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Is 2024 the Year for Entrepreneurship?

Is there room for new businesses to flourish during a time of economic disruptions? Learn about how Covid-19 has changed the workforce and how to navigate your business in 2024.

24 JUNE, 2024

Is now a good time to start a business in 2024?

2024 feels like a new beginning for many of us. As we drift further from the Covid days, we’re simultaneously shedding the worries, restrictions and uncertainties that came along with it. In a time when the world is still recovering, is now a good time to embrace entrepreneurship?

How Covid has Changed the Workforce

If there are silver linings to the pandemic, perhaps it’s the new way of working that it has introduced to us. Over Covid-19, many office workers transitioned to working from home, causing a wave of people to realise the joys of home office and feeling a stronger sense of work-life balance.

As the months of Covid-19 restrictions dragged on, however, many people soon began to feel the long-term effects of the pandemic. Topics of burnout, languishing, anxiety and stress management were trending in major publications. Studies on burnout and COVID-19-induced stress also began to emerge around this time.

Suddenly, a shift began to happen and dissatisfied employees became more outspoken on social media. In 2021, the ‘Great Resignation’ trend emerged, with employees demanding higher employee satisfaction in their daily work life through increased flexible working arrangements and well-being support. ‘Quiet quitting’—a term that describes employees who are doing the bare minimum due to feeling dissatisfied with their managers or company—spread like wildfire on TikTok.

Is now a good time to start a business?

It’s an ideal time for skilled workers to switch to the self-employed route—even if it’s just a side hustle to begin with. According to Fiverr, 78 per cent of companies say they will rely on freelancers rather than adding staff.

Thanks to the ‘Great Resignation’ trend, combined with the job market crash, the number of freelance workers and entrepreneurs has skyrocketed since 2020. According to MBO Partners, the number of independent workers in the United States rose to 51 million in 2021, a 34 per cent jump compared to 2020. Rather than seeing entrepreneurship as a full-time job, people are approaching entrepreneurship as a side hustle before transitioning to full-time later. In the U.S. alone, 40 per cent of Americans have a side hustle in 2022.

Find Opportunities in Economic Disruptions

The current unstable economy may be a tricky time to navigate, but some of the world’s biggest startups such as Uber, Airbnb and MailChimp were formed in times of bear markets and recessions.

A study found that more than half of the successful companies on the Fortune 500 list were launched during an economic downturn—which leads to the point that in a time of economic disruptions and a cost-of-living crisis, this could be the perfect time to launch a business.

Whether you’re thinking of launching a new startup or starting a side hustle, 2024 is the perfect time to venture into the world of self-employment. With a treasure chest of free information at the ready with just a click of a finger, setting up a business and learning all the business basics could be easier than you think.

Need a dedicated workplace to feel more professional? We’ve got that sorted for you as well. Explore The Executive Centre’s range of flexible workspace solutions, from a premium business address, and Coworking Space, to Dedicated Desks in Private Offices, we’ll be here at every step of your entrepreneurial journey.