Top trends for entrepreneurs in 2017

Here’s a big hint: There’s no room for the comfort zone

Business is changing rapidly. And although small business people tend to be late adopters, the comfort zone doesn’t work in this economy.

From Donald Trump to Facebook Live to privacy concerns, things are moving fast. So gather ’ round the table as we gaze into the crystal ball for my annual look at some of the Top Trends in Small Business:

THE RISE OF TRUMPONOMICS 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 SCorps, that may not change the world of small business 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.

GOODBYE TO 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. Customers would hear about a new product on TV or the radio, go to a showroom, check it out and then buy it ( or not).

Today, people are far more likely to hear about a product on social media ( or podcast or blog, etc.), check out what others 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.

LIVE STREAMING Live streaming is to small business today what video was a few years ago: important to know, but even more important to jump on.

Live streaming is when you broadcast an event online in realtime. Viewers watch ( and often participate) on their device. The popularity of live streaming makes sense — folks already are used to watching sporting events, concerts and the like in real time, and so they are predisposed to want to watch a business event live, too. It’s a great way to connect, it’s easy and practically free, and it can give you content to use again. ( Facebook Live, for example, records the event.)

BIG DATA GOES LITTLE All businesses collect a lot of data — sales figures, inventory, clicks, social media engagement stats, returns and so on. The issue is not whether you have data, but rather what to do with it.

Big businesses have taken to creating apps and software that not only capture the data of a small business, but then analyze it and display it in easily read and understandable dashboards.

Search for “small business analytics” or “social media analytics” to find some very useful tools.

THE RISE OF RANSOMWARE Malware generally has been the scourge of business for a while now. But the latest incarnation, ransomware, has become a downright epidemic. Ransomware is a virus that encrypts all of your files, locks your computer and begins a countdown clock that demands an extortion payment of, say, $ 500 within three days. Don’t pay, and your files are destroyed. Pay and you might get that de- cryption key that will unlock your computer, but not always.

Attacks are up 300% this past year, according to Carbonite, and 43% of all cyber crime is now directed at small business, according to Symantec. Make sure you have great security software installed and backup to the cloud, automatically and daily.

THE ERA OF THE MILLENNIAL Millennial small businesses now outnumber Boomer ones, and Millennials do business differently. For example, Millennials tend to adopt new technologies easily and quickly and are generally more comfortable with doing business remotely and virtually.

Similarly, Millennial employees expect to not only be able to work remotely, they expect they will be given the tools and freedom by their employer to do so. Not only that, given the new economy, they also think that having side gigs is no big deal.

The latest research indicates that — by far — Millennials trust peer comments and reviews and user- generated content more than traditional advertising and marketing when making buying decisions.

THE CONNECTION ECONOMY We are all bombarded with information, pitches, content, marketing and now even “fake news.”

Take a cue from Millennials. They seek authenticity, relationships and connections. For instance, Facebook Live is a way to connect people and for you to connect with your customers.

Those businesses and entrepreneurs who engage most effectively get the most rewards in this connection economy. Using digital tools such as social media and pay- per- click to give customers value, great content, authentic experiences and real connections is almost a throwback idea.

In an age of digital, people are looking for what’s real and authentic. It will be those companies that do that best that will thrive.

In an age of digital, people are looking for what’s real and authentic. It will be those companies that do that best that will thrive.

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