What is the influencer economy?  It’s a movement.  A culture.  A philosophy for how-to navigate the new business world.  At the core, the influencer economy is entrepreneurial spirit and execution.  It’s empowering a new generation of leaders, builders and makers to create successful businesses that previously would have been impossible.

In the modern business world, we are all entrepreneurial.  Social media, widespread internet access, and the availability to build companies more cheaply and efficiently has wreaked havoc on traditional enterprises.   It’s creating new entrepreneurial opportunities for people and it’s empowering a new generation of leaders.

Old industries such as, print, TV, movies, video games, fashion, music, as traditional industries are taking note.  They are adapting to this fast-moving enterprising world.

The influencer economy is Nate Silver writing about advanced stats in sports and politics at the top of his industry, and his FiveThirtyEight site getting acquired by ESPN.  It’s ARKYD Team building a space telescope for the world, selling pre-orders with ‘space selfies’ of your photo in space.  It’s communities like Collage-O-Rama, an art print shop on Etsy that has sold 50,000 prints without a brick and mortar shop.

Nate Silver ARKYD and Collage-O-Rama are part of the influencer economy

We are going through a transformation.  We are experiencing a revolution of a new self-empowered business-people.  All of our industries has been touched by the influencer economy.  All of us that leverage social media for fun or business, have been bitten by it.  We are all experiencing it right before our very eyes, and not even realizing it.  That’s what makes it such a fascinating thing, and such a beautiful thing to be a part of.

What’s even more fascinating is that business people can follow their passions and build on top of them.  Entrepreneurship is about building storefronts on Etsy, creating and monetizing video content your own YouTube channel, and catalyzing verticals that previously never-existed.

And these entrepreneurs aren’t necessarily raising millions from Silicon Valley.  They don’t need to be a cliché and say they’ll be the next $1 Billion Dollar company.  And they don’t need go in debt pounding the pavement, meeting with countless venture capital firms to raise financing.  They are they are building within the influencer economy.

The percentage of adults involved in startups in 2012 hit 13%–a record high since 1999.  Babson College and Baruch College interviewed nearly 6,000 people and there are some amazing stats, per Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM)

Some phenomenal stats are:

• 13% of U.S. adult population is engaged in entrepreneurship.
• 34% of these Americans have introduced a new products and service
• 82% of entrepreneurs are being financed by savings, friends and family (not relying on banks or venture capital)
• 69% of new businesses in the U.S. start at home-offices.
• Entrepreneurship, up by more than 20% since 2011 and the highest level recorded in the history of the study

There’s a solid break-down of these stats by Fortune.

The influencer economy is about creating your own opportunities.  It’s about creation, distribution, marketing, business development and building.  It’s about have a vision, executing it, and showcasing your wares to the world.  Passions are no longer just hobbies.  Skills, hustling, and authentic determination are what drives a core of new business around the world.

I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below, or feel free to reach me on Twitter @ryanjwill.