Why You Should Start a
Business
We have been told
many times that the new economy is upon us, or to prepare ourselves for
the new economy, or what new jobs will be created by the new economy, or
what jobs will be lost. It has been given different names, such as
knowledge economy, network economy and the information age.
Rather than
quibble over names and definitions, we will all agree that changes are
happening in the world and will continue on in an accelerating pace for
the foreseeable future.
These changes will
profoundly affect the way we work, play and do business. Let's
spare a moment to look at the changes and how they affect us:
Flexible Work Arrangements
More and more
companies are adopting work arrangements that are not strictly 9 to 5.
It comes in many guises and is advantageous to both employees and
employers. For employees, it allows them time off to take a sick
child to the doctor, or to avoid the morning rush hour.
For employers, it
allows them to retain staff on a reduced workload, while they peruse
other interests. They can also look at their employees as
subcontractors, employing them to get a job done, rather than on a per
hour basis.
In some cases,
with a mobile phone, a notebook and an Internet connection, the employee
can effectively be the office. The employee can work anywhere she wants
and still be as effective as if she was right there in the office.
Technology
Vending machines
are everywhere. From selling Coca-Cola to snacks, there are now some
that will charge your mobile phones. If you think about it, those
vending machines are doing what used to be somebody's job.
Make a call to
your local government department. An answering machine picks up the
call, right? An operator was put out of a job.
Take a look at
yourself. You can probably handle a word processing program. If you need
to write a report, you probably do it yourself, including the graphics.
If you need to view a pdf document, I'll bet that you will install the
reader yourself.
And I'm guessing
that your job has nothing to do with computers. With the help of a
computer, you have taken a few jobs away yourself. And it will get
worse. Computers are getting cheaper, more powerful and smarter. Round
the corner are computers better able to emulate human abilities.
Soon you will see
computers that can understand human speech and read printed text. And
I'm sure that you have seen robots that can actually walk, on 2 legs.
Soon they will be on the streets and taking away even more jobs.
The Rise of India and China
"In the same way
that commentators refer to the 1900s as the American Century, the early
21st century may be seen as the time when some in the developing world,
led by India and China, come into their own," said a December 2004 study
by the U.S. National Intelligence Council.
The study further
noted that there could be a "definitive break with some of the
post-World War II institutions and practices." The study also said
that India "could emerge as the world's fastest-growing economy" by
2020, overtaking China. With a combined total population of 2.4
billion people, more than one third of the world's population, they
cannot be ignored.
The Internet
Although the
Internet has its beginnings in the 1960s, it actually started to evolve
into the net that we know in the early 1990s when the first properly
developed web-browser, Mosaic, was introduced. Since then,
Internet usage has exploded, with an estimated 13.9% of the world's
population connected as of 2005. That is a staggering 889 million
people!
Today, the
Internet has become an integral part of our lives. From emailing
our colleagues and friends, to playing games, to setting up blogs
telling the world about our personal lives, the Internet has truly
become our constant companion.
All this has not
escaped the attention of the big businesses and corporations. They have
come online to reach markets they have never been able to reach before.
With the Internet, marketing to Mr. Gandhi and Ms Hiroko has become
nearly as easy as marketing to Mr. Smith in the next office.
With most of their
customers online and easily accessible, some companies have decided to
cut out the middleman. Instead of appointing a distributor in a
foreign country to deal with foreign customers, they will take over or
at least minimize the role of the distributor, preferring to deal
directly with their customers.
Even the average
Joes on the street have jumped onto the bandwagon. They have set up
businesses on the web, hawking their wares on the global marketplace.
And some have done pretty well for themselves.
Conclusion
So, what does all
this mean to you? To put it in a nutshell, the world is changing
and it will continue to do so at a faster and faster rate. Your job,
which you feel is secure, may not be in 5 years time. What is worse,
it may be rendered
obsolete by technology or changes in the economy.
To
meet these challenges head on, you need to upgrade and diversify.
Upgrade yourself so that you are the best that you can be in your chosen
profession. And you can diversify by taking on more responsibilities at
work, thus making yourself more indispensable.
If you are sharp
enough, you would probably realize that upgrading yourself and taking on
more responsibilities does not necessarily mean more pay. But it will
most certainly mean more hours at work.
Which is why more
and more people are looking to go into business for themselves. And that
is why you are here now.
Starting a
business 10 years ago would probably have meant spending a good part of
your nest egg, or going into debt. But, with today's connected world,
and the right choice of products and business, an online business can be
started for a pittance.
There are no
guarantees in life, just as there are no guarantees that you will be
able to build a successful online business, but don't you owe it to
yourself to at least look into it?
