Tag: Diversify

The Developer Shortage Crisis Could Devastate The Tech Workforce. Here’s Why. | Entrepreneur

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you work in technology, you’ve likely seen the headlines bemoaning the ongoing developer shortage. Demand for skilled developers has increased steadily over the last few years, but the supply has failed to keep up. The International Data Corporation (IDC) has predicted a global shortfall of four million developers by 2025. If we don’t act now, the global talent shortage could result in approximately $8.5 trillion in unrealized annual revenues by 2030.

So what can we do about it?

Recently, I attended the SXSW festival in Austin and led a panel with industry leaders from Salesforce, Morgan Stanley and Estée Lauder to address this question. Throughout the conversation, it became clear that our solutions must go beyond establishing a more robust job fair at the top universities. To tackle the developer shortage, the entire industry must undergo a paradigm shift, prioritizing diversity, education and policy to realize change and secure the future of all tech-enabled businesses. ChatGPT will only take us so far.

Tap into new pools of talent

Tech has primarily pulled candidates from the same finite talent pool for decades. The problem is that this pool does not reflect the diversity of the world around us. 62% of all tech workers are white, and 75% are male. Relying on this extremely limited and homogenous source of talent has put the industry in a bind. Companies are unable to fill open positions, yet, there are large groups of people who have been shut out of the industry. What would the developer shortage look like if we enlarged our talent pools to better include women, people of color, global workers, people with disabilities and formerly incarcerated people?

We cannot continue returning to the same empty pot and expect gold to suddenly appear. We cannot expect to find 4 million new developers by 2025 from the same pool.

As leaders, we need to consider groups we may have dismissed due to old biases and ask ourselves, “How can we tap into new pools of talent?”

Related: 4 Reasons Low-Code Tools Will Never Replace Software Developers

Utilize non-traditional methods

Fostering a new generation of developers means organizations must implement non-traditional methods to identify and attract talent.

First, look at your job descriptions — are they accessible to those with unconventional backgrounds? Do away with degree requirements and develop job descriptions that focus less on credentials and more on the skills necessary to succeed in the role. Furthermore, train hiring managers and recruiters to untangle their biases and identify transferable skills in a candidate’s application.

Skills can be taught, but passion and creativity are much harder to come by. One can typically upskill an employee in weeks or months, but changing someone’s behavior will take years at best. Don’t allow erroneous requirements like a four-year degree to get in the way of hiring someone who could bring a vital perspective to your team.

We should also consider how we can adapt our workflows to drive inclusion and belonging. For example, the prevalence of remote work has opened up many opportunities for those living with a physical disability. Pre-pandemic, many workplaces wouldn’t consider an applicant if they couldn’t come to the office. Moving forward, we must educate ourselves on other areas of our work that might be unwittingly exclusionary and adapt accordingly so all have the chance to contribute. It takes leadership and teams a lot of learning to properly include everyone.

Related: How Software Developer Freelancers are Filling the Skill Gap

Nurture the talent pool

If we only look for talent when we need them, we will likely default to old biases and hire the first developer that checks all our boxes. The onus is on organizations to actively build and nurture an expanded talent pool through education, training and support.

Organizations must invest in STEM education outside the traditional and expensive four-year degree. What can we be doing as companies to expand access to tech education and accreditation? At Salesforce, they partner with schools to provide access to computers and coding classes to bring tech to students early in their learning journey. There are also programs like Microsoft’s Accelerate, which provides free courses and resources to underserved communities to equip them with the necessary skills to participate in the tech sector.

Still, education alone is not enough. My company recently partnered with a non-profit and a higher education institution in Brazil to help underserved communities access tech jobs. Although these students had completed their computer science degree — while holding a full-time job in another area —many still didn’t feel confident applying for a job in tech or even creating a Linkedin profile. We quickly realized it was essential to build a bridge from the hard skills learned in class to the soft skills they need to get a job, including networking, interviewing and seeking out opportunities. Gaining the credential is one thing, but if a person doesn’t know how to use it in the job market, they won’t get far.

During the question portion of the panel, a student and young entrepreneur asked how companies can incentivize and publicize developer boot camps for young people. He suggested focusing on community-centered approaches — going into underserved communities and providing educational resources. We shouldn’t expect people to come to us, we have to make the effort to reach out to them.

It’s on us to create holistic solutions along every step of the pipeline, providing the necessary structure, support, and emotional safety for marginalized groups to confidently apply for tech jobs.

Related: Why Low-Code Platforms Are the Developer Shortage Solution People Aren’t Talking About

Act as an ecosystem

There’s a visibility gap, not a talent gap in the developer industry. Finding non-traditional and creative approaches to identify and evaluate talent is how we can help our companies see the talent they may think is lacking.

We must find solutions that help foster and develop talent from its earliest stages and connect more into initiatives with nonprofit organizations working with underserved communities to create solutions that work for them and with them.

Most importantly, we will all fail if we compete to develop talent. The challenge at hand requires us to scale and to scale properly. We must work together to build an ecosystem with partners across industries — even those we may consider competitors.

Leonardo Mattiazzi

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May 16, 2023
How Creators Can Thrive as Advertisers Are Cutting Back | Entrepreneur

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

If you’re a creator, you’ve probably heard about the importance of diversifying your revenue streams. Chances are, you may have already done this successfully and if not, you might be curious about where to start.

Like any industry, the creator economy isn’t immune to the pressures of inflation. As declining brand sponsorship offers and ad revenue payouts squeeze revenues, creators increasingly seek additional ways to extract value from their businesses. But for many, the question then becomes how and when?

Not only do I believe diversification is one of the major trends that will define the creator economy in 2023, but a recent survey we conducted also revealed that 70% of respondents were considering additional income streams because of this economy. And with good reason: Diversifying can help complement and cross-sell existing offerings, leading to greater engagement, retention and customer lifetime value.

But while it can be tempting to dive right in, creators need to approach diversification strategically to ensure it yields increased revenue and career stability by complementing and strengthening existing content rather than becoming a distraction.

I don’t just work with creators; I am one, which has given me a front-row view of diversification’s overlooked pitfalls and powerful potential. There are no easy answers to getting this right, but here are some rules of thumb for any creator hoping to diversify their offerings to remain competitive, meet evolving audience needs and survive in this economy.

Related: Why Creators Can Weather a Recession Better Than Big Business

Don’t diversify without a purpose

Let’s get this out of the way. Yes, diversification can be a powerful strategy for business growth, but you don’t have to diversify just because everyone is talking about it. And you certainly don’t need to be on every platform, trying to tap into every possible revenue stream. Generally speaking, there are two main scenarios in which diversification might be a good option for your business: When things are working and when they’re not.

Diversification can be an effective strategy for creators who are already successful and want to take their business to the next level. If you have a large audience, generate significant revenue, and have the bandwidth to take on more work, it’s a good time to consider expanding and reaching a wider customer base.

By diversifying, you can tap into new revenue drivers and lead sources and engage with your audience innovatively. Twenty-five percent of full-time creators earn between $50,000 to $150,000 per year, according to a recent survey from ConvertKit. Most do this by combining several revenue sources, from online courses to paid newsletters, appearances, coaching, merchandise or other streams. Our research shows that full-time creators rely on an average of 2.7 income streams, and the number of creators relying on multiple streams has risen nearly 50% over the past five years.

On the other hand, if your current strategy is losing steam and you’re finding it difficult to generate audience engagement and revenue, it may be time to look for content and revenue streams that click. Used this way, diversification is more of a slow pivot than a true expansion, but exploring new kinds of content, products and services may help you energize your community or find new audiences that are more receptive to your content, bringing long-term stability to your business. Simply put, if your content is not resonating with your audience or you find it difficult to generate revenue, it may be time to consider a new approach.

Related: A Recession Creates Opportunity for Creatives

When to wait

Despite the great potential diversification offers, sometimes it’s better to wait and focus all your energies on what you’ve got. If you’re new to the creator economy, still seeing growth and achieving your milestones, it may be best to focus on your existing content and channels rather than adding extra distractions. Diversifying can easily become overwhelming, especially if you’re still on a learning curve.

Even experienced creators should recognize that diversification will require additional focus and effort. I’ve seen plenty of cases where creators with Shiny Object Syndrome neglect successful and profitable business channels and lose at both. If your current approach works well, staying focused on growing existing channels and hiring a team to increase your capacity in those successful ventures may be better than splitting your attention.

I’d always suggest you do a quick ROI check on if your efforts on this new opportunity are likely to create greater returns than just leaning into your existing business and doubling down on what’s working.

It’s not a one-size-fits-all approach

If diversification is your move, the next logical question for many creators will be: How? And the truth is, there is no golden ticket. The right moves for diversification depend heavily on your unique audience and business.

One way to diversify is by expanding your topics using your existing channels. For example, if you have an online school for yoga instruction, your student community might also be interested in meditation and healthy eating. By expanding into related niches, you can diversify the topics within that niche to keep your audience engaged and attract new followers. This approach allows you to grow your brand while maintaining focus on the platforms that serve you best.

Another approach is diversifying your revenue sources to complement and cross-sell successful content. A physical product can drive revenue, while a course and community can be an engagement engine that keeps people returning. The synergies create a virtuous cycle – hot topics of conversation in a community can be the basis for a new minicourse or ebook; courses can be gateways to paywalled communities where everyone has a common baseline of interests and skills.

Creators can build robust and sustainable businesses by combining channels in unique ways. Take John Lee Dumas, host of the podcast Entrepreneur on Fire, who has combined his daily podcast, short courses, and even regular reports about his own entrepreneurial journey as part of his diversified offerings.

Related: For Savvy Entrepreneurs, an Economic Downturn Creates Opportunity

A well-executed diversification strategy can turn your community into an engagement engine that builds customer loyalty while yielding rich customer insights. The key is always to be strategic. When considering diversification, map out a workflow for your content production, syndicating it across channels and reassess the impact on your bandwidth before making additional changes.

Diversification can be a gamechanger for creators looking to build thriving, sustainable businesses, but there’s no single way to go about it or one right answer that will meet every creator’s needs.

Random expansion, or feeling the need to be everywhere all the time, is not a successful strategy — it’s a recipe for burnout. But by strategically identifying and tackling new content and revenue streams, creators can stay on top of the game.

Greg Smith

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April 15, 2023
4 Reasons Why Investing in this Niche Industry Will Make You Money | Entrepreneur

Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.

Investing in emerging music artists might be the perfect opportunity if you’re looking for an innovative and rewarding move to diversify your portfolio.

The music industry has always been a lucrative and exciting space for investors. Music can captivate an audience, evoke emotions and inspire us in ways no other art form can. Putting money into emerging musicians is an opportunity to get in on the ground floor and potentially reap large returns, thanks to the power of discovery.

Whether you’re a music industry veteran, a fan, or just someone looking for a savvy investment, investing in emerging musicians will diversify your financial portfolio and have fun doing so.

Here are the top benefits you can expect from investing in emerging music artists.

Related: 3 Key Entrepreneurial Lessons I Learned While Working for P. Diddy and Bad Boy Entertainment

1. Passive income with unstoppable growth

Investing in emerging music artists is a great way to generate passive income with unstoppable growth. You may have never thought this way, but every time you hear the most overplayed song, its songwriters and artists get a payout.

Luckily, the power of the internet and the ever-changing landscape of the music industry has made it easier than ever to find and invest in upcoming music talent. Simultaneously, new artists have more possibilities to reach a larger audience and build a successful career with the rise of streaming services like Spotify. That’s why investing in emerging music artists is such an attractive option.

Once an artist has established themselves and their music is being streamed or purchased, they can begin to generate revenue — and you’ll get a share of the profits. Music royalties can also bring in a consistent stream of income and potential performance royalties.

Investing in emerging music artists is your chance to enter the protected asset class in a market known for record-high content creation and exponential growth. The music industry seems to have finally found a technology-based model that works for artists, consumers, and businesses.

As an investor, you can use your influence to help your favorite artists grow and become successful. For example, you can introduce them to new contacts, help them with their marketing strategies, and generally be a support system—and yield great rewards in return.

Related: Rise Above The Noise: 5 Tips to Stand Out as an Independent Artist

2. Larger return on investment

The music industry is constantly evolving, so investing in emerging music artists can be a great way to stay ahead of the curve and capitalize on new trends. With this approach, you can get in on the ground floor of a potential breakout and enjoy a larger return on your investment than if you had waited until the artist was an established star.

Investing in an artist early can help them develop their sound and build their fan base while also financing their career. This can result in a much bigger pay-off down the road.

Emerging music artists often have the potential to become superstars, and when they do, their music sales and streaming figures can skyrocket. Ultimately, the return on your investment could be significantly higher than that of more established artists.

3. A true sense of fulfillment

Investing in emerging music artists isn’t just about money. It is an excellent way to support the career of an artist you truly believe in and help them reach their full potential.

When you invest in emerging music artists, you help create a platform for them to share their music with the world. You give them a chance to be heard and make a real impact in the music industry. You are ultimately enabling them to make a living doing something they love.

As such, it’s safe to say that investing in music can be an act of true passion and advocacy. The experience can be incredibly rewarding, as you can be part of an artist’s journey and watch them grow and develop their art. It’s a great way to support the arts, help new artists get their start and contribute to shaping the future of the music industry. It will give you a feeling of pride and satisfaction that goes beyond any financial gain.

Related: The Benefits of Investing in Talent: How It Impacts the Music Industry and Beyond

4. Portfolio diversification

With the new wave of digital music streaming and the ever-evolving music industry, more and more individuals and businesses are looking for ways to diversify their investments and maximize returns.

Investing in emerging music artists offers a unique opportunity to do that. It can provide a great hedge against market volatility, opening the door to interesting diversification opportunities.

For starters, you can benefit from the financial growth of your chosen artist. As the artist’s visibility and success increase, so does their financial value. This means your investment can grow alongside the musician’s success, generating a steady and reliable income stream.

More importantly, investing in emerging music artists can provide you with a level of diversification that other investments may not offer. Music is an ever-changing and ever-evolving industry, so the success of any one artist can be unpredictable. By investing in different music artists, you can spread the risk across multiple assets and ensure that if one artist fails, the other investments will provide you with some support.

The bottom line

As the music industry continues to expand and evolve, so do the opportunities for investors to benefit from the success of up-and-coming artists.

Investing in emerging music artists can be a smart move for investors looking to reap the rewards of a growing industry. Not only can investing in music be lucrative, but it can also be a great way to support and empower the artists you believe in.

In addition to diversifying your portfolio and getting involved in something you are passionate about, you can get in on the ground floor of a potentially lucrative venture.

That said, successful investment in music talent requires having a good understanding of what’s hot and what’s not, along with a keen eye for potential. Any individual or entity looking to make their first investment in an up-and-coming music artist must perform a risk analysis and determine an ideal time horizon, meaning how much they can safely invest and how long they’ll be willing to get a return.

Eric Dalius

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April 13, 2023