The 2014 World of Business Ideas on innovation forum wrapped on June 5 inside the AXA Equitable Center in New York.
With the technological advances steamrolling across today’s digital age igniting change in every industry, small business owners will likely be facing similar problems in the very near future. They can either Sink or Swim.
The 2014 WOBI on Innovation forum aims to teach executives and business owners how, “to embrace disruption and learn to thrive in the chaos.”
It pushes the notion that for those willing to embrace it, disruption can be a powerful propellant of positive change.
Black Enterprise spoke to some panelists at the forum. One of them, Vivek Wadhwa is a tech entrepreneur and serial business owner. He’s also an accomplished academic and widely published writer. Wadhwa “brings unparalleled insights into the emerging technologies that will transform our world, disrupt entire industries and create new ones.”
Let’s start with the evolution of digital currency.
Wadhwa says, “Bitcoin is being used for questionable transactions. No one knows who controls it. I’m not sure if it will be the digital currency that succeeds. It goes up and down in value every month. It’s just not trustworthy because we do not know who is manipulating it. However, the Canadian government has their digital currency, MintChip. Other governments and respectable organizations are creating their own digital currency and doing it credibly, It’s definitely the future.”
For small business owners trading in other countries or inclined to do so, it couldn’t hurt to begin looking into the advantages of trading digitally and getting up-to-speed on the basics.
Wadhwa cites Kenya as a country that has bought into digital currency.
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He says, “In Kenya, about a third of their GDP is now being processed by M-Pesa. It is a bio-metric identity which makes a lot of sense. Though, I don’t think America will truly embrace it because we don’t have the need that other countries do.”
The question is what effect will these emerging digital currencies have on the almighty dollar? It is the currency of the world. More importantly how will it affect our economy and the small businesses that drive it?
Wadhwa says he expects these emerging digital currencies will be pegged to the dollar. “Let’s face it, there is no second to the US Dollar. I’m not worried about China taking over the world, I’m more worried about what will happen in that country when the economy becomes stagnant and the bubbles pop and manufacturing leaves the country.”
So what countries will provide economic stability?
Wadhwa says, “European economies are solid, but small. So the dollar and the United States are still king. As far as I can see it will continue to be that way. Which means tying digital currency to the Dollar gives it stability.
On the question of Robotics and effects on small business in the future, the prospect can be frightening. Advances in Robotics technology will more than likely eradicate jobs across the board from the medical industry to manufacturing.
As we approach the first half of 2014, it has been cheaper to manufacture in U.S than in China. Think about it. Robots work 24 hours a day. It costs about $22,000 for a robot that can do manufacturing. All you need is electricity.
Also, drone delivery costs about as much as motorcycle delivery costs in the developing world. In other words, practically nothing. Compare that with the methods of delivery currently being used today.
So how will entrepreneurs and small business owners provide jobs that will continue to stimulate the economy? It’s no secret that despite our ongoing economic growth there are still no jobs. Stagnant job growth will ultimately lead to declining job growth. One solution being floated is reducing the work week.
Solutions about how emerging technologies will effect economies in the future could boil down to one factor. Education. But there are millions of children and not enough teachers.
Wadhwa believes we need to “Load tablets with software, get them to millions of children and sell them at cost. Let them start learning on their own because governments and teachers will not be able to fix the problem. The real solution is technology.”
The point here is as small business owners the time is now to begin looking ahead. Things that we considered science fiction is now fact. When Google first proposed self-driving cars they were laughed off. Today, Mercedes Benz is rolling out features to get self-driving technology. And we are now talking about the legal issues How insurance might look and how jobs might be decimated.
So what should small business owners with an eye on the future look into? Ethics and E-Politics.
“The next few years ushers a future where the laws won’t make sense. We need people writing new legal and ethical guidelines for advancing technologies,” Wadhwa says.
Are you that person or small business owner? If you are, you need to get to work.