As all businesses recoup from the pandemic, small businesses are helping ramp up the economy again. According to this website, there are over 580 million small businesses registered globally. In the US alone, 5.4 million new entrepreneurs have started businesses in 2021. This is on top of the 28 million established small businesses ready which have survived the pandemic. As we see technology like no-code come into popularity we are also seeing the opportunities it opens for entrepreneurs.
Small businesses provide 1.5 million jobs annually and drive 44% of the economic activity in the United States. With the pandemic and the Great Resignation, online microbusiness ownership grew the fastest during the economic fallout and still continues to increase today. This increase aligns with larger entrepreneurial trends with more Americans making it in their own. The number of unincorporated, self-employed in America in October 2021 was one of the highest since the 2008 financial crisis.
Technology has often been a partner of businesses in improving profits and saving money. With the rise of accessibility, new platforms, and the birth of SaaS (Service as a Software) businesses more people can tap into them. One of the tools entrepreneurs have been utilizing or making a business out of is no-code. If you want to know what is no-code, it is a technology that lets anyone with build websites, apps or software even without extensive coding knowledge. It is done by dragging and dropping functional buttons into the workspace and even designing it.
With the growth of no-code, we will explore how small businesses are utilizing no-code, and how it has been helping women and minority owners.
Technology has always been a necessity for businesses. With a more connected world and faster tech adoption, technology has been democratized. There are no-code platforms and services that significantly helped in boosting entrepreneur confidence.
No-code tool has leveled the entrepreneurial playing field. The no-code ecosystem and community have been dominated by early-stage entrepreneurs. These early adopters have been using it to build minimum viable programs or MVPs, add value to their side hustles and even automate their lives. If you want to know more about building MVPs, you can check what MVP Examples You Can do with No-Code.
No-code can be used in other projects apart from MVPs and some early-stage entrepreneurs have already done it. It has also been used to build internal tools and launch SaaS businesses. Here are some advantages of using no-code whether you are a new or experienced entrepreneur.
With no-code’s visual programming, you can apply agile methodology which manages a team to move faster. Usually, a project with traditional coding will take months to plan, build and test. Apart from that, it will cost more for the man hours it will take.
No-code automation lets entrepreneurs have a small programmed team while in the first phase of the business cycle. Automation cuts down some redundant tasks which can optimize the process. As soon as the business or startup picks up, it can be upgraded or have a specialized staff to do it.
Every business is unique in its needs. By maximizing no-code tools, you can create your own internal system. It can customize certain needs that are usually unavailable with the 3rd party tools. The flexibility of no-code tools like Bubble allows you to easily integrate all relevant tools.
Since it can launch faster and easier, you can collect realistic data to achieve product-market fit. No-code lets you iterate and update faster without significant downtime and with no business interruption.
By now, we have shown that no-code is faster and easier which makes it a practical investment for entrepreneurs. Businesses usually fail because of a lack of budget and capital. No-code alleviates budget concerns by allowing entrepreneurs to access technology at a lower cost. Certain no-code tools can also do jobs at a fraction of the cost compared to building a staff especially at the early stage of the business cycle.
By letting entrepreneurs create their own app, build their own website and automate internal processes, the chances of success become higher. Entrepreneurship is difficult but utilizing no-code properly through market research, marketing, and customer service can prove to be invaluable.
2021 data showed that about 43% of small businesses are female-owned already. That is about 12.3 million women-owned or women-led firms which is a lot of progress compared to the 400,000 back in the 70s. In the tech industry, only 5% are women-owned, and women also have only 5% of the key management positions in Technology according to Adevait. The low numbers also transcend similarly to women-owned companies in general.
No-code has opened another opportunity for business women across different industries to start and accelerate the growth of their businesses. Not only that but there is a growing number of female tech founders, especially in the no-code industry. Some of these inspiring women are :
Anita Kirkovska - Co-Founder and Growth Engineer of Ampstor
Mariam Hakobyan - Co-Founder and CEO of Softr
Samantha Lloyd - Co-Founder and CEO of Metaranx
Joyeeta Das - Co-Founder and CEO of Gyana
Even though the numbers are still very low, the right mix of rising no-code tools, female empowerment and social support can bring this up. Women business collectives are also increasing which are meant to be a support system and provide assistance to female entrepreneurs. With no-code poised to enter the school academic curriculum, fostering a new generation of female entrepreneurs is on the way.
No-code helps startup founders build business ideas faster and validate them while being cost-efficient. It can validate ideas and gather data to achieve product market fit. It also helps small business owners access technology which is very important to promote and gaining more customers.
Entrepreneurship is difficult and challenging. It is diving into the unknown and for some, starting from scratch. The work is also double than being employed and the gains can fall short of expectations. So why do it? Entrepreneurs know that building and growing something is worth the risk. For some, it is about getting most of the earnings and not just a percentage. Whatever drives your reason, no-code will be here to help you. It lets you harness technology to your benefit and push your idea into the digital world.
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