The hardest phenomenon to predict is the future, especially if you’re still struggling to figure out what’s happening in today’s economy.
Years back, seminal inventions, such as the automobile, the Internet, and the smartphone, were all regarded with high degrees of skepticism when first introduced.
Equally important, the impact is not only cultural but economic as well. The automobile gave rise to a global network of small businesses, such as parts makers, dealerships, and service centers.
The Internet has spawned a host of online companies, many of which, such as Amazon.com and eBay.com, have grown from small operations to very large ones indeed. So what are the small businesses of the future, and where will we find them?
The fields of energy and clean tech seem to be among the ripest areas for growth, as do nanotechnology, entertainment, and the growing demands of adapting the planet to accommodate its burgeoning population–even if they might strike some of us now as being a bit far-fetched.
There’s no telling what the future of business holds but there are some emerging industries that are going to blow up in the next few decades.
Best Business ideas for the Future
1. Virtual Reality
The emergence of commercial VR technologies has led to an increase in innovation, with a wide range of businesses looking for Virtual Reality opportunities in 2023 and beyond. This is exactly how it will impact the future.
Currently, we see something like 16 percent of occupations been automated—and there would be impact and dislocation as a result of these technologies in the world of work.
Artificial Intelligence, spatial computing (augmented and virtual reality), brain-computer interfaces, are all set to substitute labor or complement it in some way.
How Will VR Create Jobs and Business Opportunities?
People often relate VR to gaming and headsets. However, VR is one technology, which has a real business value as well. Today, more and more businesses are coming with newer and innovative techniques to incorporate VR into their routine business processes and are trying to make their operations more productive and efficient.
Virtual reality (VR) has largely rolled out as an entertainment technology, but the (actual) reality is that VR also boasts serious business capabilities.
It can be used to test-drive a product or boost customer loyalty. Virtual Reality is especially effective when it comes to cultivating a rich consumer experience and marketing your products and services.
Fast Growing Occupations Virtual Reality Will Create
These are the jobs and businesses that will come out of the virtual reality industry.
- Hologram Stylist
- Virtual Couture Designer
- Autonomous Car Licensed Specialist
- Augmented Reality Life Designer
- B2R2C Marketing Manager: In the not so distant future, B2R2C marketing managers will reach customers through robots. B2R2C marketing managers will do this by cultivating relationships with robot gatekeepers
- Personal Brain Trainer: This person will help people with disabilities or unique brain challenges to learn and use brain-computer interfaces to help them lead their preferred life.
- Chief Empathy Officer
Industries Declining Because of VR
Computers need not replace humans, but they can instead train humans wherever their work takes them. These are industries that will decline or modify because of virtual reality
- Typist
- Information gathering, analysts, and researchers
- Pilots: The United States Military is already using autonomous drones that conduct surveillance and even attack without the assistance of humans. There are already companies looking into replacing their fleet of pilots with computer-assisted pilots that could be remotely aided by a few pilots if needed.
- Stock traders: Today’s stock market is full of computers that buy and sell stocks online, replacing many of the stock trader jobs that used to exist.
- Postal workers: Postal workers who sorted mail in the past were replaced by automatic sorting machines that read and sort mail faster, cheaper, and all day.
- Bus drivers, taxi drivers, and truck drivers: Self-driving cars are becoming more of a reality. With technologies already used today, like assisted driving in Tesla cars and automated Uber test cars, more companies and services are beginning to use this technology.
- Phone operators, telemarketers, and receptionists: As voice recognition and speech synthesis become more advanced, it gets easier for companies to implement these systems and harder for people to know if they’re talking to a human.
- Cashiers: Self-checkout lines are already found in most grocery stores today.
- Packing, stockroom, and warehouse moving: Robots controlled by computers are replacing jobs that involve packing or moving of goods.
- Prescription: Many pharmacies are replacing their pharmacy technicians with robots capable of separating and handling prescriptions for their customers.
2. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial intelligence is a broad and general term that refers to any type of computer software that engages in human-like activities, including learning, planning and problem-solving.
Artificial intelligence today is properly known as narrow AI (or weak AI), in that it is designed to perform a narrow task (e.g. only facial recognition or only internet searches or only driving a car).
However, the long-term goal of many researchers is to create general AI (AGI or strong AI). While narrow AI may outperform humans at whatever its specific task is, like playing chess or solving equations, AGI would outperform humans at nearly every cognitive task.
First, smart cities. This is the term that has been adopted to describe cities made of buildings that are interconnected digitally and controlled through data-driven decision-making that seamlessly manages transport, garbage collection, and the distribution of (probably green) energy throughout society.
Designing the AI software or the hardware required for those scenarios could be a viable business strategy if you have the know-how and the resources. AI could even facilitate interpersonal reactions, as Samsung’s AI personalities have demonstrated.
How will AI Create Jobs and Business Opportunities?
Although artificial intelligence is adept at processing and analyzing troves of data far more quickly than a human brain could. In this way, humans can use artificial intelligence to help game out possible consequences of each action and streamline the decision-making process.
Employers need AI talent to fulfill the company’s technological requirements. Thus, a career in AI is not only attracting the job-seekers towards it but is witnessing immense growth. To establish a career in AI, job-hunters need to possess relevant technical skills.
Fast Growing Occupations AI Will Create
Artificial Intelligence or AI career opportunities have escalated recently due to its surging demands in industries. The hype that AI will create tons of jobs is justifiable. A career in AI looks more promising than any other jobs available these days. These occupations are set to fly soon;
- Big Data Engineer
- Business Intelligence Developer
- Data Scientist
- Machine Learning Engineer
- AI Data Analyst
- AI Engineer
- Robotics Scientist
Industries Declining Because of AI
Bigger, higher-tech metro areas and communities heavily involved in manufacturing are likely to experience the most AI-related disruption. The following industries are set to take a hit because of artificial intelligence.
- Entertainment
- Medicine: AI algorithms will enable doctors and hospitals to better analyze data and customize their healthcare to the genes, environment and lifestyle of each patient. From diagnosing brain tumors to deciding which cancer treatment will work best for an individual, AI will drive the personalized medicine revolution.
- Cybersecurity: USC experts say the self-learning and automation capabilities enabled by AI can protect data more systematically and affordably, keeping people safer from terrorism or even smaller-scale identity theft
- Vital Tasks
- Transportation: Driver-less trains already rule the rails in European cities, and Boeing is building an autonomous jetliner (pilots are still required to put info into the system).
3. Home & Office Cleaning Robots
The robot vacuum cleaners market is expected to register a CAGR of 13% during the forecast period, 2022 – 2026. The International Federation of Robotics (IFR) estimates that 31 million household robots to be sold between 2016 and 2019, and out of which 96% of which will be vacuum and floor cleaning robots. This is encouraging companies to invest in the market.
One of the major factors driving the deployment of the robot vacuum cleaner is the highest number of occupational injuries being recorded in the janitorial industry.
Statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that there are 2,384,600 building janitors and cleaners. Companies are spending about USD 60 billion on average annually. The factors like these are boosting the demand for robots vacuum cleaners.
Used as a supplement to human employees, cleaning robots eliminate the need for workers to perform many simple and repetitive tasks and allow them to focus more on complex, thought-intensive tasks that robots cannot perform (at least, not yet).
How will Robot Create Jobs and Business Opportunities?
Many of today’s robots are more collaborative than ever, often complementing and assisting their human co-workers. These collaborative robots, or co-bots, work side-by-side with humans, helping companies and workers become more productive than ever before.
According to research firm Loup Ventures, today’s industrial robot market accounts for the highest potential of all robots sales (61%), however, due to advancements in computers, artificial intelligence, and motion sensing capabilities, collaborative robots will be one of the fastest growing markets in the robotic space—accounting for 34% of all industrial robots sold by 2025
For building service contractors (BSCs), robotic cleaning machines can yield a powerful advantage in an industry facing tremendous competition and high turnover. Robotic cleaning machines can also help companies repurpose existing workers.
Fast Growing Occupations These Opportunities Will Create
In the cleaning industry, robot have the ability to take over most of the chores. Today in industries, we are currently seeing the application of;
- Floor Cleaning Robots
- Duct Cleaning Robots
- Window Cleaning Robots
- Special-Purpose Cleaning Robots
Industries Declining Because of Cleaning Robots
- Maid service industry: In the United Kingdom, the Hefter Robot Cleaner is currently employed in the janitorial department of both Manchester Airport and The Queen Elizabeth II Hospital. The Hefter model can clean more than 200,000 square feet per day.
- Janitorial industry
- Duct Cleaning industry: Many companies have now developed robots designed especially for the task of crawling through air ducts and eliminating dust and debris from them.
- HVAC industry
- Window cleaning industry
4. Automated Digital Marketing
Surveys have shown that 80% of businesses want chatbots in 2020, and by 2022, chatbots will help businesses save $8 billion every year.
Although the job risk estimates vary, economists agree that automation and artificial intelligence technologies will continue to transform the nature of work.
Some workers will lose their jobs to automation, others will get new jobs, and many will need to acquire new skills to transition across occupations.
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How will It Create Jobs and Business Opportunities?
When robots named Pepper are taking orders at Pizza Hut, it’s safe to say that we’re entering the era of automation. Traditional jobs are being automated out of existence on a daily basis. And it’s happening in every industry, from healthcare to marketing.
On the other hand, a marketing automation funnel can only be created and set up if someone comes up with a digital marketing strategy, decides which metrics to track, and actually creates all the content.
In other words, as more companies adopt marketing automation, content creation and strategy services will also be in higher demand than ever before. So not all marketing jobs will be automated.
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Fast Growing Occupations This Opportunity Will Create
Companies that use marketing automation in the development and execution of their tactics have improved conversion rates, grown revenues, and become more efficient. For that reason, the following jobs are popping out of the industry;
- Creative Marketing Laboratories
- Operational Marketing Factories
- Automated Ads
Industries Declining Because of Automated Marketing
With today’s self-serve kiosks and chatbots popping up all over the place, there’s plenty of reasons for people in certain sectors to wonder whether or not their current job will even exist in the next couple of years. For marketers, the worry is much the same.
Automated outreach services are quickly becoming more and more advanced as are AI-based programs like Siri, which rely on voice-recognition. These industries might take a hit.
- Content Generation Businesses
- Email Marketers
5. Remote Working
The percentage of workers permanently working from home is expected to double in 2023, according to a survey from Enterprise Technology Research (ETR). The world witnessed a historic shift in the 2020 job market due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
While some companies used to offer the ability to work from home as a perk, it has now become the norm for most businesses.
By 2025, an estimated 70% of the workforce will be working remotely at least five days a month. Many companies are also planning a new combination of remote and on-site working, giving rise to a hybrid work model.
In-person meetings might be reserved for brainstorming sessions, introducing new projects, or team-building exercises, while remote days would be for work that can be performed individually. The office could be redesigned and reorganized by getting rid of cubicles and creating more collaborative meeting spaces
How Remote Working Will Create Jobs and Business Opportunities
Remote work can create jobs and business opportunities because with the current pandemic that the world is still struggling to come out from, businesses and organisations have recognized that there are certain jobs that can easily be carried out remotely.
So in future, they would prefer to outsource majority of their job tasks. As such, people whom were not able to get the jobs initially due to distance and other concerns can now have access to them.
Effective digital leaders know that software like Office 365 is revolutionising online productivity and communication; and technology like 4G/5G and shared public Wi-Fi are providing the power.
Fast Growing Occupations These Opportunities Will Create
In descending order, these are the 10 most rapidly growing career fields for remote workers in 2023.
- Marketing
- Administrative
- HR and Recruiting
- Accounting and finance
- Graphic design
- Customer service
- Writing
- Mortgage and real estate
- Internet and e-commerce
- Project management
Industries Declining Because of Remote Working
Remote work has been shown to increase worker productivity, but it can lead to isolation and stress as the line between work and home blurs.
There are also concerns that the lack of serendipitous encounters with coworkers could stifle creativity and reduce team cohesion. These are the industries that could take a hit from the rise in remote work;
- Restaurant
- Hotel
- Hospitality
- Travel Agencies
6. Virtual Assistant
Before the VA uprising, it was thought that human skills, especially those relating to cognitive tasks, cannot be reproduced through technology.
But innovation in the VA market has proven this assertion to be false. In fact, today, virtual assistants are now a new workplace reality.
Homesteads are now accustomed to the various AI-energized, voice-controlled assistants we have today like Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri, and Cortana.
Use of virtual assistants (VAs) powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) to automate cognitive tasks of humans, aid in real-time speech recognition and intent analysis is steadily demonstrating its impact in the modern industrial scenario. It is predicted that 1.8 billion people will use smart assistants by 2022 worldwide.
How VA will Create Jobs and Business Opportunities
Executive virtual assistants will change the world of work with the;
- Launch of smarter virtual assistants
- The amalgamation of VAs with IoT
- Analytical VAs for predicting the best scenario
- A personal assistant for every employee
Fast Growing Occupations VAs Will Create
As consumers become more reliant on their virtual assistants in their personal lives, it is expected that demand will increase for virtual assistants in the workplace, with a delineation between the consumer market and enterprise.
Virtual assistants are already emerging in the workplace as taskmasters, completing repetitive tasks and freeing up time for workers to focus on more complex tasks.
Again, with the application of Internet of Things (IoT), things are set to get even more rosy for the virtual assistant industry.
In the manufacturing world, many machines are starting to be operated through voice-control. In the office setting, it’s possible that IT solutions could be run in the same fashion with voice-control of machines. Soon, we could be joining meetings with a voice command, instead of dialing in the long meeting ID and password.
Industries Declining Because of VA
Virtual assistants do not necessarily cause an industry to decline, what it does majorly is to reduce the number of people a company would have to hire when they open up for business. Some of the job positions that are usually contracted out are;
- Personal assistants
- Secretarial duties
- Dictation and Translation
- Customer Service
- Web Design, Development & Maintenance
- Marketing and Social Media management
- Administrative Work
7. Drop Shipping
Drop shipping is a business model where the retailer doesn’t actually keep the inventory in his or her possession neither does he or she process the orders.
All orders are fulfilled and shipped directly from a wholesaler. This allows the retailer to focus on the marketing side of the business.
With the right technology, it is easy to facilitate online shopping and delivery to the customers, even in rural areas. These factors are currently propelling the growth of the Drop shipping market.
At present, Drop shipping has moved from traditional stores to the online sphere, which makes shipment possible anywhere, as majority of the population has access to Internet.
Less investment is a beneficial part of Drop shipping, thus allowing new start-ups and entrepreneurs to enter and launch companies in the industry.
Additionally, as per the China Internet Information Center, China’s online retail sales surpassed US$ 1.29 trillion in 2018.
Several smart products such as smart speakers and smartwatches are favored by consumers of this region, with sales upsurge of 80% year-on-year. Sales of cosmetics and furniture also achieved swift growth even in China.
How Drop shipping will Create Jobs and Business Opportunities
With the outbreak of the coronavirus, a lot of jobs were lost. As the situation of things started easing off bit by bit with the release of an effective vaccine, a lot more people want to go back to work, but the jobs are no longer there. A lot of people have now fallen back to drop shipping as a main source of income.
The fact that you are not in charge of any merchandise neither are you involved with shipping makes drop shipping the ideal business to start right at home. You only need system, phone, and internet connection.
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Fast Growing Occupations These Opportunities Will Create
Niche Ecommerce Businesses
- Industries Declining Because of Them
Local retail businesses
8. Coworking space
The growth of the co working space industry has been limited by the tremendous increase in the number of employees working from home because of the coronavirus lock down. A recent report reveals that in March 2020, operators of co working spaces saw a 50% decline in revenue.
As businesses are starting to reopen around the world and people are going back to their workspaces, the reality of co working spaces going forward is getting more pronounced, though it will include a priority on the health and safety of the operators and members.
However, working 100% remotely seems unlikely, since human connection is one of our most important needs, along with safety.
Governments may have lifted lock downs and restrictions, but it’s still up to individual organizations to figure out ways to reopen their workplaces safely.
- How it will Create Jobs and Business Opportunities
In a post-pandemic economy, it is possible that only the biggest companies will have the budget to maintain headquarters, while businesses without the financial resources may scrap the idea of having a physical location altogether.
Others may decentralize their physical presence and open regional hubs wherever their workers are located, whether that’s in the suburbs, mid-sized cities or across the country entirely.
While the future remote workforce is expected to grow, many will still want a place to connect with others in person. Co-working and community spaces are uniquely positioned to fill this void.
People will always need, and will be looking for, a place to connect, find community, and to find a purpose. That’s what brought people to co-working spaces in the first place, and this is what will sustain the industry.
Fast Growing Occupations These Opportunities Will Create
A short report from CBInsights shows the “office of the future” will probably have voice tech systems to avoid touching, as well as autonomous cleaning solutions.
It will have air-improving systems to make us more productive and sensors to count people in rooms, along with a wellness check at the entry.
So for one, the cleaning industry will expand because of co working spaces. Also, it will create more jobs in the tech industry as there will be need for high tech voice and motion sensor devices. In addition, there is a new creation called the Mobile Office Pod. This is a revolution to the co working space.
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Industries Declining Because of Them
If the co working space industry truly recovers after the pandemic, online business meeting applications might take the hit since businesses will no longer be conducted online.
In fact, even now, the prominence of apps like chat box, zoom, etc have been taking a nose dive because industries are starting to come alive.
9. Online course/virtual learning
The concept of traditional education has changed radically within the last couple of years. Being physically present in a classroom isn’t the only learning option anymore — not with the rise of the internet and new technologies.
Nowadays, you can have access to quality education whenever and wherever you want, as long as you have access to a computer. Over 30 percent of higher education students in the U.S. are taking at least one distance course.
Online education is expected to increase to $1.96 billion by 2022 from $247 million in 2016. It is approximated that online education users will grow to by the end of 2022 to 9.6 million.
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How it will Create Jobs and Business Opportunities
As students’ progress to higher classes in school, they seek more autonomy and intellectual freedom. Online learning can help them pursue highly individualised learning programmes, possibly even college level courses.
These, combined with hands-on exercises, real world exploration, and thorough assessments, can be highly beneficial to their learning progress.
There’s often access to very diverse material such as videos, photos, and eBooks as well, and tutors can also integrate other formats like forums or discussions to improve their lessons.
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Fast Growing Occupations These Opportunities Will Create
Some of the jobs that the virtual learning industry it will create are;
- Online tutors and lecturers
- Learning software creators
- Online Publishing
- eBook writing app creators
- Graphics designers
- Illustration and Illustrators
- Content creating apps
Industries Declining Because of Them
- Accommodation hostels
- Public libraries
10. Content Marketing
Content marketing is a strategy that involves using blog posts, videos, emails and other web content to attract and retain customers.
It is a relatively new field that’s evolving every day, which makes predicting the future of content marketing very difficult. SEO has and always will be an important part of content marketing.
Having said that, the future of SEO will rely less on technical signals and more on authority and social signals both of which require brands to produce more relevant, useful, entertaining and inspiring content.
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How it will Create Jobs and Business Opportunities
Content marketing will be transformed by technology. While the written word will never completely disappear, multimedia storytelling will be a requirement.
Content will be built for scale: Short snippets to popular augmented reality views; avatars to share expert opinions in virtual reality; longer-form pieces targeted to micro-niche groups rather than for broadcast on social media.
Content marketing will be about hyper-targeting at scale, or using an editorial approach to engage ever-smaller groups of people with relevant video, photo, immersive and written content.
Online video already accounts for 74% of all online traffic, whilst traditional media and advertising continues to fall. Video is able to be easily repurposed into other formats (audio, blog posts, transcriptions, slideshares etc) making it the most adaptable and reusable method of content creation.
Fast Growing Occupations These Opportunities Will Create
- Augmented reality Industry
- Virtual reality
- AR/VR technology industry
- Language processing app creators
- Content writers
- Interactive Infographic creating
- AI content writing templates
- Machine generated content apps
- Subject matter experts
- SEO experts
- Videographers
Industries Declining Because of Them
Traditional marketers
11. Consultancy Business via Zoom or Skype
As the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic drags on, there have been many questions about what (or even where) the workplace will be in the future, particularly for people who work at companies based in traditional offices.
Video-based conference calls on platforms like Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, Cisco Webex, etc. are – like it or not – with us to stay.
It’s an approach that literally overnight went from something unusual to completely mainstream, and the remote workplace has created habits that we’re not going to be able to simply walk away from. Yes, there’s a growing awareness that it’s possible to have too much of a good thing – that is, too many video calls.
As a result, the number and length of video-based meetings will likely decline somewhat over time, but they aren’t going to disappear.
They are starting to evolve, however, thanks to the immense competition among the different platforms and the critical factor that programmers who are creating these tools have to use them extensively as well.
How it will Create Jobs and Business Opportunities
Connectivity technologies like 5G and enhanced versions of Wi-Fi (specifically Wi-Fi 6E) will be critical in the consultancy industry because of the absolutely essential need for high-speed connections (and ideally a backup connectivity solution in case one of them isn’t working well) when attending to clients.
Thankfully, we’re starting to see many more mobile PCs that integrate these technologies come to market from major vendors like Lenovo, Dell, and HP, with more on the way.
In addition to enhanced hardware, we’re starting to see companies look at new software solutions to both ease the back-to-office process, as well as improve the overall employee experience.
In the case of the former, companies like Cisco are leveraging their position as providers of in-office wired and wireless networking equipment to create solutions like their DNA Spaces indoor location service.
Companies like Citrix and VMware have been seeing strong interest in some of the virtual desktop solutions that they have for enabling easy remote access to all the applications a consultant may need.
Citrix is taking the concept even further by building a series of micro-apps within its Citrix Desktop that can be used to check on the physical and even mental health of employees via simple surveys and check-in procedures.
Fast Growing Occupations These Opportunities Will Create
- Hardware tech creators
- Virtual desktop solutions
- Micro-apps that can check mental health of consultants and their clients
Industries Declining Because of Them
- Physical consulting
- Co working spaces
12. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the process by which an affiliate earns a commission for marketing another person’s or company’s products.
The affiliate simply searches for a product they enjoy, then promotes that product and earns a piece of the profit from each sale they make.
The sales are tracked via affiliate links from one website to another. Affiliate marketing is a popular tactic to drive sales and generate significant online revenue.
There is a 10.1% increase in affiliate marketing spending in the United States each year, meaning that by 2022, that number will reach $6.8 billion.
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How it will Create Jobs and Business Opportunities
Affiliate marketing involves an affiliate/influencer signing up to an affiliate program offered by a retailer to promote and sell their products for a commission.
The affiliate promotes the services or products of the brand by using their own unique link. This link then sends traffic to the brand’s website. Small businesses need a simple way to recruit marketers to help sell products.
And small online marketers need a simple way to gain commission from the traffic they drive. Affiliate marketing solves both problems.
Fast Growing Occupations These Opportunities Will Create
- EBay Partner Networks
- Middlemen
- Small scale Online retailers
Industries Declining Because of Them
- Social media influencing
- Local retailers
13. Data Crunching
The era of big data is just getting started, with many firms eager to tap vast new databases to gather more info on their customers, their competitors, and even themselves.
The challenge isn’t just crunching numbers; it’s making sense of them, and gaining useful insights that can be translated into a business edge.
14. App Development
Marketing and market research are two growing fields where the use of data is exploding. With the right gadgets and know-how, you can position yourself for this time bomb business.
15. 3D Printing Shop
We have mentioned manufacturing a few times in our guide but there’s an elephant in the room to watch out for… and it is 3D printed.
The basic idea underlying this business is fabricating items in low cost printers. There is plenty of hype but 3D printers are still extremely expensive.
When you need a need a new lens cap? Print it! That’s the idea behind this. That’s the way of the future. Instead of the long processes and procedure of fabricating in a factory and shipping the item wherever it’s needed, 3D printers are expected to produce everything from architect models to sinks to spare camera parts.
“It’s already happening at service bureaus. It hasn’t happened at a physical shop like Kinko’s, but it’s very possible and soon. 3D printing could revolutionize the way that everybody gets their products.
Starting with a more traditional approach, manufacturers could create industrial-sized facilities to print items en masse for sale.
If those printers are standardized, then one investment of manufacturing equipment can be used to print all sorts of products without the need for dedicated assembly lines.
Personal printers will only become more popular, however. Right now they are a bit expensive for the average person but, if everybody is in the business of printing their own goods, then commerce may move into the digital sphere as printing schematics are bought and sold.
That said, the 3D printing community focuses heavily on open-source technology right now. Places like the Thingiverse offer thousands of schematics for free and so the corporatization of the space may take some time if it happens at all.
Like with many emerging technologies, you could start a business selling parts or repair services for printers. You could also offer online services in education for constructing and maintaining 3D printers but, as the Internet becomes more sophisticated, a lot of that information may be available for free unless you have specialized knowledge.
Most 3D printing uses plastic right now but early metallic printing exists and is only going to get better. We have 3D-printed food, too, but it’ll get even more sophisticated in the future. This means that food services can benefit from automation and cut back on the cost of employees.
16. Computer Engineering
A lot of software development is done overseas these days, but the need for high-level computer experts able to tie systems together is still strong.
In finance and investing, for instance, high-speed computing is increasingly a prime competitive advantage. And most big companies will need networks that are faster, more seamless, and more secure.
17. Asteroid Mining
Right now, this idea is slightly beyond sci-fi. The idea underlying this future business is exploiting and exploring space. Since resources are running out here on Earth, the value of rare metals and minerals may someday be worth the cost of lunar or asteroid mining, especially when you consider that deep sea drilling requires investments of billions of dollars.
If you realize that everything we hold of value on earth is in near-infinite quantities in space, you realize there will be vast wealth created on the space frontier.
Many entrepreneurs are not concerned with the difficulties inherent in mining an asteroid; as they are already convinced it’s possible and lucrative.
18. Scientific Research
New technology will continue to generate breakthroughs in medicine, manufacturing, transportation, and many other fields, which means there will be strong demand for workers schooled in biology, chemistry, math, and engineering.
Some areas that show particular promise: biotechnology and biomedicine, nanotechnology, robotics, and 3D printing, which allows the manufacture of physical products from a digital data file.
19. Migration-as-a-Service
Migrating from one platform to another is a pain and as technology improves, there’s going to be an increase in need for migration services, so that platform users won’t lose data while moving across SaaS platforms.
20. Robotics Mechanics
Robotics is the backbone of automation, which we’ve already brought up several times, so you should see how important it can be for future business.
Who made money during the gold rush? The ones who sold shovels, of course. If automation is a sure thing, getting into the rental or supply of automated machinery could be a viable business strategy.
Let’s go even further and talk about humanoid robotics. That’s robotics technology used to create machines that can fulfill human interactions and occupations. Toyota has already showcased its T-HR3 robotic avatars that allow human beings to control robots remotely.
Then there are the robots who don’t need a human behind the wheel and are being developed for research, bartending, acting, space work, and education. That puts a lot of industries at risk, naturally, but there are always people needed to make and maintain those machines.
That could be you and your business if you play your cards right. Like with automation, you could sell consumer robotics or rent them out to other businesses that require some robotic muscle. You could require said automation too and that could reduce costs and make other forms of business more affordable.
Right now, robots are scrubbing floors but they cannot wash dishes. Thousands of robots have been blown up or damaged by improvised explosive devices in Iraq and Afghanistan. So robot mechanics already exist. But we’re talking about something as ubiquitous as a computer repair shop.
The world robot population is growing rapidly, with an estimated 13 million robots by the end of next year, according to IFR World Robotics.
Many are industrial robots, but personal robotics is growing rapidly, with research robots doing dishes and ironing. Soldiers risk their lives trying to save bots on the battlefields. It will accelerate massively.
21. Nanosatellite
This idea is about making things smaller than it was half a century ago. As satellites get smaller, the costs of launching them get lower.
That’s the major limiting factor. Nano satellites and the even-smaller picosatellites can be packed with all sorts of useful equipment that have business applications.
The types of nanosatellites and microsatellites that can be built by small companies and universities will become more robust. We’re heading in a direction where small teams and small companies will be able to do far more in smaller packages.
22. Smartphone Repair Services
The high competition in the smartphone market, leads to the dramatic price reduction and in turn it has increased the usage too.
Now everyone afford to get at least one smartphone in their hand. Luckily, there are no much smart phone repairing services are out there. As it opens a wide opportunity, without any doubt it would serve as a best small business to start now.
23. Kids Friendly Apps
Kids are your future customers, so gaining their loyalty now isn’t a bad idea. JWT Intelligence also cited the connectivity of kids as a big trend for the future starting from now.
According to Common Sense Media, three-quarters of kids have access to a mobile device. This spells a big business opportunity for anyone who can create products or design apps just for kids.
And, if they also happen to be educational or promote good health, you’ll win their parents over, too. You can start small by designing a few kid-friendly apps and see where your business goes from there.
What Future Trend Exist in the Healthcare & Biotechnology Industry?
When thinking about the future of business, many entrepreneurs overlook the medical sector because of how intimidating it can be. You don’t need to be a doctor to capitalize on emerging healthcare and wellness trends (though it certainly does help).
If you live in the US or somewhere else with private medical operations, you may have an idea of a product or service that will be needed in the future. It could be a product or supplement that will see increased demand over the next few decades.
With AI and more sophisticated data collection methods, businesses can also provide health services with more accurate pricing and insurance rates. If you have biomedical expertise, you could even start a business in gene editing.
While there are ethical barriers to the practice, they are likely to diminish in the future if the benefits are shown to outweigh the costs. If that happens, you could be there to capitalize on demands for gene editing for medical or even cosmetic purposes.
If you’re in the transhumanist camp, you probably think the healthcare sector will get really interesting with human augmentation and other developments once thought to be the realm of fiction. Could you put things in place to capitalize on those business opportunities in the future?
- Blood Bank
- Sperm Bank
- Biotechnology
- Genetic research and engineering
- CryoBank
- Stem Cell Therapy
- Botox clinic and Body reconstruction services
24. Body Part Making
This has to deal with the use of degrading polymers and stem cells to engineer tissues. This is not about growing a foot or an arm in a lab. It’s about growing skin or tendon or muscle–in other words, single types of tissue. But the possibilities are immense.
For instance, a Connecticut company already has the tech and they are working to heal ACL tears without taking tendon from another part of the body to surgically repair it. The company uses a degrading polymer placed where a tear occurred and lets stem cells in the blood do the healing.
Using a device that looks like a high-tech shoelace, it’s braided. It looks like about a 5-inch shoelace from your sneaker made from very small fibers, like smaller than a human hair.
25. Stem Cell Pharmacy
Even though it is promising, the political atmosphere concerning the issue is really charged. This concept is concerned with healing with cells moves medicine away from drugs.
Stem cells are already used to model diseases and test new drugs, but as the technology advances, stems cells may actually push drugs aside.
Even now, stem cells are showing promise for degenerative diseases and regrowing cells after surgeries. Pharmacies full of drugs, however, could well be replaced with pharmacies of cells that are more natural and work better.
26. Nanomedic
This is the use of nanotechnology for the reparation of cells. A report commissioned by the British Government earlier this year, “The Shape of Jobs to Come,” flubbed in suggesting that nanotechnology would lead to subatomic medical treatments and hence, nanomedics. We’re on board with nanotechnology providing advances in medicine, but this was a problem of size.
Bruce Donald, a computer science professor at Duke University, has been creating microrobots that could possibly insert electrons into neurons in the brain.
The world’s smallest untethered, controllable robots, Donald’s nanobots are about 60 microns wide (200 could fit on an M&M;). It’s not hard to imagine medical applications for the robots.
27. DNA Design Firms
If you don’t know, reading DNA gives clues to disease. At this junction in the history of human existence, DNA reveals some diseases, much more to come if we invest in this area.
But testing DNA for patterns that correlate with diseases won’t disappear so easily. BioNanomatrix, a Philadelphia company that provides technology solutions for reading DNA, is working on a grant to get DNA sequencing under $100 by 2022.
The long-term possibilities of cheap DNA testing involve a better understanding of aging and endless possibilities for new ways to cure and treat disease.
The great dream is that you take a person’s DNA when they are a baby and you profile it in a very thorough way, which can make easy the prediction of the health status of the baby.
28. Wellness and Natural Health
The wellness and natural health industry will most likely exceed the mainstream healthcare industry in the nearest future. So, natural health experts and products will be in great demand.
What Future Opportunities Exist in the Sustainable Renewable Energy & Power Industry?
Renewable energy is the vanguard of current sustainability efforts. We’ve brought it up a few times already in this guide, so it’s no surprise that the green energy sector is a virtually guaranteed growth opportunity moving forward.
Solar, wind, geothermal, and water power industries will only expand over the next few decades until they provide us with most of our power. If you can edge into them and carve out a place then you may have a business, but the earlier you get in, the better.
Solar panels are being placed everywhere, from windows, cars, and even clothes to charge personal electronics like phones or smartwatches.
If you’re in adjacent industries then you could incorporate photovoltaic technology into your business to make it more sustainable.
29. Biofuel Production
There are different forms of bio-fuels and different sources for it too that won’t hurt the pocket. The fuel is so cheap and to think that it can actually be also made from waste and to crown it all, bio-fuels doesn’t emit smoke like the conventional energy sources like kerosene and petrol we have around here.
You can start to produce your own biofuel too and create your own invention that would run on biofuel. It could be a generator, a tricycle or even a motor vehicle.
30. Power Storage Business
Uninterrupted power supply systems also known as UPS or inverters are gadgets used to store energy, so that when there is absence of power, the UPS can be used as a backup source of power.
UPS are used in hospitals, schools, information technology companies, individual homes and almost every company out there. You would definitely make good money from selling this hot item.
31. Solar Powered Office
With tax breaks, advances in core solar technologies and a new generation of gadgets, fairly soon you will be able to power your entire SMB with the sun.
State-funded renewable energy programs mix tax breaks and direct grants to drive solar deployments. Outfits like PowerFilm Inc. are developing custom-made flexible solar panels that can power literally anything.
32. Wind Energy Installation
A lot of people are also embracing wind energy. It’s not uncommon to see an entire community that runs on wind energy.
You could set up a wind farm in your area and have people pay you to supply their houses with wind energy. Like solar energy, wind energy is cost-effective.
33. Solar Water System
Water is very essential and everyone knows that water pumping machines sap a lot of energy. You could start a business that helps people install water pumping machines that run on solar power and makes it cheaper and easier to pump water.
The future is already here and if you intend to be part of the relevant class of the society in the days to come, then you should invest in any of this business above.
You should also know that most of this business is in the field of science and technology which need loads of research years before the products can be commercially viable, so the time to start is now, not later.
What Future ideas Exist in the Auto Engineering Industry?
34. Car Charging Station
It’s common knowledge that electric vehicles is already in the U.S. Auto market and hundreds of charging stations have been built, thousands will have to be built to cater for the increasing consumers. The all-electric Nissan Leaf completely sold out before the car even arrived in U.S. showrooms.
With that kind of demand, the charging stations to get those cars running are also going to be in high demand. The idea is to ensure that people don’t hesitate to buy electric because they’re worried about fueling.
The key is that they fuel a little differently.” In general, the cars take hours to charge, so stations are needed where cars are parked.
35. Jet-Pack Dealership
The idea is hinged on personal flight. It is actually commercially available right now but has not been embraced by consumers.
An aircraft company is already taking orders for the first commercially available jetpack. It’s recreational, so you’d need to go fly in a field somewhere, rather than to work.
It’s also expensive, stating a price of $100,000. If that price comes down, however, it’s not hard to imagine that folks might want to fly to work instead of drive. That is, until air traffic looks like the freeways of today.
36. Car Sharing Business
Car sharing or car sharing (US) or car clubs (UK) is a model of car rental where people rent cars for short periods of time, often by the hour.
They are attractive to customers who make only occasional use of a vehicle, as well as others who would like occasional access to a vehicle of a different type than they use day-to-day.
The organization renting the cars may be a commercial business or the users may be organized as a company, public agency, cooperative, or ad hoc grouping.
37. Electric Car / Transport
One major expense that people undergo daily is motor vehicle fueling. Imagine a world where you didn’t have to fuel your vehicle. You can develop your own electric vehicle or employ people to develop one and sell the idea to you for reproduction.
Let’s start with an idea that’s tied to those sustainability efforts we mentioned earlier. As world governments move to become greener, some hope to ban Internal Combustion Engine vehicles in 2030. The banning of so-called ICEs would propel the fledgling electric car industry to the mainstream.
As a business, you could provide electric car tech or improvements. Most people can’t jump into manufacturing EVs without prior experience but you can look at creating tech, both hardware and software, to improve people’s experiences.
A big barrier to the proliferation of the electric vehicle industry is the infrastructure. There need to be charging points all over society to make electric vehicles possible. Some think that gas stations will make the transition to an electric vehicle charging point.
If that is going to happen, you could buy up a gas station for relatively cheap once their business tanks, turn it into a charging point, and wait for the money to roll in on four wheels.
Speaking of, you can also offer electric transport in areas where that infrastructure is in place. As sentiment turns away from fossil fuels, your gas-guzzling competitors will need to spend money to adapt or fall away one by one. If you’re early, you’ll be a dominant market force before they even realize their business is outdated.
Lastly, people are going to “break down” even in electric cars. They’ll lose power and, in areas with lackluster infrastructure, they’ll need somebody to come out in a truck and recharge them. There are problems, like the sheer weight of large batteries and the fact EVs can’t be towed.
Established car service providers are already providing electric vehicle cover by finding solutions. A small private company operating in urban areas with competitive pricing can undercut the big names, however.
What Future Trends Exist in the Defense and Security Innovations Industry?
38. Privacy Protection Firm
The use of smartphones connected to different grid of information has exposed our information to those who want to steal it.
The need for data protection and reputation management growing rapidly. From credit-card numbers to photos from the latest kegger, more private information is online than ever before.
Businesses need to protect that information, and individuals need to be careful with it. Right now, states are only now beginning to pass laws that require companies to have written security plans to prevent data breach. Beyond data, a cottage industry is developing in the field of reputation management.
Future Agriculture and Agro-allied Industry Trends
39. . Meat Grower
Can you imagine growing meat in the lab? That is what this is about. Even though this is already been done but the taste is not there yet.
Using techniques that come out of stem cell technology, numerous groups of scientists have grown meat in the lab. Stem cells are placed on scaffolding and soaked in nutrients to grow.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) are behind the push for lab meat. In 2008, the group offered a $1 million prize to the first group that can grow commercially viable amounts of chicken meat in a lab. New Harvest is a nonprofit founded by Jason Matheny in 2004 to do just that.
40. Vertical Farming
Single-story, high-tech greenhouses save significant amounts of water and increase productivity. So why not stack them up and makes cities self-sufficient?
The idea for vertical farms came from an infectious disease ecologist, Dickson Despommier, who turned his knowledge of parasites into a way of looking at cities.
“Instead of the city behaving like a parasite, it should be a symbiant. The future city has to take a big lesson from nature and start behaving like an ecosystem.” By that, he means zero-waste cities.
41. Water Trading
Water is becoming scarce. It has been said that water is the oil of the 21st century. But humans don’t need to drink a liter or two of oil every day.
Early signs of coming conflicts over water are already apparent around the world and in the U.S., where the Southwest is ever-thirsty.
Water issues are a coming tidal wave, especially considering the amount of water needed for agriculture. People will actually make a choice: I could drink this water, or I could let my plants drink this water.
Soon this element is going to be the subject of conflicts and wars. If you don’t know, Bottled water already a billion-dollar business.
42. Veterinarians
Two out of every two people love pets and they are more popular than ever, and some of them get medical care that’s practically fit for a human.
The BLS expects the need for vets to rise 36 percent by 2022.Every household owns a pet. But due to the hurry burry lifestyle most of them have find no time to take care of their lovable pets which makes the pet care to be considered as the best business to start in 2014.
According to “American Pet Products Association” this pet care industry grows by 5%each year. Pet care industry includes the services like pet sitting, pet mobile grooming and assisting the people who want to grow farm animals like bees and chickens in their home located in city etc.
Entertainment and Tourism
43. Holographic Theater
Right now, the idea is beyond 3D. The hologram of today is a clever version of an old illusion called Pepper’s Ghost. In the mid-19th century, the trick was done with thick glass between the audience and image that could make a figure appear to be floating in the air.
Current illusionists use highly reflective polymer, invisible to the audience, to create life-size images. A top application for the technology is using holograms for real-time telepresence for meetings.
The capacity already exists for numerous people in different cities to appear on stage on another continent, in real time. Of course, hologram theaters could replace 3D, as well.
44. Lunar Tour Guide
This is a form of pay to play lunar travel and will be available in the next few years. Accessing space used to only be the province of governments or large aerospace giants.
That is no longer the case, with numerous companies sending paying customers into the heavens. That may go a step further, with lunar missions, in the next five or 10 years.
Ever since Eugene Cernan stepped off the moon on Dec. 14, 1972, the moon has been devoid of human contact. The next person to return may well pay for the right to do so. Space Adventures has commenced the business, by planning a lunar mission for tourists in the next three to four years.
45. Space Hotel
This is a form of space tourism and it is targeted toward the upper echelon of our world. The punchline is that we are now seeing the birth of the Googles and Apples of the space business. There are a number of companies working on space hotels.
At the forefront is Bigelow Aerospace, which launched two prototypes of space hotels and currently plans a commercial space complex by 2014.
Called Sundancer, the hotel is expected to have space for up to six people on a short-term basis. A Russian company called Orbital Technologies is also racing to have the first commercial space station.
Finance and FinTech Trends
- Equity Financing (Venture capitalism, Angel investing)
46. Accounting Firm
To start a small accounting firm, you won’t need a strong economic and financial background. Your investments are just a professional degree and of course a practical accounting knowledge. Regardless of the nature of the business, everyone requires an accountant.
So if you are an accounting whiz, consider starting the accounting firm. Provide your best, regardless of the size (small scale, medium scale or large scale) of your clients. Because satisfied clients are the best advertisements to your business.
Internet Services Technological Demands
47. Web Designing
Nowadays every small to large businesses have started to establish their online presence through websites. It has created a huge demand for web designers.
Starting a business in the web design is more economic. All you need are just a PC with internet connection and a bit of creativeness.
So, if you are in the field of technology or completed your study in computer science, when it comes to choose among the best businesses to start right now, starting the web design and development company should be your ultimate choice.
48. SEO Firm
This is related to Web designing, as the demand for the good SEO services seems quite high. Every webmaster who holds a website want to be found by the search engines and people to increase their profit margin. You can even provide SEO services from your home.
To survive the competition, make sure, your learning curve is not going to end at any time soon. Equip yourself with every new search engine updates and change your SEO tactics regularly.
49. Social Media Consulting
With the dramatic increase in the popularity of social networks like Facebook and Twitter, businesses are deeming it more necessary than ever to start using these platforms for reaching out to prospects.
This has led to a huge demand for marketing consultants who advise businesses on how to promote and market their products and services on social networks; and this demand will keep increasing for as long as social media continues to remain relevant.
50. Outsourcing Agency
Due to the current state of the economy, businesses are looking for ways to cut down cost and streamline their operations.
One way businesses are trying to achieve this is by outsourcing to freelance contractors what used to be in-house functions; such as human resources, accounting, and IT related tasks. If you can setup an outsourcing agency, you are in for huge profit potential.
51. Automated Translating Services
Globalization in all the areas has actually created a tremendous demand for the translators. Without requiring any big investment in the upfront, you can simply start your business as a freelance translator.
All you need is a sound knowledge in the languages you are going to deal with. Remember though, just being aware of the languages will not be sufficient to carry out an effective communication.
52. Freelance Marketplace
Companies are increasingly turning to freelance and contract workers to fill the skill gaps in their staff. It’s not hard to imagine that you could build a whole company around providing freelance services of one sort or another.
According to Freelancer.com, which lists more than a million freelance projects on its site, the most in-demand freelance services are data entry, academic writing, Excel projects, data processing, Web search and Facebook-based jobs.
Some freelance gigs pay by the project and others pay hourly and the rates can vary greatly. But as you gain more experience, your earning potential will soar.
53. Instagram Consulting
In its annual trends report, The Future 100 — which highlights the big and small trends to watch this coming year — JWT Intelligence reported that more and more companies are using Instagram as a marketing tool.
According to the report, the social media app reached 400 million users in 2015, and the number of companies with more than 100 employees using Instagram for marketing is expected to reach 48.8 percent in 2016. Despite Instagram’s growing popularity, not all brands know what they’re doing on the app.
B2C Industry
54. Marriage Counseling and Therapy
There’s now widespread recognition that mental health is as important as physical health, which is likely to increase demand for professionals in this field.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the need for marriage and family therapists, as one example, to grow 41 percent by 2022.
55. Home Care for the Elderly
Due to the ever-aging population in the United States and other developing countries, there is an increasing demand for independent living by the elderly.
And any businesses that can cater to this need by offering personal home care products and services to the elderly; with respect to physical therapy, grocery shopping, cooking, etc will be of great relevance for years to come.
56. Services for Retirees
Everyone wants to live a good life even after retirement. And it is expected that by the year 2022, 80% of workers born in North America will be older than 50; a statistic revealed by Entrepreneur magazine.
This trend will open huge opportunities for businesses targeting adults that are over 50, who are looking to enjoy a blissful retirement. Such businesses include retirement real estate, retirement recreational services, nutritional counseling to help seniors look better, etc.
57. Care for the elderly with special needs
As there is an increase in the number of elderly people with temporary or permanent disabilities and ailments, there will be an increasing demand for services that help such people — such as skilled nursing and medical care for the elderly.
58. Box Subscription Services
Box subscription services are popping up everywhere in the food, beauty and even pet product sectors, ready to deliver goods right to your door each month.
One of the perks that keep customers coming back for more is the idea that these subscription boxes are carefully curated just for them based on their likes and interests, and each month, the boxes’ contents are a surprise.
Find a unique product category that’s still untapped by the box subscription industry, or find a way to put a new spin on an existing service, and you could have a lucrative business on your hands. Keep it as inexpensive as possible, offering cheaper products will help you stand out from the competition.
Future Opportunities in the B2B Industry
59. Mobile Marketing Consulting
Due to the ever-increasing number of people who surf the web using mobile devices like Smartphones and tablets, businesses are now realizing the need to adopt mobile marketing as a way of targeting prospects that use mobile devices.
This has led to an increase in the demand for mobile marketing consultants. Since indicators are suggesting that mobile devices will continue to dominate for a long time (just as the need for mobile marketing), there’s a huge opportunity for mobile marketing consultants.
60. Employee Monitoring Services
Due to the technological development, now most of the jobs can be done without leaving your doorsteps. According to the recent study there will be more than 1.3 billion employees work in mobile fashion by 2015. The question here is how the employers will keep track of their employees work?
This is where the role of employee monitoring services come into play. Now this industry makes use of “vehicle tracking time clock, mobile time clock apps” to monitor their employees.
But still when it comes to billing and payroll, employers require a dedicated staff member to manage all these. So consider starting a company in this sector that provides effective employee monitoring services and additional human resource functions in an outsourcing fashion.
61. Management
The boss earns a lot for good reason: His job isn’t as easy as it might seem. Effective management in the future will require basic business knowledge plus the ability to oversee operations in many locations and countries, and some technical know-how.
Anybody who can improve a unit’s performance while lowering costs should rise quickly. The BLS and IBISWorld also expect growing demand for some support fields such as human relations, benefits administration, and event planning.
62. Testing Services
Apps, mobile-friendly websites and e-commerce have become must-haves for every business. Often, however, they don’t work properly.
One reason is that businesses don’t always test their applications or software carefully enough; meaning testing services are now in hot demand.
For example, one company, SOASTA, offers cloud testing services for clients. And there’s room in this market for growth — a service that specializes in niche testing, for instance, would have an edge over broader testing services.
63. Environmentally-Friendly Business
With sustainability becoming such an important part of the future, it’s a good idea to have an environmentally-friendly business over one that’ll get suffocated by legislation or a twist in public sentiment. Here are some business ideas based around environmental friendliness:
- Sustainable construction materials/services
- Organic/vegan catering
- Bicycle renting and repair
- Consulting other businesses on how to become green
- Upcycling and reselling old furniture
- Providing reusable plastic bottles and other resources
- Apps/software geared around sustainability
Those are just some of the environmentally-friendly businesses that are likely to have a place in commerce over the next decade. When forming your own business idea, keep the environment and how your business may affect it in mind.
64. A Business Using Drones
Next, drones, the bane of air traffic controllers everywhere. Drones are here to stay and are going to revolutionize photography, videography, and product delivery in the future. Ecommerce companies like Amazon have already started offering their Prime Air service.
If drones become the next big thing, you should make sure your business is compatible with this emerging industry. You can offer your own deliveries using drones or you could set up a satellite business that repairs or offers parts to companies that use drones.
Problems with drones at the moment involve power lines, restricted airspaces, control range, the weather, and people knocking them out of the sky for fun or to try and steal their precious cargo. Can you solve any of these problems and put your business ahead of the competition?
Flying drone tech may also advance to the point of creating passenger vehicles. The first-ever drone limo service already exists but it’s only going to become more mainstream in the future if it takes off.
65. A Business In Digital
For our final future business idea, let’s explore the digital world some more. What is done digitally has more and more relevance to the real world and that’s probably going to continue. If you’re thinking about a business in the digital future, you need to understand blockchain.
It has quickly become a mainstream position that blockchain is the future of data storage, so you should know what a block and a chain are to capitalize on future markets.
While you can read about the blockchain for hours, all you need to know is that it is a digital record of transactions and contract agreements that is transparent yet fully anonymized. You may have heard about it in the cryptocurrency space but make no mistake, it can be implemented in finance, healthcare, and anywhere else where a contract needs to be signed and stored.
Another fruitful development that comes from the blockchain is NFTs, Non-Fungible Tokens that essentially turn a piece of data into something unique. Yes, they’re being used for frivolous digital art purchases right now but, like the blockchain itself, they are much bigger.
NFTs enable whole new business models, especially for creators like artists and musicians who can program royalties into pieces of data.
That means when their art or music gets sold on in the digital marketplace, the original creator of the NFT gets a cut from that secondary transaction. If you’re a creative or have experience managing creatives, a business making use of NFTs can use those functions to generate recurring income.
As things become more digitized, people are going to expect instant and on-demand services that will either be facilitated by automated software or employees that work remotely. For businesses based on advising and consulting, optimizing for speed and convenience will be incredibly important for your future business.
And finally, all that data needs to be secure. While the blockchain helps to secure our data, security will still be a top priority. You could start a business that creates and maintains security software to keep everybody’s data safe, from governments to small-scale businesses.
If you’re thinking of any business involved with digital, you’ll need to be a customer for stringent security protections too, so factor that into any growth plans you may draft. You’ll probably need to pay for digital security to keep your business safe, whether it’s just a part of your business or the entirety of an Internet-hosted, service-providing business venture.
65. Food Trucking
A December 2012 study by Intuit and Emergent Research predicted that revenue from the food truck industry will reach $2.7 billion by 2017.
A truck is a much less expensive investment than a brick-and-mortar restaurant, and according to Mobi Munch founder Josh Tang, the failure rate for food trucks is just 10 to 20 percent (as opposed to 60 to 90 percent for restaurants). With the right equipment and some great recipes, you can have your mobile eatery up and running in no time.
66. Marijuana Cigarette Maker
This is already in the black market but this idea is built on the legalization of drugs. California’s legalization measure didn’t pass on Nov. 2, but California and a number of other states are already well into a gray area of legalization. Further, legalization advocates say the vote itself was as step forward.
It elevated and legitimized the discourse about marijuana legalization like nothing ever had before. It shifted the debate from whether marijuana should be legalized to how.
For the small pot farmers and joint rollers, business is good, and few are looking forward to the Phillip Morris of weed. That doesn’t stop the push for legalization.
5 Factors to Consider When Considering a Business idea for the Future
Now that you’re thinking about the future and what it means for your potential business, you should look for four key features that your business has covered. If your theorized business doesn’t have one of these covered, it’s a proverbial chink in your armor that could put your business at risk in a hostile market.
1. Will My Business Benefit People In The Future?
This is another important question you need to answer. It seems that social responsibility is becoming more prevalent in the corporate world… or at least the perception of social responsibility.
This means that the industry will be in a much stronger position, in terms of marketing and relevance to the buying decisions of clients, if there’s some cause or beneficial outcome from the business.
Think about what the business landscape will look like in the next decade and whether your business may offer something for the citizens of the future.
2. The Business Industry Should Be Trending Upwards
If it wasn’t already obvious from our first section, your business’ industry should be trending upwards over time in both popularity and usage. The usage of the products or services offered by that industry is more important but popularity and brand presence are what propels industries and the companies within them across generations, so it’s ideal to have both.
Usage is easily found in marketing research and earnings reports of top industrial leaders since that’s just how much engagement the industry is getting from customers. As we said, this isn’t really feasible if the industry hasn’t been formed yet and you are the industry leader, but that does come with its own advantages.
Popularity can be gauged in some of the ways already detailed above, like online trends and how many industry publications and influencers there are buzzing around. While popularity generally goes hand in hand with usage of industry products/services, you don’t want to join an industry that everybody talks about but nobody is actually buying.
3. The Business Should Have Money-Making Potential
Next, your business should have the potential to make money. Obviously, right? Yes, but the potential profit margins between industries, and even companies within those industries, can vary wildly.
As the world becomes more digitized, there is every chance that future businesses can eliminate a lot of overhead that has historically cut into profits. Instead, there would be more upfront costs for the hardware and software needed to get started.
Think about the logistics of how your business will function. Does it operate solely online and provide services or intangible products? That cuts away a lot of the supply chain and the middlemen who take their own cut.
Even in the supply chain, the rise of robotics in aiding manufacture and transport is likely to cut down on employment costs for some. It may be possible to rent automated manufacture and transport equipment or you could take a financial hit to buy your own machinery to save money in the long run, and possibly rent to make a side income.
Take everything into account and this will help you determine just how profitable your business can be when everything is established and operational.
4. The Business Should Have Automation Potential
Since we’ve mentioned automation, that brings us to the next criteria. While there are many debates over what automation will bring, nobody is arguing one fact – automation is the future. From the farming plow to the printing press and then the Internet, we have consistently found ways to expedite labor processes to make them timelier and more cost-efficient.
These give rise to new industries and improve many others while declining those who cling to older, outdated technologies and ways of doing things.
Now that you’ve made sure you’re not hitched to a dying industry, your business idea will benefit greatly from automation potential. You’ll still have employees if you grow enough, and there will be businesses that use human labor more than robotic labor, so it all depends on what exactly your business is.
That said, your future business idea will be in a much stronger position if it can reap the benefits of an increasingly automated world. Automation can save entrepreneurs time and money that past businesses couldn’t, so you can inject more cash and more consideration into your company to improve it.
5. The Business Should Adapt To New Trends & Technologies
Just like an entrepreneur needs to have perseverance, businesses need to have endurance. Your business idea should be able to ride the waves of new technologies and trends, which will disrupt the status quo and shake up everybody’s slice of the market. We can’t predict the future but we can have an idea that won’t get dethroned by an emerging technology any time soon.
Businesses that are immune to industrial changes are hard to come by, if not impossible. There is always a new development or a new social trend that can come along and harm your business. If you’re reading this, you’re much better off focusing on adaptability instead.
Adaptable businesses aren’t immune to those changes but they are equipped to handle them, weather the storm, and even turn negative situations to their advantage. A common example is climate change and the ongoing sustainability movement that is sweeping the world.
Many industries have risen off the back of this movement while others have been adversely affected. As activism continues and more world governments think about legislating green energy, you’d best believe your business idea should be able to operate sustainably.
Whether governments follow through on their sustainability plans is a whole other topic, as is the feasibility of abandoning things like fossil fuels, but it’s always better to be safe than sorry.
Anticipating and overcoming challenges like these are key to being a successful future business. Even if the challenge never rears its head, being prepared for everything is the mark of a resourceful entrepreneur.