ChirpUp.com

With all the talk of doom returning due to a European debt crisis and an oil spill that is already the Katrina of oil spills, we might need some optimism.

Here it is: A study released in May 2010 by the Kauffman Foundation (h/t: Ian Swain) provides additional evidence that our current crisis takes the form of a Great Reset. According to the study, 2009 was a banner year for new business startups like ChirpUp.

The report found that “the 340 out of 100,000 adults who started businesses each month represent a 4 percent increase over 2008, or 27,000 more starts per month than in 2008 and 60,000 more starts per month than in 2007.

Largest Increase in Start-Up Business in More Than 14 Years

Yes even with so many stingy banks hanging onto cash, there’s been a mini boom in new business start-ups. Let’s think about this for a moment: People, many of whom won’t marketing jobs to return to because their profession has essentially been snuffed out, are venturing into small business out of necessity and aspiration.

At the same time, another related shift also seems clear—and you may even fit the demographic—the rise of the freelance economy. If businesses can contract out positions with a vast interactive marketing talent pool out there, why wouldn’t they opt for an open-source model, instead of paying for benefits and other “permanent” expenses?

And as nationalized healthcare—no matter your politics—becomes part of the American landscape, so too will we see a rise in entrepreneurship. Think about it: Medical insurance remains the primary reason why a lot of people keep their jobs—even when they don’t like the job or appreciate the pay anymore.

How Does the Interactive Marketing Entrepreneurial Economy Affect Mid-Size Business?

Technology enables us to work from afar or from home. Cafes and restaurants are interactive agency business centers. iStopOver offers a rent-by-the-hour-office-room package for those that don’t want to commit long-term to a business space. The democratization of technology and talent is leveling the interactive marketing playing field for small and mid-size businesses.  You can afford it.  You can compete!  Just follow this formula.

A Guest Post by Michael Mitchell:

As an senior consumer trends analyst and consultant, Mike Mitchell has profiled and reported on emerging consumer trends throughout the globe. From people raising urban chickens for eggs to bolster the local food movement to the emergence of colored beers like electric green and fluorescent blue, he has continually unlocked some of the deepest and most fascinating forms of modern consumer behavior.  His interests lie primarily in crowd behavior and crowd intelligence, as well as consumer sentiment, sector blending,  the irrationality of buying and Gen Y trends.