John Tozzi's BusinessWeek article Cheap Photo Sites Pit Amateurs vs. Pros examines the impact of low cost digital images - often produced by amateurs - on professional photographers.

John points out that while affordable digital cameras and desktop design software have made it possible for amateur photographers to compete with the pros, photography is not the only industry where this type of competition is happening. Key quote:

"In any industry where technology has enabled passionate amateurs to try their hands, businesses face new competitors who may not be motivated by profit." 

We consistently talk to small business owners who started their business due to a hobby or passion. Often these businesses start part-time, but grow into full time personal or small businesses. 

New, lower cost technology - like digital cameras - and Internet-based marketing are the primary drivers of this hobby to business trend. The low cost of starting and operating a home-based business is another driver.

Over the last 2 years (2007 and 2008) the number of U.S. personal businesses (single person businesses without employees) increased by more than 2 million. Many of these new personal businesses are part-time and/or hobby businesses. Because of new technology and the Internet, part-timers can now compete with professionals. Amateurs and hobbyists can also more easily evolve into professionals - often taking advantage of the low costs associated with personal businesses to effectively compete on price with larger, existing firms.

We expect the trends towards hobbies and passions leading to small businesses - and more amateurs becoming professionals -  to gain momentum over the next few years. 

We are finishing up a research brief on how the new Do It Yourself (DIY) movement is resulting in hobbyists and amateurs starting small businesses. We will cover this issue and related trends in more depth in this soon to be released research brief.


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