2020s: The decade of massive change and opportunities

The 2020s in my opinion is a decade of massive changes. The changes are not linear in nature but asymmetric. Most persons who are aware but don’t have the correct words to describe the phase that we are going through clearly understand this.

Even though this decade is still widely unpredictable due to the massive changes that are taking place, there are common patterns that are slowly forming.

Economically it will not be easy for most of us living on this planet as there are geopolitical struggles currently taking place between superpowers of completely different systems and viewpoints of the world.  This struggle has affected supply chains, resources, etc.

This has a knock-on effect on our economies, for example, Europe is going through a phase of deindustrialization. Businesses are looking for cheaper economies to operate and they are exporting key operations to countries within Asia and other parts of the world.

The United States of America and Britain are also going through an economical slump. Within the tech industry, there are also layoffs as companies are finding it hard to maintain certain salary bracket. Despite the challenges though, this will teach us not to take the good times for granted.

For example, looking back the 2010s could be seen as a really good decade. Businesses were taking advantage of the internet; Facebook ads were really good and it was just easier to do business.

It’s a completely different game now to achieve results due to the different privacy laws that are now in place within the online sphere. Additionally, there are a lot more businesses within your space so you have to now be creative in order to be effective and stand out. The good thing is humans are adaptive.

Now let’s look at the massive opportunities that are available within this decade:

Cheaper Assets

It will be cheaper to acquire certain assets. Due to the current and future economic situation, things will get a lot worse before it gets better, individuals with an excess amount of cash and a strategic plan can acquire a business that is currently on the verge of bankruptcy or is in a financially difficult situation.

Yes, it will be sad for the business owner to sell his or her business but it’s better than allowing the assets to dissolve.

Stocks are pretty cheap right now within certain markets as retail investors are pulling out cash and burning it through “living expenses”.  You’ll also see more merges, as well as businesses, realizing that it is better to join them if you cannot beat them.

Strategically it makes sense in a market where both parties are burning through X amount of cash to acquire the same customers.

Lifestyle Entrepreneurs

As more persons are leaving the workplace, oftentimes through layoffs and others through resignation, we will see more persons getting creative and profiting off of extra skills they have developed recently or had developed over the years.

The internet makes it easier as well to profit from these skills. Lifestyle entrepreneurs are only making money to maintain a certain lifestyle so they can have the freedom to pursue some other hobby that might not be profitable.

They might just even want to be able to travel and do things on their own time.

Decentralization of Finance

Decentralization of finance is here to stay. Once the market is regulated, I am expecting to see the decentralization of finance getting the attention and respect that it deserves.

Currently, the space is a bit muddled due to the ongoing scandals that are throughout the industry but the core blockchain technology will thrive within lots of applications from healthcare to finance where it very much started.

Decentralization of finance will open doors for entrepreneurs to be able to trade in a more efficient way. We have seen glimpses of this within the space currently but we are not quite there as yet. It will also provide a lot of new jobs for individuals all across the globe.

Climate Tech Businesses

Climate change businesses are currently booming as leaders are trying to transition from “dirty energy” to green energy. Even though some of the ideologies seem unrealistic, a lot of money is being spent within this space and it will likely continue.

We have seen countries developing plans to transition to a completely green economy within this century. Regardless of the ideologies and goals, money is being spent there and from money is being spent, they are going to need businesses and skilled workers to help and build this new world.

New Economies

Due to geopolitical shifts that are taking place, new economies are now popping up on the scene. Asian countries which are the most avid example are rising rapidly and will eclipse western economies before 2050 and probably even earlier if things spiral out of control.

The west had most of the influence on the planet for over 500 years and this shift will have wide geopolitical and monetary ramifications that most of our western leaders today cannot conceive of.

These new economies will need skilled workers and businesses to help innovate within that sphere. If an entrepreneur can tap into these markets strategically the rewards are worth the risk.

AI Is Getting Better

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is getting better and billions are being spent by the world’s largest tech companies. These systems can do a lot of specific things really well such as computer vision, text-to-speech, predictions, etc.

They can also automate a lot of different tasks and do them at a level that is acceptable for most jobs where a certain skill is required.

Due to the fact that AI is getting better, business owners can leverage these technologies to scale their businesses. Large tech companies are doing it such as Google, Amazon, and Facebook. Some of these technologies are now open source and this can allow entrepreneurs to leverage and build upon them.

Wrap Up

These are just some of the trends that will have a huge impact on our society this decade. This is not an exhaustive list but for the time being, it can give you an idea of where the world is heading.

As I have stated things could spiral out of control and get worse pretty quickly but for now, it’s in a stable state.

There are a lot of opportunities for people with awareness to take advantage of, it will take luck, determination, skill, and competence to achieve the intended outcome and get out of the 2020s the winner.