The world as we know it is changing! A big statement to make but one to take notice of and prepare for nonetheless.
When you think about how much has changed over the last 20 years...wifi, online shopping, social media, electronic cars, driver-less cars, driverless trucks (more recently), online banking, digital apps for pretty much everything, smart phones, smart tv, the ease of starting a business from your laptop! It's not difficult to see that automation is taking over and when you look at it from a consumer point of view, it's designed to make our lives easier and simpler, from a business owner perspective, its efficiency and cost saving in action. But what does that mean for you as a working person?
Job Losses!
You can see through RBS and Natwest announcing over this weekend the closure of 259 branches amounting to almost 700 jobs lost. Then, in the same breath, Toys R Us are also closing 26 stores with over 800 jobs to go!
Automation, whilst a natural progression in a digitally advanced world, presents a problem for working class people.
I anticipate that in the next 20 years the world we see right now will be a completely different proposition all together and we have to prepare for it now!
How can you prepare?
You need to start creating multiple income opportunities that provide passive income streams and; build more assets!
What can you do?
1) Start an online business where you can use automation to your advantage!
E-commerce/online store selling products that you don't even have to store or ship yourself!
Creating an online course and selling your knowledge by in whatever subject you are passionate about
Affilate marketing - sell other peoples products and services and get paid commission for every product you sell
Write e-books and sell them on Amazon, if you love writing and would prefer the book route over the online course this is an alternative option!
Build an online franchise business - do you have an idea that you can sell online and create a franchise out of?
2) Make your money work harder by making your money make you money! The overall aim here is to become asset rich so that your investments cover your liabilities.
Consider investing in assets that pay you a regular income (please note I am not giving investment advice here, this is simply based on my own knowledge and experience in the industry so you must speak to a qualified investment professional to get the right advice). You could consider consolidating debts and investing or saving what you save on your monthly payments, so that in time you could potentially pay off your mortgage early.
Look at the different types of investments available where you don't have to pay in a huge amount each month (crowd funding, property funds, ISAs etc), hopefully you can get a better rate than what the banks offer! Once you get to a certain level, you could then look at other investments that pay a higher rate, but require a bigger initial investment.
If you want to find out more about how to build the rich dad mentality then I definintely recommend reading the Rich Dad Poor Dad book by Robert Kiyosaki.
It's not hard to see that things are changing...rapidly and I can see a future of more self service tills in supermarkets and banks, driverless deliveries and digital shopping.
Now is the time to start preparing to ensure you still have an income when automation takes over our lives completely!