Even just 40 years ago, there was a very traditional way of doing business. You needed a physical office and, in most cases, if you wanted to sell something, you’d need a retail store for people to come to. The internet changed all of this. Businesses have been set up to operate exclusively online, and platforms were created where items and services could be sold from anywhere in the world.
With the current global pandemic forcing people to work from home where possible and for the majority of us to rely even more heavily on the internet for communication, we’re going to look at entrepreneurial trends that have developed online in recent years.
Fashion
The fashion industry has seen a marked impact in how it does business thanks to the internet and specifically over the last ten years. It’s just as common now to see high profile releases for products from top brands take place online as it is for them to be released in flagship stores in London or Paris.
The desire for limited edition clothes or shoes has also let to the development of a resale market based heavily online. Sites like eBay are a go-to for people to sell an item for an increased value once they have bought it. With streetwear specifically, entire businesses have formed out of selling clothes and shoes online. Individuals can set up their own businesses selling through social media or big businesses employing 100s of people can develop to provide a marketplace specifically for these items, such as StockX and GOAT.
For more creative-minded people who want to produce their own fashion, the internet has allowed them to do this. Setting up a website and social media account to promote your clothing has become increasingly popular. Also, sites like Etsy have provided people with a platform to sell their designs quickly and easily. Customization of existing products has also seen a rise in popularity over the last ten years. Again with social media playing a pivotal role, designers can show their work painting or applying hydrographics to everything from shoes to sports gear such as boots and gloves. This has led to businesses forming to produce these items professionally.
Related: A Comprehensive Guide To Running A Fashion Business
Content creator
One of, if not the most significant internet trend to make a living over the last ten years has been the rise of content creators. The primary way people may money online through producing content is by working with brands to either sponsor their content or place an advert somewhere around the content.
YouTube and Instagram have become two of the biggest internet platforms, and both offer a variety of ways for people to make money online. Research showed that while being a footballer and police officer were still popular with boys, becoming a YouTuber had risen to the third most popular dream job for the boys asked in the survey.
A much more recent trend for making money online has been to work with websites where people have to pay a subscription to either access your content or interact with you as a creator. These websites include Patreon, OnlyFans, and Twitch. As a more recent entrepreneurial trend, it will be really interesting to see if these platforms continue to do well and allow people to make a living from them or if something else will replace them as this decade moves on.
Trading
Stocks and shares trading is a profession with a lot of history. The internet has in a sense democratized this industry and allowed people to invest by learning about it online and then providing ways for people to buy into companies without having to deal with a professional working for a large company. Depending on how successful you are at buying and selling it is possible to make this a career and for it to become your source of income. Cryptocurrency also became very popular for a while during the last decade but has fallen away in popularity over the last year. While trading was obviously possible before the internet, it has never been easier to do this on your own as it is now.
Entrepreneurial trends online have been a constant feature of the last decade, with some proving more successful than others. It’s impossible to predict what the next decade will hold and if the trends we have listed above will continue. However, we can say for sure that the internet has allowed people to develop businesses and sources of income which they can make a living from.
This article was written in collaboration with Stovrite. They offer hydrographic wrapping, which was mentioned above along with a range of other professions painting and coating options.
