The SOHO business model as an online entrepreneur for the Small Business of the Future

Sometimes to understand the future we must have a historical perspective.

Often forgotten that before the 19 th century, and before the industrial revolution, almost all offices were small offices and / or home office, with very few exceptions. Now that the self-employed and small businesses are the backbone of the current economy, it seems that history indeed repeats itself.

The U.S. economy is not dominated by giant corporations. The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) reports that fully 99% of all independent enterprises employing fewer than 500 people. This represents 52% of the workforce in the United States according to the SBA.

Also by the end of 1999, the service sector had grown to 104.3 million jobs, representing 81% of non-farm employment, and production of goods in the industry, including manufacturing, construction , and mining accounted for 25.2 million jobs, or only 19% of non-farm work.

I do not know how many jobs there are on the farm, but I know that 81% to 19% add up to 100%.

This tells me that since at least 2000, probably over 80% of jobs are now related services and less than 20% of us are now employed in manufacturing. This means that, as a nation, does not actually produce much more. Can you say trade deficit?

We no longer an industrial economy, as we will never again have an economy based on agriculture.

The advent of personal computers in the mid 1990's, along with innovations in voice and data communications, has created opportunities for companies to decentralize and to return to the trend of the concept of small office.

Since the end of the 20 th century, the term "SOHO", an acronym for "Small Office / Home Office" has come to be used to define this important niche business.

New technologies continue to create demand for individuals who work from home or in a virtual office. Many people are now employed as consultants, independent contractors, or entities organized as small businesses with very specialized services, outsourcing project designed for larger companies, often no specific industry or country.

The SOHO office or virtual online is not just for consultants and professionals. The members of many other professional ranks, and business owners in particular on-line now help this area include several.

A wide range of products and services also are designed specifically for the "SOHO". Many books are specifically designed for this business model, everything from general business advice to guides on how to set fairly sophisticated computer systems, telecommunications systems and Internet and Intranet systems.

The entrepreneur of small businesses in general has asked for and usually has always benefited from high technology, which enables small businesses to be competitive.

So if you do not own a farm, it is likely that in future you will be working in the service sector and most likely from your office. This is probably true in many other industrialized countries, and, because of an increasingly underemployed workforce and labor markets continue to shrink.

The virtual office online is here to stay and is for anyone who needs an office infrequently. If you own a laptop with wireless connectivity you may be lucky enough to work almost anywhere, if you have access to the Internet.

But let's take a step further for those who dream of living where they want and work wherever they are online. The work is not necessarily site specific.

It 's really just a dream? No more.

More and more people are discovering that with technology becoming more accessible, VoIP services, video conferencing and reliable courier services worldwide, which at one time or another may be working from a beach or a mountain top ... and in some cases may rarely has to make an appearance at the traditional home again.