Why helping solopreneurs matters

Economic development initiatives should not be top-down affairs; they should not be disconnected from the people in the communities they are purported to help.

If such efforts are to be truly effective and sustainable, they should be a part of, or work in concert with, community-building initiatives that encourage the engagement and input of every stakeholder in that community.

But gauging from the economic development meetings that I attend, this far more desirable, collaborative, collective approach is rendered aspirational, too far removed from what actually takes place.

That’s a problem.

A case in point is the conversation around the issue of entrepreneurship and its potential for economic development in towns big and small all around the country.

I frequently observe two things:

The first, is that the concept of entrepreneurship isn’t even on the table because the focus is on the illusory low-hanging fruit of job creation. Convince the big boys to set up shop in your town and just watch the jobs roll in.

The problem is that the jobs do roll in. But they’re not kind of jobs you should want or were promised. And they are definitely not the kinds of jobs we desire for our kids—low-paying jobs, commoditized jobs, jobs that don’t pay even close to a living wage. And that not withstanding, do you care that the profits generated from those jobs don’t stay local?

Jobs roll in, profits roll out.

The second thing that I observe is that when the entrepreneurship issue is injected into the conversation it’s a top down argument, yet again. How do we bring some of that Silicon Valley “magic” to our town? How do we invest in high-growth start-ups so we can create the next big thing in our city or town?

I’m not arguing against that approach. That’s definitely a facet of the overall solution, and VC’s search for the next big thing, at least in cities like Miami, is well underway.

But what about micro entrepreneurs who harbor no interest in creating the next Uber?

What about solo entrepreneurs?

Independent workers?

The self-employed?

Freelancers?

Side-giggers?

Non-employer firms?

Call them whatever you like but they are a growing part of the modern economy, so why aren’t we talking more about how to assist them as part of a community-building and economic development initiative?

Why aren’t we doing more to teach and support our kids in becoming savvy entrepreneurs of this sort? The sort who don’t wait to be picked; who don’t wait for opportunity to roll up but instead got to work to create it; who mine their own talents and use their gifts to create opportunities for themselves and others?

Technological and market innovation now make it entirely possible for a person to start a million-dollar venture right from their home office. The advantages of such a transition are manifold. Not only do these talented people claim economically advantageous opportunities for themselves and the people they contract, but more of their profits stay in the local economy. They also tend not to contribute to the carbon-belching, traffic gridlock nightmare plaguing most cities. I could even make the case that this can be an effective strategy to ease the brutal impacts of gentrification patterns seen in many major metropolitan areas, including Miami-Dade county.

This is an idea whose time has come.

Consider the following:

• 81% of small businesses in the U.S. are non-employer firms;
  
• There are 15.5 million independent workers in the United States, people who don’t have a traditional j-o-b but have created alternate job arrangements, this according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics;
  
• There are over 41 million people in the U.S. who are “building businesses, taking their careers in new directions to pursue their passions, or simply supplementing their incomes through some form of independent work,” according to the most recent report from MBO Partners titled, State of Independence in America.
  

This is not a mere fad.

It is a seismic shift in the labor market that’s rattling the very foundations of the economy—including the one in your town.

Given the economic upside of tapping this surging undercurrent of raw entrepreneurial potential, it is absolutely befuddling to me that leaders at all levels aren’t pouncing on this opportunity instead of clinging to tired, old ideas that, on a good day, yield diminishing returns.

We’re already late in making this paradigm shift but it’s never too late to do the right thing.

At Accelerate South Dade, the Miami-Dade District 8 Small Business and Nonprofit Incubator, founded by Commissioner Daniella Cava and the Neighbors and Neighbors Association, we’re pioneering ways to bring this thinking, innovation and energy to South Dade.

It’s not a nice idea.

It’s essential.

And increasingly so.