Every day, across the world, in homes, plazas and backyards, consumers are meeting their needs “off the books." Careful study of these activities is relevant to any business wanting to innovate and collaborate with consumers to meet these growing needs.

How do you harness the momentum of a massive counter-cyclical movement and translate it to your business? How do backyard chicken farmers and potlucks inform your strategic growth?

The commonality of activities comprising the 'informal' economy is simply that they are outside of the formal, measurable, reportable economy. Margins are important, and include everything from banal activities such as home gardening, handicrafts and home improvement, to archaic exchanges such as barter, gift economies and local currencies.

GDP is the most widely used metric of economic health, yet it only measures a fraction of industrious activities and services humans do every day to feed, clothe and shelter themselves. In studying informal economies we're not romanticizing or justifying, for example - tax evasion, pirates who sell contraband on the black market, or interference with economies of scale or the policy and regulat ion of the global market. We're simply noting enormous opportunity for understanding and growth.

Follow 6 Basic Rules to harness Informal Economies:

Rule #1: Informal Market Activities = Free Market Research

Informal economies are valuable for every business because these activities are important trend indicators. This constitutes free market research. There is a delay between newfound needs of human beings, and the moment when the measurable market is able to offer a service that will meet those needs. Consumers who knit hats, grow tomatoes and barter for bike maintenance may be outliers, but they are also critical indicators.

Rule #2: Leverage Early Economic Trends

For the record, many of these outliers live in Portland. The country is watching a local food cart explosion, and masses of young, unemployed dreamers moving to Portland to pursue car-free living and cultural liberty. A demographic that utilizes many of these economic practices lives in Portland's backyard - literally. You don’t need to hire an consultant to see what kids are doing these days. This consumer demographic is predicting and manifesting a new economy. Next generation sets the business landscape for the future, because these fads and trends become lifestyles. The new economy has new psychological needs.

Rule #3: Meet New Psychological Needs

These evolving needs come as a response to globalization. The Industrial Revolution is over. We, as consumers, are searching for products and services that are playful, elicit nostalgia or are symbolic gestures of resistance. We are beginning to put more intention into purchases. The guilt of a planet in peril is creeping into our purchases. Call it sustainability. Call it a recession. Call it fear. Or call it preparation. Responsible consumers demand responsible producers.

You can make products and services that satisfy a need for community, durable simplicity, the local and the tactile. Whether you change you production methods, your company policies, or your marketing materials, even a manufacturer of silicon components needs to be savvy and conscious. Business-to-business relationships are not exempt from these trends and the new pressures of demand - demand from shareholders, customers and across the supply chain.

Rule # 4: Supply the Revolution

Backyard chicken farmers are still tied to the economy. People need to buy chicken feed, chicken coops, chickens, books about chicken farming, chicken veterinary services, etc. Those who knit need a source of yarn and are still likely to purchase colorful, homespun yard for a hefty price. You can identify these needs.

Rule #5: Educate the Next Paradigm

As consumers step up, a Do-It-Yourself movement evolves. From food production to home remodeling, a critical new consumer need is education. Many people teach themselves via the internet, or free community classes provide information. Community colleges watch this increasing demand for the informal activities that often called “prairie skills”. Businesses can offer direct services that feed this new information demand, or address the need by supporting employee skill-building.

Rule #6: Cultivate Authenticity

At the end of the day, the new economy is about qualitative development, not quantitative growth. The authentic joy that comes from eating an egg delivered by your backyard chickens is irreplaceable. Satisfaction from trading carpentry for web design with a friendly neighbor is real and important. An authentic business need not be an oxymoron or a fictitious dream.