One of the most important things we think the media can do is connect small business owners and creatives across industries and markets to give them an opportunity to learn form each other. The insights on trends in particular can be transformative if our communities were better connected and so we’ve tried to create a space where folks can share the trends they are seeing and read about trends other sharp entrepreneurs are seeing.

Alexandria Elliott

The biggest thing trend that I am seeing in Direct Sales, is that so many mom’s are seeing that they can be a SAHM, or work and still be able to bring in some extra money into their home. That we can raise a business and kids at the same time. That we have something that is ours and we can enjoy doing. Trends that are in Scentsy right now, the decor that our Warmers and Diffusers bring to your home and office. I absolutely love how our home office team, gets the trends and make it possible for people to add something in their home to make their space pop. Read more>>

Glenn Frey

In some ways what’s old is new again. Water wise landscapes are very popular as they should be. We are in the middle of another major drought so water conservation is extremely important. Today there are new methods to help reduce water consumption even more that we did not have 20 years ago… rain harvesting, improved drip irrigation, Smart(wi-fi based) irrigation controllers that take the weather into account and reduce or temporarily shut off irrigation in cooler weather and rain. Read more>>

Fabrizio Scippa

Minimalism and simplification are the biggest trends I’ve been noticing. The simplifications can be seen on many large companies’ logo redesigns: Petco, Kia, Pfizer, Intel, Burger King, AirB&B to name a few. It’s definitely a visual trend but we can also easily attribute the change to designing logos that look good on mobile and browsers’ favicons, the restricted number of pixels makes it necessary to create a simple icon. Larger companies also try to communicate “maturity” especially when they simplify logos that were too playful and colorful. In my opinion, there are some cases where simplifications were not necessary and perhaps they were just trying to follow the trend. Read more>>

Gabbi Swan

A big trend I’m seeing a lot as of recently would definitely be Content Days or Styled Shoots. Essentially, a creative will find vendors, scout out models and locations to put together a shoot (or multiple shoots) and sell slots to photographers. These photographers will then be able to come photograph this content put together and use it in their portfolio! It’s a great way to build your website and eventually book the kind of clients you want! Read more>>