The primary aim of this project was to determine how online distribution is changing the environment for operating a creative micro-enterprise, and with it, the larger relationship between public and private spheres. A key research question was - what are the ‘self-making’ skills required to...

This report provides insights from Money For Jam, a micro-enterprise initiative for older women.

The creative industries are the fastest growing part of the UK economy. This report aims to get to the heart of the issue: what do creative enterprises understand by growth, how fast are they growing, and what prevents them from growing more?

Etsy is a global creative commerce platform that builds markets, services, and economic opportunities for creative entrepreneurs. Within Etsy markets, millions of people around the world connect, both online and offline, to make, sell, and buy unique goods. We believe that we’re creating a new...

Fifty years ago, the average worker expected to stay with one employer for the duration of their career, and that employer provided a full suite of benefits that guaranteed economic security to the worker and their family. Today traditional full-time employment is no longer the...

Although Etsy sellers differ from traditional entrepreneurs in many ways, they are emblematic of larger shifts in the economy towards self-employment and micro-business. Most are businesses of one, and face very different challenges from even a five- or ten-person enterprise. Government and regulatory agencies should...

The UK’s micro business population is booming. Defined as firms with 0-9 employees, there are now 5m such businesses in the UK, up from 3.5m in 2000. In contrast, the populations of all other firm sizes have either increased only marginally or fallen over the...

Millions of workers do not have standard work arrangements—permanent jobs with a traditional employer-employee relationship. Rather, they are in temporary, contract, or other forms of non-standard employment arrangements in which they may not receive employer-provided retirement and health benefits, or have safeguards such as job-protected...

This report shows that those using online craft marketplaces appear to differ from conventional business owners in many ways – not just in terms of who they are and where they come from, but also how they run their businesses and interact with customers and...

The maker movement is on the rise. There are already over one million Etsy sellers worldwide. Together, they sold over $1.35 billion worth of goods in 2013. The emerging maker movement offers the tantalizing promise of a better economy—one that puts people at the center...

An evaluation of a micro-business program for women from refugee and migrant backgrounds shows the importance of recognising existing skills while building knowledge about Australia's regulatory systems. Stepping Stones, a micro-business program for women of refugee and migrant backgrounds, was launched by the Brotherhood of...

The UK is experiencing a boom in microbusinesses and self-employment. Today there are 600,000 more microbusinesses (firms with zero to nine employees) in existence than there were when the recession first began in 2008, and 40 percent more than at the turn of the century...

NAB's Microenterprise Loan program involves unsecured business loans for small enterprises that do not have access to mainstream business finance. The loans are not provided as a band-aid or short-term solution: they are part of a wider program and are offered in partnership with established...