According to a recent study published in the Telegraph (read more about it here), more than 8 million people living in the UK run some kind of home-based online business. They sell or buy things on the web or work as freelancers for more or less remote employers. Under the strong influence of the Internet, the entire global workforce is experiencing serious changes in the way they earn for a living and find jobs. Thanks to this trend, a new form of entrepreneurship – webpreneurship – has seen the light of the day.
Unlimited possibilities for business progress
No matter how hard you try in the real world, you are always constrained by physical, mental or financial boundaries. The online world, i.e. cyberspace, constantly removes those boundaries and keeps extending, just like real space. Knowing that, it seems pretty obvious that in the next few decades there will be more opportunities to find a job in the online work market than in the offline environment.
Affordable business options on the net
From an entrepreneurial point of view, the trend of a completely free web market, formed on the basis of supply and demand looks like a blessing. Today, web-turned entrepreneurs can reduce their expenses to a minimum and earn much more than before. Firstly, they do not have to pay tangible business premises. Secondly, they can store all the business data on the cloud. As a result of this commodity, many businesses make substantial savings on data storage devices. Finally, webpreneurs can hire people outside their home country and save on their salaries, as well. This is especially attractive for young people in developing countries. Thanks to the increased access to the web in such areas, we have more and more skilful freelancers from the countries that once belonged to the Third World.
Army of webartisans
A whole army of people does a huge variety of things online to secure their existence. IT, writing, visual arts and hand-made items are among the most popular ones.
- IT jobs – from web developing to programming and UX/UI, experts from all parts of the world cooperate or work for one another on dozens of jobs related to information technology. A survey by Deloitte, made in 2014, proved that the largest number of outsourcers work in the IT field.
- Every site and blog needs written content, which opens numerous jobs for writers of all sorts. Since English is the lingua franca of today’s world, many people whose native language is not English still manage to read and write in this language.
- Websites, video-games, online magazines and newspapers all require impeccable visual image. This is where visual and web designers join their forces to create outstanding visual content in the online surroundings.
- Sites like Etsy and other similar ones offer their clients to sell or buy hand-made items from every part of the globe. It is a great chance for unemployed people throughout the world.
Freedom of learning
No work is possible without prior education. It would be unnatural if people could make money on the web without a chance to improve their knowledge. Probably the most humane feature of the global computer web is its potential to share knowledge for free. Many sites are launched by people who want to share their skills with others and help educating them. Also, there are professional websites, like Upskilled, where people can educate themselves and receive recognized certificates. Thanks to the Internet, today we can enjoy the complete freedom of learning and become even more competitive in the never-ending virtual business marathon.
The workforce market is undergoing a true revolution. For some people it might be a disappointment, but it creates new jobs and new business opportunities, which dramatically change the way people work and live; so, the sooner people start adapting to those changes, the more attractive business opportunities they will get.
