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In an article written for Entrepreneur magazine by Kabbage’s Co-founder and CEO, Rob Frohwein, Rob predicts that “by 2025 a whole host of small businesses that once thrived on Main Street USA will be back with a vengeance—thanks to technology.” He says the new and not so new technologies and services are supplying small businesses with valuable tools in online marketing, financing, purchasing and fulfillment that enable them to compete with the larger online companies.
A Pew Research study shows that almost 24% of American adults have earned money in the online economy over the last year. Point of Sale systems and mobile apps, as well as platforms used by such companies as Uber and Airbnb, provide little or no capital investment along with flexibility and control.

Frohwein goes on to say that millennials (people born between 1981 and 1996) will be important in the small business revival. A survey by Coldwell Banker Commercial found that almost 40% of millennials would support small businesses when making buying decisions. Another study by Small Business Development Centers found that 26% of millennials had made their total income from a small business. The study also found that 49% of millennials would like to start their own business in the next three years.

Rob believes that with the tools available today to support small business, along with the millennial generation’s entrepreneurial spirit, Main Street USA will be “bigger (or smaller) and better than ever!

For more information, read Mr. Frohwein’s article: “The New-Old Adage for Main Street 2025? The More Things Change, the More They Stay the Same.”