Some 100 years ago, the American Industrial Revolution was just warming up. The primary source of industry in America was agriculture, and big business was limited to the burgeoning railroad, the infant auto industry and steel mills. The agricultural community was the heart of America.
However, many people would leave the country and move to the city looking for a different way of life. From that time on, the standard of living would begin a slow but steady ascent. Even through World War I and the Great Depression, the country looked ahead to the future with great optimism. Every generation attained a higher standard of living than the last in what looked to be an upward spiral of prosperity.But now, the prosperity spiral has stalled. According to a recent article in Business Week, the "20-somethings" will be the first generation in a long time that won't exceed their parents' level of wealth. In fact, in order to just match the level of their parents, most modern families will need a college degree for both spouses and a dual income. With this news ringing in the minds of young Americans, prepare to see small business play a role of increasing importance in our nation's economy.
During the '70s and '80s, as a nation we flocked to the corporation for success and security. Under the umbrella of bureaucracy, college as well as high school graduates found a stable and profitable lifestyle climbing the corporate ladder. But the rungs on those ladders are spreading apart, and many college graduates are frustrated with the depressing levels of underemployment.
The answer? Look for small businesses to blossom. These will not be entrepreneurial ventures with dreams of expansion, rather, these will be highly specialized goods and service shops producing limited products to a specialized market. Many of these businesses will be run out of homes and in rural locations.
Social predictions from Karl Marx and Max Weber forewarned of a time when human values would be numbed by the impersonality of the industrial bureaucratic system. High unemployment, high crime rates, increasing divorce and general disintegration of the traditional nuclear family are all signs of this numbing.
Many people will work twice as hard as their parents and still get paid less. This dedication to survival through dependence on a corporation will not persist when the 20-something era refuses to dive into the corporate dog pile and fight for its life while neglecting everything else. Rather, watch members of the group obtain high levels of education and then start a small business.
Also look for people to begin migrating away from the cities. Mid-size cities and little towns that are close enough to offer the benefits of the city but far enough away to avoid all of the big-city problems will grow. Within these settings, the small-business owner will prosper, providing needed products not just to the members of that particular community, but rather to a market of potentially international proportions.
These small businesses will also be dedicated to several issues that big business has a tendency to miss: employees, community and extremely high quality of goods and services. The selling point of these small businesses will be their undying dedication to higher levels of everything compared with large corporations, except variety, quantity and impersonality.
As these companies are staffed by disgruntled corporate climbers, the emphasis on employees will increase. Many of the businesses will probably be employee-owned. Corporate cultures will vary with each business, but a stronger human emphasis will prevail overall.
Also, as these businesses take up locations in smaller communities, a strong sense of community will be fostered by the employees whose commute might total 10 minutes now as compared to several hours in their corporate jobs. Local communities who call large corporations for governmental-size social programs and find an understandably deaf ear will most likely find the small business community taking an active part in the welfare of the area.
Finally, this is not to say that big business will cease to exist. Our economy is still dependent on their existence. However, in this decade don't be surprised to see a decentralization of sorts, with the small-business community attracting a large number of individuals who are seeking a more traditional and independent way of life.