The work model that can meet our moment - and what it means for your grants

Alicia Kiremire

two people's hands with a credit card reader

I've been a micropreneur for over 10 years. It changed my relationship with work.

And now I see an opportunity for micropreneurship to meet the moment we are in, not only as a nation but also as a global society.

What is micropreneurship?

Micropreneurship is entrepreneurship on an intentionally small level... a microbusiness has fewer than five employees (and may never desire to grow any bigger).

How can micropreneurship meet our moment?

As a response to AI: Experts like Bill Gates say that within the next 10 years, many human work roles will shift to AI. Does that mean humans won't have to work at all? No - I believe we were created to work, and it's fulfilling to contribute to society. Micropreneurs - especially working together - will have the autonomy, efficiency, resilience, and creativity to innovate and provide new solutions to new problems in a world revolutionized by AI. I love the way the business strategy book Beyond Disruption addresses this point!
In "life after DEI:" Regardless of your opinion on DEI programs, the shifts in the last few months have been huge for a lot of people. In the end, we all want to thrive and belong, don't we? To tell you the truth, micropreneurship has given me a chance to thrive - dream, try things, make mistakes, and learn - more than I ever did in a larger company. And I'm not alone. Even 12 years ago, a report published by the Association for Enterprise Opportunity (AEO) shared that "microbusinesses create a variety of positive social impacts by providing income, wealth and upward mobility across racial, ethnic, and gender lines." And if we look much further back in U.S. history, entrepreneurship was the path taken by some Black women (both enslaved and free) in order to pursue more agency and autonomy.
With Gen Z: Gen Z wants to work on their own terms - like choosing meaningful work and flexible schedules. This can be frustrating to employers, especially when Gen Z workers keep leaving jobs or at least disengaging while staying. Employers want more. And Gen Z wants more. They'll contribute more value as micropreneurs, providing more flexibility and more value on both sides of the labor relationship.
Contributing to national and local economic development: According to the same AEO report linked above, "[d]irect sales and receipts and indirect and induced economic output of microbusinesses combined to result in an almost $5 trillion economic impact [in 2011]. Correspondingly, microbusinesses contributed $135.5 billion in tax and fee revenues to federal, state, and local governments." This is good for communities.

What does it mean for your grant projects?

If you are a micropreneur: Know that what you're doing is "a thing." You are creating your own job - that means no one else has to. It's not easy, but you are not alone. In your work on grant projects, you are creating value for your clients and for yourself. You are learning, growing, and hopefully thriving. Keep it up, and share what you learn! Because you're also paving the way for others.
If you're in a big organization (and prefer it that way): That is great! Not everyone wants to be a micropreneur. You might begin to see more opportunities to streamline your organization's core work. You can focus on your core activities and then add flexible capability that you can turn on and off when needed. For instance, instead of staffing up to do everything on a grant project, you could look for a local micropreneur to join you. You'd list this partner on the contractor/consultant line of your grant budget, and when the project is over they would rotate off until the next project that fits.
If your grant projects are in workforce development or economic development: Take special notice of funding programs supporting entrepreneur training. When you think about the "workforce pipeline," begin to envision how the ultimate end of the pipeline could lead not just to jobs but to businesses. And when you see press articles about a company bringing in "X hundred jobs" to your area, ask those industry partners about outsourcing and entrepreneurship opportunities in addition to jobs.

My closing thoughts

I'm not an expert in any of this - just trying to take in a lot of information and connect the dots. I know micropreneurship is not a "quick and easy" solution to the challenges described above, and there are a lot of logistics to be worked out. (Research topic, anyone?)

In any case, I am really interested to see what happens over the next 5-10 years!

What are your thoughts??