Turning passions into prosperity – The new face of entrepreneurship in India

The last decade has witnessed a fundamental shift in the way we interact and utilize social media platforms. Indian audiences are not different in adapting well to social platforms, more so in the past year. Today, people spend most of their time on social media platforms, watching videos, commenting, creating, and sharing content. Powered by the democratization of the internet through smartphones and affordable data plans, anyone, based on their passions, can create content online or is creating content. A new cohort of digitally savvy entrepreneurs is now leveraging their interest and skills to create communities and usher in a new era of storytelling and commerce. These are the creators, and they are leading the shifts towards the passion economy.

Passion for entrepreneurship

As India becomes a large market for social commerce, the ‘passion economy’ is producing many entrepreneurs in India. A growing number of platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Substack, Clubhouse, etc. are empowering people to build a scalable business around a unique passion targeted at niche communities. This is going to have a significant implication on the future of work trends and what is today known as ‘jobs’.

As per multiple reports, 53 percent of the Indian workforce is self-employed, and this figure is only going to grow. As a challenging job market and the need for income safety have created a strong desire to explore entrepreneurship as they look to supplement household income. Hence, earning through your passion and resulting financial independence aspect present a lucrative opportunity. In India, where a mere 23 percent of women are engaged in the formal workforce, the creator economy represents a tremendous scope to further fuel their entrepreneurial spirit.

Our aim at Amway is to create a robust ecosystem that provides an avenue for entrepreneurial aspirants to own and operate their own business based on interests and passions they follow by providing product solutions to their communities online and turning passions into prosperity.

We believe as these passion-preneurs continue to rise, the businesses partnering with them by lowering the barriers to entrepreneurship will grow in value. The advent of creators has given way to a whole new economy, one that is still at a nascent stage in India. It will be exciting to witness the next 500 million internet users carving out their niche using social media platforms. Welcome to the passion economy!

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Gig Economy moves up gear in the digital era

If one follows the evolution of work and workforce, the gig economy has been one of the breakthrough trends in the past decade. As online marketplaces and platforms came to be, they paved the way for the gig economy, providing exciting opportunities to ‘be your own business’ and set your own time. They might not have represented passions, but they lowered the barrier for many people, especially women, to enter the workforce with the benefit of flexibility. Further, many employed in the regular workforce, work as freelancers to supplement their income. Aided by the platforms and uncertainties in the job market, the trend is here to stay. It is evident from the recent reports that the gig economy has the potential to touch up to 90 million jobs in the next eight to 10 years in the non-agriculture sector alone^[1].

As the pandemic struck, even gig workers were impacted. Over time, instead of trying to get back to business as usual, they have been looking for a new way forward. In the past year, especially, there has been a silent convergence of opportunity, social media, and technology, paving the way for new entrepreneurs who are making a living doing what they love.

Utilizing their passions, people from across regions are earning a living from the comfort of their homes, using just their phones and the internet. From cooking their best nutritious recipes to giving make-up tutorials, many are building communities around health, fitness, adventure, cooking and beauty to turn their passions into livelihoods. In the past year, we have seen a significant surge in people exploring the business opportunity with Amway. It is impeccable to see how all our gig entrepreneurs are building online communities based on their passion for fitness, healthy living, cooking etc. For generations Amway Direct Sellers have been owning the strength of building communities offline and it is only a natural extension to see them passionately drive this online. Our Amway Direct Sellers are building online communities based on their passions, which was earlier cemented offline through face-to- face interactions. Today, Amway has been seeing a rise in the passionate gigsters joining the business and driving their potential and leading this evolution of entrepreneurship.

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Social-led commerce ecosystem / The social commerce ecosystem

With deeper digital adoption, consumers today are more open towards shopping online, a trend further accelerated by the pandemic. However, even with over 570 million internet users, only 100 million transact online^[2] in India. While the data represents a huge opportunity for brands across sectors, it also begets the question – what factors keep people from transacting online? According to multiple reports, one of the biggest inhibitors to online shopping is the missing human touchpoint and consequently, the lack of trust.

Social media today plays an intrinsic role in influencing people’s opinions, desires and even aspirations. Enter creators. Leveraging their online communities based on their passions, they enable consumers, more so beyond the metros, to discover and gain access to shared passions.

Social commerce is a powerful format and requires the right business model to scale. Hence, brands and platforms must support and equip creators or passion-preneurs with guidance and personalized digital tools helping them scale their online community while also building a sales pipeline. In India, Amway is upskilling its direct sellers through digital training programs along with innovative social and digital tools, helping them bolster their online engagement.

To know more about the impact Amway is driving with its entrepreneurship opportunities,

_{1.BCG & Michael & Susan Dell Foundation Report ↑}

_{2.Bain and Google Report: Unlocking the future of commerce in India ↑}