The 21st Century Business Model Have you considered changing the way you do business? By Lisa Newton

It’s all very well saying that ‘the economy’ is bad, and that there’s a ‘recession’ on – but the truth of the matter is many businesses were slowly going under long before the ‘credit crunch’ really began to kick in. Many were just being held afloat by continually borrowing an increasing amount of money. And when the banks stopped lending to us, and withdrew the overdraft on short notice – that’s when people really started to feel the chill. But, the chill was always there – it was just in disguise.

Part of the reason why many businesses were in so much debt in the first place, was down to the extravagant lifestyles. Borrowing was cheap, and so everyone borrowed to do everything – eat, buy a car, run their business. The costs slowly but surely crept upwards, whilst at the same time – other parts of the world had been learning how to do what the west was doing – just better, cheaper, faster!

Major Changes

The 21st Century Business Model outlines the key factors which a business must have in place, in order to be successful. It’s not just the work which has changed, but it’s the way of working, and the idea about work which is going to be very different. A very 20th century viewpoint is the idea that you have a job for life, working from 16 to 60, retiring with a golden watch. In the UK, in the 21st century, 1 in 6 people can expect to live until the age of 100! So today, we’re wrestling with two new problems. Not just working longer – but also how to support ourselves into our old age. And the problem with a lot of businesses, (smaller businesses), is that the model is based around the owner – and that can’t continue to be the case, if that business is to last and that business owner wants any peace of mind.

Technology

Businesses will have to embrace technology into their way of operating and thinking. As many things as possible need to be automated, otherwise, the costs become too high, and this is where many western businesses have lost out to China and India – who can offer more cost-effective solutions.

One Decade in

The 21st Century has already seen and felt the impact of what technology can do – take Twitter, Facebook and You Tube for example. All free services, household names, millions of users – and all less than 10 years old! Whilst the book doesn’t tell you what the ‘next Google’ will be, it’s all about changing the business model, to adapt and to survive in this environment. The world is flat. Your competition can be in India or China, and you need a strategy to deal with this effectively. Burying your head in the sand doesn’t work. Doing nothing is not an option. A 21st Century business understands that staying ahead of the curve, and keeping on top of changes in the market – is essential to survival.

WHAT CAN YOU DO

One thing is to just be prepared to change and to be adaptable. Just because something has always been done in one way, doesn’t make it right, nor does it make it the best way – it just means it’s always been done in that way! Be prepared to think differently, and even stand out from the rest.

RETHINK YOUR MODEL

It’s not easy to go back to the drawing board, or back to the plan – but all the 21st Century Business is, is one which is relevant today. Think of those businesses that used to write with a type writer and those which got in a computer. The computer won. And sticking to old methods doesn’t make you traditional – its just putting you at a disadvantage. See: www.business21C.net

Lisa Newton is an author and serial entrepreneur.