Originally published on GoDaddy LinkedIn

Welcome to the third quarterly issue of the GoDaddy Venture Forward newsletter! Here we share our latest exclusive data, insights and news about small and microbusinesses.

Venture Forward is a GoDaddy research initiative established in 2018 to quantify the growth and impact of online microbusinesses on their local economies, and to provide a unique view into the attitudes, demographics and needs of these entrepreneurs. GoDaddy defines microbusinesses as small businesses with a unique domain, an active website and most often fewer than 10 employees.

If you haven’t already, subscribe to this newsletter to get updates in your LinkedIn feed each quarter!

Alexandra Rosen 
Global Head, Venture Forward

Updated Microbusiness Data Hub

We refreshed the Venture Forward Microbusiness Data Hub through the first quarter of 2024 across Australia, Canada, U.K. and U.S., including updated microbusiness density data, U.S. Microbusiness Activity Index and global ecommerce trends.

Key U.S. insights include:

Beauty and Health/Medical verticals continue to rank in the top three microbusiness segments for ecommerce, a shift since 2022 in terms of both total dollars in online sales and in the number of merchants in those categories.

Many areas across the U.S. are continuing to witness major growth in new online small and microbusinesses.

• For example, Palm Beach, Florida grew its active microbusiness count by 28% in the last year which is far above the 3% average for most urban counties nationwide.
• Similarly, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma grew at a higher percentage rate (52% in the last year) than Palm Beach, Florida but has lower total density.
• In Q1 2024, Oklahoma county was at the very top of fastest growing counties in the U.S.
• Southern and Southeastern states dominated the top five fastest-growing counties in the previous 12 months.

Rural areas in the last year (Q1 2023 through Q1 2024) grew almost 7% in the number of active microbusinesses, while suburban and urban areas grew 4% and 3% respectively.

Download the Data

Spring 2024 US National Survey Results: Microbusiness Owners are Using Generative AI (GenAI) to Level the Playing Field

Venture Forward recently completed its sixth consecutive year of surveying U.S. online microbusiness entrepreneurs and found some key insights:

• Microbusiness owners who say GenAI will help their small business be more competitive are more likely to have previously outsourced or hired someone to help with similar tasks (visualized in more detail below).
• Microbusiness owners whose monthly revenue increased in the last six months are more likely to have used GenAI for their business.
• The more ambitious the microbusiness owner is, the more likely they are using GenAI. Solo entrepreneurs are the most likely.
• Microbusiness owners using GenAI are diverse, with nearly 1 in 3 Black and Hispanic business owners using GenAI more for their businesses compared to other demographics.
• Microbusiness entrepreneurs who tried GenAI are more likely to have used it for their business instead of for fun or personal use, and that holds even stronger with Black (33%) and Hispanic (30%) entrepreneurs.
• Almost 6 out of 10 Gen Z and millennials have used a GenAI tool for business, but less than half have tried it for personal use.

Read more

Recent Events

Exploring Alternative Funding Models for Small Businesses

Despite record new business formation, which is outpacing population growth by 10% according to GoDaddy Venture Forward, access to capital remains a top challenge for microbusinesses. Capital is key to the growth of ventures and consequentially, the greater economy.

At the 2024 Milken Institute Global Conference, Alexandra Rosen, global head of GoDaddy Venture Forward joined a panel tackling the crucial question: “How can we innovate to establish better funding models, given the essential role small businesses play in job creation and economic growth?”

Key takeaways included:

• Flexible cash-flow measures are critical to enabling growth.
• Supporting small businesses is not just smart and kind, but economically essential.

The panel was moderated by Kristen Fanarakis, associate director of the Small Business Policy and Innovation Initiative at Milken Institute, and also included:

• Eric Cromwell, founding member of Cromwell Schmisseur LLC.
• Lauren Grattan, chief community officer at Mission Driven Finance.
• Sekou Kaalund, executive vice president and head of Branch and Small Business Banking at U.S. Bank.
• Chris Pilkerton, chief legal and regulatory strategy officer at Accion Opportunity Fund.

Read more and replay the full panel discussion

Data Forward

Data Forward is a data-driven content series that explores microbusiness trends and insights informed by GoDaddy’s Venture Forward research initiative. Here’s a peek at the latest installment:

Life is Better as an Entrepreneur and Survey Respondents Agree, According to GoDaddy Research

Over half of microbusiness owners from the U.S. and U.K. agree that life is better as an entrepreneur, according to GoDaddy Venture Forward research.

Though both U.S. and U.K. respondents agree that life is better as an entrepreneur, that sentiment differs by location and by age, skewing older and more positive in the U.S., than in the U.K.

One thing U.S. and U.K. microbusiness owners agree on is what aspects of their businesses bring them joy, with the top three including:

1. Creating their own source of income/supporting family.
2. Connecting to customers.
3. Making an impact in their community

Read more

In the News

How Coastal Towns in Britain Have Become Microbusiness Hotspots

The fresh sea air and occasional sun might be the main attraction of Britain's coastal towns, but they've also become a hotspot for entrepreneurship.

Felixstowe, Bournemouth and Sidmouth are among the fastest growing coastal areas for U.K. microbusinesses, which have fewer than 10 employees.

GoDaddy's Venture Forward report mapped more than 600,000 businesses across Britain to find each area's 'microbusiness density' against each 100 residents.

Read more in This is Money U.K.

BC is the Heart of Canada’s Thriving Online Business Scene, Report Concludes

British Columbia is home to Canada’s highest concentration of micro-businesses, a recent GoDaddy analysis found, surpassing densities found in Ontario, Quebec, and elsewhere.

Nearly 800,000 online-based microbusinesses were included in the analysis, which was conducted by Venture Forward, an international research initiative that studies the economic impacts of these extra-lean companies, as well as the attitudes of the entrepreneurs behind them.

…B.C. boasts 2.8 online micro-businesses per 100 residents, ahead of Ontario with 2.5 and Alberta with 2.1, according to Venture Forward’s data. Yukon and P.E.I. [Prince Edward Island] round out the top five with roughly 1.6 micro-businesses per 100 residents each.

Read more in techcouver Canada

Canberra Trumps Other Cities to Become Australia’s Online Microbusiness Capital

Canberra is Australia’s online microbusiness capital according to recent data by Venture Forward, with the city beating out some of Australia’s largest cities, including Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Adelaide, to nab the top spot.

Australia’s capital city even towered over the figures coming in from the cities of London and Westminster in the U.K.

According to the data, Canberra leads the way when it comes to microbusiness density, with approximately 32 online microbusinesses per 100 residents as of December 2023, rounding up from the 31.9 figure in the report.

Read more in SmartCompany Australia

To learn more about GoDaddy's Venture Forward research initiative, click here.

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Empower by GoDaddy is GoDaddy's global community and philanthropic program equipping entrepreneurs in underserved communities with training, tools and peer networks to accelerate their journeys. GoDaddy rallies behind entrepreneurs in underserved communities by building their confidence and skills to strengthen their small business’ digital presence.  Entrepreneurs engage in customized learning experiences, work 1-1 with GoDaddy volunteer coaches and local mentors, and gain access to wrap-around services, in-kind products and networks boosting their small businesses success.

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