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How Prepared Is Your Business For the Future?

As business owners, we know we live in tremulous times.  New industries – such as cryptocurrency – are being created overnight. Jobs are disappearing. Companies are switching industries. Tech companies continue to push the boundaries of automation through deep learning and artificial intelligence.

As modern technology pushes forward into our traditional businesses, the question for many of us is, how prepared are our businesses for the future?

Machines Are Taking Over

Businesses that fail to adapt won’t stand a chance in today’s fast-changing industry. People are now being replaced by robotics and automation for quite a number of reasons. People  can only do one task at a time. They get distracted, make mistakes, and buckle under pressure; machines rarely make mistakes, they don’t take breaks, and are incredibly efficient at multi-tasking.

Technology enabled businesses to grow faster than ever, and it only gets better with time. As people put more resources in technology, production costs go down, giving more room to invest in better technologies. Back then, long distance phone calls cost 25 cents per minute or around 2 dollars overseas. Nowadays, we can talk to someone from half a world away through the internet for just a fraction of the cost. (Imagine what this would do to traditional phone industry.)

Soon, nearly every task will be automated. This implies two things: first, most manual jobs that don’t require critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity are in danger of being taken away by automation. Industries will continue to downsize and low-paying jobs might soon be gone. White-collar jobs aren’t safe from the onslaught of automation. Neural networks might soon replace analysts, accountants, and personal assistants, as A.I. and deep learning continues to evolve.

Second, companies that rely on traditional methods could soon go out of business, unless they keep up with the times and stay relevant with modern-day customers. Amazon and online shopping will always be a threat to traditional retail businesses, and telecom companies are in dire need of a solution against the growing popularity of internet calls.

Uber and Airbnb have redefined travel and accommodation, challenging long-established companies within the industry. Cryptocurrency and blockchain technology is a growing threat to our financial sector with its permissionless, secure, peer-to-peer payment system. Innovation is no longer just an option for a lot of businesses. As a matter of fact, it’s the only way for businesses to survive in this day and age.

Fortunately, some jobs are more resilient than others, particularly those that have to do with complex human emotions. So-called soft skills and out-of-the-box thinking will be more important than ever for businesses.

The World Has Changed, and So Will be Our Businesses

History is littered with the remains of old industries that fell out of use as better technologies emerge. You’d be lucky to find relics of the past in people’s attics like the portable cassette player, VHS, film camera, and encyclopaedias. Yet they remind us of the bygone era when they became a booming business in the late 80s and 90s.

Fast-forward to the present, people do things a lot differently. We spend more time on the Internet and consume online content more than from traditional media. Over 2 billion people connect with each other using handheld gadgets many times faster and more powerful than the NASA computers of the first moon landing. Our world today is vastly different, and so will be our businesses.

Conclusion

Businesses have evolved over the years alongside modern technology. Sooner or later, they’d have to come up with something fresh, something which has never been tried before. It could take the form of a much better technology, a new concept, a better strategy, or a business opportunity. Who knows what the next disruption will be?

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Why You’re Screwed If You Work A Job

There has never been a better time to start your own business. In fact, in the next decade, being an entrepreneur will bring more security than being an employee. We are in the middle of a great entrepreneurial boom with the number of entrepreneurs in the United States and Canada rising slowly in the 20th century.

For example, baby boomers, age 50 and above, have started an average of 3.5 companies but with millennials that figure more than doubles at 7.7 companies. This is an incredible stat that’s only going to increase to unprecedented levels in the near future.

While running your own business may not be your dream, if you’ve ever considered it, hopefully this blog article will help you take the next step. Because there are no more cushy jobs anymore. No more pensions. I guarantee if you don’t start your own business, you’ll be left behind.

It’s great to be your own boss. You don’t have some higher power telling you what to do. Your future is in your own hands, and not at the whim of somebody else.

The internet and online shopping is becoming more popular – and isn’t even close to being at its peak yet. In the not too distant future, most purchases will be online, and shopping malls will be a thing of the past. People, especially non-entrepreneurs are going to have to move with the shifting times. Many people will lose their jobs, and forced into entrepreneurial roles.

Today, you can start your own online business for very little capital, unlike a couple of decades ago when you needed huge amounts of money to open a storefront, and to market yourself, and to hire employees. Now you just need an internet connection and you can sell to anybody and hire anybody.

Small business is growing more rapidly than ever before and it’s only going to become a bigger part of the overall economy. Conglomerate will still have their place but as soon as small business realize their power and band together, the better.

During the 2008 recession, many people were laid off or fired and as a result they became entrepreneurs. Getting downsized became a jumping off point for those who always had dreams of doing something different.

A lot of companies don’t want employees any more, especially those started by millennials. They don’t have to pay benefits. They don’t have to worry about slow markets. It has gotten a lot easier to just hire consultants and freelancers. Just look online where jobs and job sites are in abundance. Hiring a freelancer is only a click away. And why wouldn’t companies do that instead of invest in training and managing them?

Businesses are also being coming more automated than ever before. For example, you can order your Starbucks beverage through your mobile phone and pick it up at the counter, eliminating the need for cashiers. Low skilled jobs are you getting get fewer and fewer as it is becoming easier to automate more systems.

And soon robots and computer programs will be taking over for people. Robots don’t need lunch breaks or vacations and they don’t need feeding. They won’t quit and moved to another job that is higher paid self-driving cars will soon eliminate the need for drivers.

Young people are seeing the necessity of being a small business owner in this rapidly changing world’s. Hopefully else will see it as well.