We are in the midst of a massive societal change — as big as the Industrial Revolution. Big changes cause big suffering… Just look at the We are 99% blog (or just talk to your neighbors, friends and family) to get a sense of how much we all are suffering.My business mentor Anastacia Brice posted the link to the 99% site on her blog last week. The comments ranged from “this is terrible, what can we do” to some very pointed political solutions. The whole conversation (and the follow up conversation I had with Anastacia about her post) has been swirling around in my head for the past week or so…
I’ve come to three conclusions:
1. We are moving to a new system of production. The Industrial Revolution was all about creating a work where more people could have access to tools in order to work. Now, jobs that require tools can be done elsewhere – the jobs that matter in the future are the ones that include technology and ideas and allow people to have their own tools. This article by Seth Godin explains how this movement is taking place. We are moving back to a place were there are more independent workers and instead of working for one company – you work for several.
2. The problem with this is that most people aren’t trained in these skills. People are going to have to get much better at marketing themselves (constantly) as well as learning the technology, and managing the financial part of a business. Most people right now are having trouble managing their personal finances… Even worse, according to economic Jeffery Sachs, our beleaguered education system is not producing workers that are skilled enough to justify the high wages we’re used to. Our system needs to teach kids “how to fish” – how to find and analyze information to solve problems rather than memorizing facts to pass tests. Happy to say that my daughter attends a school that focuses on teaching thinking skills.
3. Our current safety net is strongly tied to a society in which at least one person in each household is employed by a corporation. Many people get jobs just for the health insurance or because they don’t want to deal with the added taxes and bookkeeping required to own their own business.
There is a lot that needs to be done on the macro level to make the country more friendly to micro-businesses. Health insurance and other safety net programs need to be decoupled from traditional employment (or at least made accessible to the self-employed). We need to make some serious financial and “thought” investments in education so that our children are internationally competitive. Programs need to be created to teach people to sell their skills in the open marketplace.
When I think of all that has to happen… I start to get overwhelmed. Then, I realize that, on a micro level, I am making a difference every day in my business.
Those of us who support virtual businesses are at the vanguard of this revolution. We are in a position to make a serious difference and to help shape the future of our country. Every time, we teach someone how to get clients that don’t live in their town – we are making a difference. Every time we help set up the payment systems, websites, autoresponders, we are making a difference and helping to create a better future for our country.
Viva la Revolution!