knew what you were doing, you could always build a business, but now we have the tools available to make that hurdle so, so much lower.
Why does Micropreneurship matter?
So what? People have always figured out how to start businesses. Why does this new trend matter and why does it need some flashy name like Micropreneurship?
Micropreneurship matters. A lot. The lack of it has been one of the fundamental issues that we have been grappling with as a country over the last decade.
The geopolitical story over the last quarter-century that has had more impact on the way our country looks than any other is the fact that huge swathes of our country feel like they are getting left out of the modern economy. This may be blue-collar laborers feeling left behind by technology. This may be highly-educated urban-dwellers struggling under a mountain of debt who no longer believe that the institutions around them work the way they should.
See the fundamental issue is that the economy changed and people didn’t keep up. A relatively small number of highly-educated or highly-technical workers were able to thrive in this new technology-focused economy, but for a large portion of the general populace, they saw their neighbors driving home in new cars as their own prospects dwindled. Our education system is just now starting to wake up to economic realities that were readily apparent twenty years ago.
But I do not think all is hopeless.
I believe micropreneurship can be the panacea to some of these woes.
Micropreneurship can be an enabling force function that provides access to wealth creation for those that have been left out of the modern technology economy. You no longer need to know how to code to build a website. You no longer need to get a small business loan to open up a storefront. We have the tools and resources at our fingertips to unleash a massive wave of technological democratization the likes of which haven’t been seen since the early days of the internet.
More than just the societal implications, people are yearning for this in their own lives. People want to be their own bosses. To have the flexibility of managing their own schedule. Look at how much remote work appeals to people. Doing the same work they have always done, but suddenly being able to do it from wherever has a massive impact. Just think about the impact that defining the work you are actually doing could have.
Micropreneurship Tools & RESOURCES
I am still learning the ins and outs of this new trend, but I wanted to provide some of the resources I have come across so far for those interested in learning more.
No Code MVP
No Code MVP is a course made by Bram Kranstein to help people learn to utilize no-code tools to ideate and build their first product. If you sign up, you’ll be in good company! I purchased the course recently and I am excited to dive in!
Makerpad
Makerpad is the best resource for learning how to build specific products utilizing one or more no-code tools. The site has hundreds of product tutorials and even offers no-code consulting services for businesses looking to automate workflows. Creator Ben Tossell is definitely one of the kings in the no-code space and a good person to keep tabs on.
JumpCut
Jumpcut offers courses for everything from influencers, to marketers, to passive income generators. I haven’t taken any of their courses myself, but the site was recommended to me on twitter and it looks like a great resource that could be worth checking out.
Shopify
Probably the most important company to the micropreneurship movement. Shopify enables thousands of small business owners to quickly and easily get online stores off the ground. Shopify is a big reason why I believe this trend has the legs to go mainstream.
Squarespace
The fact that you are reading this is a testament to Squarespace’s usability. If I can figure it out, anybody can. This is the third website I have built on Squarespace and it has everything I have ever needed to build and manage my blog.
Webflow
Another one I haven’t used before, but this website builder seems to be getting more and more traction based on its ease of integrations with other products. Another on my list to learn más about.
Notion
If you have spent much time reading this blog at all, you will know of my love for Notion. The swiss-army knife of no-code software. You can do just about anything with this simple and easy-to-use software. Notion sometimes suffers as a jack of all trades, master of none, but when simplicity and minimalism is the name of the day, it is hard to go wrong with Notion.
Airtable
Airtable brought promises of bringing the database into the 21st century. I haven’t done more than mess around with this tool, but I know it is extremely powerful and flexible over a variety of use cases.
Zapier
The ultimate integration tool. Zapier gets your information locked in different applications to talk to each other and can set up seamless automations. Zapier is something that I definitely want to become an expert in as I believe that it opens up a whole world of potential for anything you are building.
I am sure this is not an exhaustive list. I am definitely still figuring out the micropreneurship landscape myself so if you have any other ideas for tools or resources that could be helpful, let me know in the comments!