What Is The Future of Business?

The new year is always a time of reflection, and it’s no different in business. This is the time of year when new ideas come forward, new predictions are made about the future, and how things might adapt, change, or even stay the same. So what is the future of business?

More Women Founders

In the past, it was most usual to find men who were the founders of large (or even small) corporations and businesses. This has begun to change over the past few years, and more and more women are discovering their entrepreneurial side, and starting their own businesses. Those in the know predict that the number of female business owners and founders will rise even more over the next few years.

More Automation

The future of business could very well become much more automated as time goes on. This is an exciting prospect, and it may even be something that business owners of today have dipped their toes into – after all, if you run marketing automation systems, then you have made a start. What is marketing automation? It’s sending out an email automatically to remind your customers of who you are, telling them of special offers, finding out why they left their online shopping cart full and didn’t checkout… It’s a business process that frees up your time and allows you to concentrate on other, more pressing tasks. For email automation to be effective, though, you need to have a client list that fits your demographic and you must send them something of value – otherwise, your business will be lumped with spam.

More Innovation

There are so many small businesses starting up in all sorts of sectors that some are becoming saturated. This means that, if you want to start a business, you will need to think of something entirely new and exciting in order to stand out from the crowd. Therefore, many forward thinkers will start to produce products and offer services that haven’t been seen before. It’s impossible to predict exactly what will be coming, but by the end of the decade, the purchasing landscape will be entirely different, and that should mean that life is easier for everyone.

More Mobile Content

Many businesses have embraced the need to have better mobile content for their customers – after all, most people do their internet surfing and online shopping through a handheld device of some kind, rather than at a laptop. However, not all businesses have taken this information to heart, and there are still some whose online presence via a smartphone or tablet could be improved. Predictions are that, in the near future (if it’s not happening already), websites will be designed with the mobile customers in mind first, and those who do use a static computer will begin to come second.

More Gigs

You may already have heard of the ‘gig economy’. It’s the practice of people preferring to have short, or part-time, stints in a job, rather than something permanent and full-time. As a business owner, it’s important to understand how this kind of working can be of benefit to those you employ – or sub-contract – and to your business. It may be that you don’t actually hire anyone full-time, but simply use freelancers whenever you need some additional help. The good news is that, as more and more people are choosing this option, there will be plenty of people to choose from.