What are the best future business ideas? Well, no one knows exactly what the future holds. But it is possible to glimpse the future based on current trends. Take a look of the graph below. As you can see the rise in digital jobs is set to continue and the trend for traditional jobs has levelled out. Some jobs are being destroyed by automation and although not every sector is effected by this, it’s enough for many to sit up and take notice.

Best Future Business Ideas
The age of digital business is already here. Although you probably don’t know anyone working soley in this sector, it’s a growing business which is fulfilling a need. People want more financial security, time and financial freedom. They want autonomy and the freedom to work for themselves where they want and when they want. The internet can offer this opportunity to anyone because of the digital economy.
Anyone can use this trend to secure their future by learning how to market products on the internet.
Just look at the evidence of the growth of online businesses. It has meant many high street stores have been forced to close. Supermarkets now offer online shopping and home delivery. Many of the jobs they once
offered have been replaced by automation.The obvious ones are the checkout tills which are now mainly self service, but there’s many more too which are far less obvious. Film rental used to be a booming industry but has now been entirely digitalised. Everything now happens over the internet. Back in 2013 HMV announced 66 store closures. More recently stores are still closing at Glasgow Fort and Silverburn shopping centres in January 2018. The digital economy is the main reason why these shops can’t continue to run. So it’s obvious where much of the economy is heading in the next 20-40 years.Â
Best Future Business Ideas – Internet Based
So the best future business ideas are internet based. An internet based business can be worked at from anywhere globally. Anyone can learn to sell digital products over the internet. Don’t have anything to sell? Not a problem. You can earn commissions by selling almost anything over the internet through an affiliate program. Don’t have the skills to do it? Not a problem either. Digital software is making the building of websites, landing pages and the use of technology online much easier and simpler. Anyone can now learn how to build an online business which can completely replace their current income.
Take a look at this video by clicking the image below. Software available online is making the process of building an online business much simpler, even for the technophobe!
Best Future Business Ideas – Automation & Lifestyle
Lots of businesses have the ability to sell over the internet as a part of their business. Most businesses now know that if they don’t have a website and an online presence, their business will get left behind. But not all businesses are entirely internet based. Most ‘bricks and mortar’ businesses have a solid physical base.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing but it does mean the owner is tied to their business. An online business allows anyone the ability to work from anywhere without this limitation. They don’t have to build their life around their business. They can build their business around their life!
This is something that only an online business can do – or, at least a business with a certain amount of automation. For most people, building a business which gives them time and location freedom is out of their reach. But an internet business isn’t. An internet business can offer anyone the opportunity to build something which can replace their current income and give them more freedom in their life.
So how is this possible and how does it work?
Best Future Business Ideas – Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing is the business model which can allow anyone to sell other people’s products over the internet. By linking to products and services with an affiliate link, anyone can earn commissions based on the sales which come through their personal link. Links are tracked back to the referral and they are awarded the commission for a sale. Affiliate marketing lets anyone build a business out of the digital economy. By recommending certain products and services over the internet, anyone can earn commissions and make sales.
They don’t need to speak to any customers or deal with any products personally either. The ‘back-end’ of the business is dealt with by the company who owns the products. As an affiliate marketer your concern is driving website traffic and sales to someone else’s product or service.
So why is affiliate marketing one of the best future business ideas? Because it answers a need for so many people. People are scared of unemployment or actually unemployed. People need an income and they need security. Many jobs and businesses don’t offer this. More and more people have multiple incomes and more than one job because either salaried jobs don’t fulfil them or offer them security or both!
“The rules have changed, and they will keep changing. The days of the whole lifetime employment thing … are over — long over.” (Source : medium.com/swlh/millennials-will-work-hard-just-not-for-your-crappy-job-)
Affiliate Marketing And Work Flexibility
It’s not just millennials who will work hard for something other than a safety net and a regular wage. Many will work much harder than they would in a job, if it meant real financial security and a lifestyle they owned. The internet offers an opportunity for these kind of people.
Although affiliate marketing is performance related, it does offer an opportunity to continue growing and earn more than the minimum wage, for anyone with the desire to improve their lot in life and who is willing to work hard at it. Many people will work several jobs so as to keep their autonomy, rather than work for a single employer. Many would take a pay cut in order to work less hours.
Affiliate marketing offer the ability to work where you want and how you want. It’s not a magic pill but it does offer an alternative which can allow someone to build a business alongside their current job. Once the income from affiliate marketing is equal to that of the job, you can work full time on the internet, and scale and leverage your business with automation.
The need for change and the rise in the digital economy points to the best future business ideas; helping people learn new skills to transition from the traditional economy to the growing digital economy.
Best Future Business Ideas – An Online Business System
Affiliate marketing comes in all different shapes and sizes too. Not all affiliate products are equal. Some products will only pay you 3% commission if you promote them. Would you rather work for 3% or 40%? Digital products allow affiliates to earn 40% commissions on their online sales. This is possible because digital products cost nothing to send or access.
Physical products need to be manufactured each time. Digital products only need to be created once. Physical products cost money to be sent and this places a barrier to many potential customers. Digital products on the other hand can be accessed by anyone from anywhere. All you need is an internet connection and a laptop to buy a digital product.
Best Business Models To Use
Take a look at this article on internet business models and strategies. Not all internet business models are alike as we have just seen. Take a look at Amazon, the biggest affiliate marketing company on the internet. It pays it’s affiliates 10% at the most for products which they sell. After that, they take the customer and you don’t get any commissions for later products which your customer might purchase. There is a cookie policy which allows you to earn commissions based on what they put in their basket after using your affiliate link. (See Amazon affiliate policy here.) However, some affiliate companies allow you to earn 40% commissions and earn later for sales made to your existing customers, even if you don’t personally close the sale.
Some of the best affiliate marketing business models include:
- Multi-tier sales – earn commissions from sales made by your team
- Up-sells – Earn commissions from later sales made to your existing customers.
- Built in sales team – Refer once and earn ongoing commissions sold by the company
- High Ticket products – allow you to build faster and scale up more easily with paid ads.
- Subscription products – let you earn ongoing commissions for memberships or software products which are continually used by the customer.
The best future business ideas will successfully combine digital technology, automation and the ability to scale up to a global audience. They will also take full advantage of the above earning strategies and use digital products which can reach a global audience without the limitations of postage or manufacturing costs. (See also future business ideas 2020.)