Hi there and welcome to the Everyday Entrepreneur podcast where I, Caitlin Fritz help you reach your entrepreneurial potential. Together we can build your dream social impact business so that you can leave a legacy beyond your nine-to-five. Hello, hello, and welcome to this week's episode of Everyday Entrepreneurship. My name is Caitlin Fritz. I'm a Forbes recognized entrepreneur, an award winning business mentor and coach, and I've worked with over, now, 950 founders from across the world to build, grow, and grow. And scale their impact LED ventures. Hopefully you are here because you are a founder or aspiring founder who wants to do really well in business while still doing good in the world. And just in case you're new here, this podcast was founded to support and amplify and elevate the. Everyday entrepreneurs, those who deserve to be shouted about just as much as the big names in the paper because we celebrate the millionaires next door. So why don't we celebrate the everyday entrepreneur? So this episode is our first of 2025. It's crazy to say that 2025. Wow. Um, I don't know. It just feels like. Time has been flying for some reason, and I wanted to spend this episode to talk about some current trends I see in the entrepreneurship space, specifically for this year. Now, before we do, I feel like I want to clear the air. Um, talk about the elephant in the room, which is the gap of episodes from the fall to now. So I want to take full responsibility. Um, 2024, as we all know, was a year and, um, there was a lot going on and I, and I really couldn't bring the same energy and joy to the mic that I usually. I'm able to, um, but I'm excited to be back. I have a really exciting lineup of things we're going to be talking about, speakers you're going to hear from in the podcast, so thank you for tuning in or tuning back in. So let's jump in to the podcast. What's in and what's out for 2025. Now, as you know, there is trend reports, everyone on Instagram is doing the ins and outs, but I wanted to take some time and really reflect and see, you know, what has been happening in the past year and what could I see coming forward for 2025. And I want us to start with what is in now. First and foremost, this should not come as a surprise, but the first thing that is in for 2025 is AI. Yeah, AI is here to stay. We're seeing more and more and more businesses being built on AI, having AI components, AI wraparounds. Really, it is going to be a technology that is baked in to a lot of ventures moving forward. But what I think is More interesting, and what I think you will think is more interesting, hopefully, is that AI is going to be affecting the founder process. So what I mean by this is, in 2025, manual processes are out. If you are a founder, you need to be incorporating AI into your efficiencies, your processes, even things like your onboarding. So tools like Zapier, or Airtable, or JotForm, you know, Smart technologies that will allow you to expedite a client or a user journey, or even AI for inspiration when it comes to content creation or image generation, AI is really going to have an impact on your processes. So optimization is in for 2025. Now. My second trend that I can definitely see in 2025 is feedback. More importantly, iterative feedback. So, like they say, the best way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time. But as entrepreneurs, the best way to build a business is one step at a time. And as we're building step by step, day by day, I encourage you and implore you to get feedback at all of these different stages. Because gone are the days where you have tons of time and money to burn to build a quote unquote, perfect product. Iteration from is this even a problem worth solving to Hey, this is my first prototype. I want you to try before it's hitting the shelves will be critical. And it's not just iteration, it's getting customer user potential user feedback every step of the way so that one, you're not only building something that the people want, but two, you're almost implicitly building a community and brand around your venture. Uh, trend or something I'm seeing for my third 2025 prediction, impact. Gone are the days of impact taking a backseat. I really think we're moving, you know, into a world where social entrepreneurship is slowly being woven in to quote unquote traditional entrepreneurship. Meaning in 2025, customers, users, clients, partners, people are expecting more. It's not enough to build an amazing product or service, but the way you're building it is just as critical. So, impact looks different on different businesses. For someone it might be sustainability metrics. For others it might be social impact, or ESG, or even things like ethical pay and ethical hiring processes. But as a founder, it's important for you to recognize that I think baking these in from Idea stage onwards will have a positive impact on your business. And last but not least, I can see bootstrapping being a trend for 2025 Now, it has been a globally turbulent time for economies across the world, and I do think investment land, the investment landscape is starting to level out. I'm optimistic about it. But honestly, I use this as an example for founders to continue to bootstrap their business. Once again, being smart, I'm using that in air quotes, and having a quote, great idea is not enough to get a check nowadays. You really need to continue to validate, build, test, get those proof points before raising your first round. And I honestly think bootstrapping your business will put you in a better position to negotiate and to leverage. So, Bootstrapping in terms of, you know, building with the revenue you make, sweat equity, getting funding through grants, competitions. Those are things I can definitely see happening in 2025. Now, um, a few things that are out in 2025. So the first trend I'm seeing, let's throw this to the curbside, Ego. Ego is out. I mean, I think, We're seeing, I'm not going to name names, but some tech founders using terms like masculine energy and ego, and guess what? Customers, clients, partners, we're seeing through that facade. But I'm also seeing ego being thrown to the curb in early stage founders as well. There's a difference between confidence and ego. Founders should be confident. You are spearheading your business, you are leading a team, you should be able to take charge, but you should also be coachable to entrepreneurial experts, to mentors, to investors, because being arrogant to clients and partners, that leaves a bitter taste in people's mouths. So let's leave ego at the door back in 2024. And I did not mean to rhyme, but you know what, it worked. What's also out for this year, um, are copycat businesses. So I think there's a lot going on in Specifically, e com space, so TikTok promoting latest trends, Sheen kind of making replicas. Um, there's a lot of copycat businesses across the web as well. You know, you see one founder doing something really extraordinary on Etsy or in a design magazine. And 400, you know. Look a likes hit the market after that initial founder gets buzz. And I'm hoping that customers see through this sort of IP copy and paste. I'm also seeing, uh, and I'm also hoping founders do better. Innovate. Take your own slant on a product, a service. You know, there's probably a way you can make it better, more efficient, even in the case of e com. Um, you know. Better engineered or more beautiful, people are really starting to value craft and design and individual and company brands. So I'm really hoping that we use our pocketbooks to power and back, quote unquote, the real thing. So that's something to think about for 2025. The third kind of out I can see is the lack of diversity. I mean, We're in 2025! Diversity allows you to not only make products and services that capture a diverse audience needs, but it also allows you to build a team that has complementary skill sets and viewpoints and strengths and weaknesses. I am expecting Audiences to raise their level of expectations, you know, for it to work on one audience segment, but not the other, you know, you need as a founder to be using diverse groups when you are doing your audience testing, you need to be getting your product in front of the eyes and hands of different groups, because that is where you're going to get the really And honestly, from entrepreneurs, I'm expecting more from founders, teams and boards and clientele, you know, I think having a very homogeneous looking team slide. If all of you are ex McKinsey male MBAs, What, uh, innovation, what diversity of thought, what are those idea jams looking like? Because you are going to need different ideas to make a product that's different to the market. And last but not least, I think what's out is really kind of short term focus and gimmicks. Now I'm going to caveat that. I understand what it's like as a founder. To look at the month and having to make payday. I understand what it's like having this short term stress where a quarter in a startup's journey feels like seven years. It's honestly like dog years. But I think sometimes we are losing the overall business focus and drive and mission and vision. To settle on shiny object syndrome or short term gimmicks. So though there is this inherent nature for startups to be short sighted, I really think in 2025, investors, partners, and even like entrepreneurial mentors and programs are expecting a more strategic lens and a well thought through roadmap. Um, so that's, What I'm thinking for 2025. So just to recap, my expectations and trends for what's in, in 2025. AI, iterative feedback, impact mindfulness, and bootstrapping or alternative finance. What is out? Being way too egotistical. Having copy and paste Uh, products and services, having a lack of diversity in your audience and teams, and having too narrow of a short term focus for your business. I think we can all agree, though, that With the kind of undercurrents that have been happening for the past couple of years, 2025 will be a year of entrepreneurship. It is going to be the year of side hustles and ventures and entrepreneurial leaps for people across geographies and backgrounds. Not only in the UK, but also globally. And for me, that is So, so exciting. I don't have a magic eight ball. I can't see the future. But hopefully this kind of sparks up thoughts and conversations for you to have either with yourself or with your team or with your mentor. Because I'd love to hear what trends you're thinking will happen in 2025 as well. And that's it for This week's episode of everyday entrepreneurship. I am thrilled to have you join in. And if you've enjoyed this, please hit that little subscribe button, share with a friend, or leave a comment. And I'm always looking for awesome entrepreneurs to feature on the show. So If you're listening, cause guess what? You might be one of them. Or you know someone who would be a great entrepreneur to interview, hear their story, all about their business, then definitely fill out the form below. So until next time, guys, this has been everyday entrepreneurship. Thank you for joining me for this episode of Everyday Entrepreneurship. To stay tuned and most up-to-date, subscribe wherever you listen to podcasts. You can follow me Caitlin Fritz on Instagram. And if you have any questions about building your business with Impact, drop me an email with the link in the show notes.