💡 Adam's Ideas Issue #5 - 3 Predictions For 2024

I’m back!

I started Adam’s Ideas on a bit of a whim, I honestly thought it would just be a passion project for me to share some of my ideas.

I’ve been overwhelmed at the interest in it, to all of you who have signed up - thank you.

I took a break as I wanted to get this right and decided to wrap up a few other projects to give this the time it deserves.

I’m pleased to say I’m nearly done with that and have been working on a redesign ready to hit this hard in 2024.

The new look newsletter will be dropping next week, for now I wanted to share with you three of my predictions for business opportunities in 2024.

Side Hustles Will Continue To Rise

Whilst inflation is starting to stabilise and interest rates are coming down we very much remain in a cost of living crisis.

Add to that the changing attitudes towards work fuelled by the pandemic such as ‘quiet quitting’ and it’s easy to see the draw towards earning a living on your own terms.

There’s two categories of opportunity here, either start your own side hustle or support those that are.

The Pinterest Predictions report is a great source of ideas for side hustles, opportunities in this years report include:

• Food mashups - think cheeseburger tacos, carbonara ramen, and my own personal creation the chicken tikka masala pasta bake (note - I’ve no evidence this is remotely commercially viable).

• At home spa/skincare experiences - if you aren’t going down the all natural/sustainable route here you’re setting yourself up for a difficult ride.

• Credit card/piggy bank stickers - this one was new to me, but a quick Google search shows it’s already a thing. If you can create or curate unique art here there’s definite potential.

For me the bigger opportunity here is to support those interested in this world:

• Professional services tailored specifically for side hustlers.

• Side hustle/entrepreneur communities - something on the Adam’s Ideas roadmap for this year.

• Courses and guides.

Childcare Will Be Big Business

I think this is one of the biggest business opportunities of 2024.

Finding childcare in the UK is already a nightmare, if you aren’t planning 18+ months in advance you’re going to find your options limited.

Currently the government offers 30 hours of free childcare to working parents of 3+ year olds. But this year there’s some big changes coming:

• From April 2024 working parents of two year olds will be able to access 15 hours of free childcare.

• From September this will increase to include those ages 9-23 months.

• From September 2025 these hours will increase to 30 for all children aged 9 months and up.

The obvious result - lots more childcare places needed in an area with already limited supply!

There’s opportunity here for all sorts of providers and investment levels. The obvious move is to start a day nursery but the free hours can be used across a variety of provider types including playgroups and child minders.

Small Brands Will Dominate

People no longer want to give money to faceless global corporations.

Consumer moods have shifted, and will continue to do so in 2024.

Small brands are able to build relationships with consumers in a way other businesses can’t.

I plan to write a full guide on how to dominate as a small brand in 2024, let me know if this is something you’d be interested in (just hit reply to this email) and I’ll be sure to share my first draft with you for feedback!

One thing you may have noticed is AI doesn’t feature in any of these predictions.

I think it’s an obvious prediction that AI will be game changing this year and wanted to focus on some other areas where I see opportunities.

That’s all for this week, next Sunday I’ll be back with the new-look Adam’s Ideas.

As always, any feedback or if you just fancy a chat hit reply to this email!