Driving the Economy

Will self-driving cars disrupt your small business operations?

Think about this for a second. Within 4 years, autonomous vehicles will be a major part of our daily lives. Just about every business will be impacted in some shape or form. But for some, self-driving cars will either enhance their business models or destroy them.

Regardless which way it turns for your business, one thing is for certain: many jobs will be displaced. Anyone who drives a car or truck for a living is in serious jeopardy of losing their jobs in the next 5-10 years as the technology features necessary to perform the functions of a human driver are perfected and then more and more businesses will begin to see the savings it can achieve by investing in this new reality.

How will you react? Will you be on the defensive, or plan ahead and be on the offensive. Remember some of the BIG companies who made the fatal mistake by not recognizing the forces of new technology before it was too late: Blockbuster, Kodak, Borders. These are just a few of the big ones, but there were countless more of small businesses who went bankrupt because they refused to recognize and invest in new technologies that have impacted their industries.

Self-driving vehicles have the potential to benefit society in many ways, but it will leave many small businesses in perils if they do not plan ahead.

Examples:
~ Businesses who cater to truck drivers
~ Pizza places and Chinese restaurants
~ Uber and taxi drivers
~ Auto repair shops
~ School and public bus operators
~ Postal services
~ Law enforcement / emergency responders
~ Food and ice cream trucks
~ Waste management

Just about every business who relies on vehicles for a major portion of there business operations will be touched. And then the ripple effects will emerge. Every business who relies on other businesses who utilize vehicles will be impacted, for better or for worse.
So think about it. Will your small business be impacted? Chances are the answer will be Yes.