Artisans: The Future of Small Business III

Both the Entrepreneurial Mind and Small Business Trends write about the Future of Small Business--Third Installment and the new Artisan Economy. This means that creativity and innovation are important resources for the future and learning becomes an investment.

Dr. Cornwall of the Entrepreneurial Mind does so on 2/13/08 Future of Small Business -- Third Installment

The good folks at the Institute for the Future in California have issued their third and final installment of the Future of Small Business reports.

Artisans, historically defined as skilled craftsmen who fashioned goods by hand, will re-emerge as an influential force in the coming decade. These next-gen artisans will craft their goods and shape the economy -- through upswings and downturns -- with an effect reaching far beyond their neighborhoods, or even their nations. They'll work differently than their medieval counterparts, combining brain with brawn as advances in technology and the reaches of globalization give them greater opportunities to succeed. This series offers a fascinating look at the future of out entrepreneurial economy.

In the post "Are You Part of the New Artisan Economy? I Bet You Are", Anita Campbell of Small Business Advice|Small Business Trends on the same day also writes about the third installment of the Future of Small Business Report outlining the growth of artisan businesses. She goes further providing more insights regarding the new economy:

Welcome to the artisan economy of the 21st century. Chances are, you're part of it. Don't let the word "artisan" fool you. If you're picturing bakers in white aprons kneading loaves of whole-grain bread, or someone hand-crafting candles — that's not necessarily what I mean.

The 21st century artisan is a Web designer, or an author, or a manufacturer of a small but exclusive line of luxury items, or a consultant in a niche speciality, or an entrepreneurial-minded attorney who starts selling information products, or an online retailer, or a software developer, or … the list goes on.

See her full post as for What it Means to You

My thought is this: if you don't see potential new opportunities from thinking about the trends in this Report, you aren't thinking hard enough.

So let your mind loose. Free yourself of old ideas that may be holding you back. Or what you think may be society's perceptions.