Editor’s note: This article was first published in February 2011; its forecasts, such as the jobs most in demand in 2015 and an anti-ageing molecule on sale from 2016, and its remark that Google TV has already turned the phone into a remote, reflect that moment. Several of those dates have passed.
In a previous article we talked about the businesses of the future, where you can already see how home automation, robotics and the development of clean cars are very much part of our lives (read the businesses of the future). Later we published the 10 jobs that will be most in demand in 2015 (the 10 jobs of the future), where we can see that the main professions we know will practically disappear, at least as we know them.
We are entering a technological era, so it is vital to retrain and be prepared for the new market that is opening up, where a degree like medicine will merge with technology. The best-paid job in the world is expected to be that of the nanomedicine specialist.
Still, by studying the market and applying the logic of marketing, we can know for certain which business has the most future.
Any business has to meet a need or address a worry, and however much time goes by, a person’s main worry is that one day they will die. If you could put that moment off, would you? More than 1 billion people around the world would give the same answer you just thought of, and that turns this worry into the biggest business humanity will ever know, one that any entrepreneur can take part in.
New medical advances and studies say that people born in 2010 could live to 125 on average. Among the most notable advances are:
- An antioxidant molecule that stops cell ageing in its tracks. According to some sources, it will go on sale from 2016.
- The possibility of regenerating the brain and fighting the blocking of nerve signals (Alzheimer’s).
- Replacing damaged areas of the brain with microelectronic prostheses.
- Bionic vital organs. It will be possible to have a bionic lung, tendon or kidney, and eventually even a bionic (artificial) heart.
Glaucoma, arthritis, diabetes, lymphomas, baldness and so on will be remembered as diseases of the past.
And the most important research under way, which we won’t hear about until around 2040, is the study of immortality. Scientists already believe they could stop the ageing of the body, tissues and cells forever (the secret of eternal youth).
Anything to do with:
- nanomedicine
- nanobiotechnology
- synthetic biology
- genetic engineering
will be among the businesses and jobs with the most future, and since these advances will arrive gradually, you can take part in this lucrative business in any of these ways:
- Manufacturer.
- Distributor.
- Retailer.
- Wholesaler.
Meanwhile, technology and the internet are still in beta, because they are a world that has yet to be explored. The future is on the internet, but it may not be on a computer. The future of internet business lies in the mobile phone, a device that will keep advancing so that you can stay connected from anywhere.
That’s why one of the most profitable businesses of the future lies in mobile apps. If you’re good at programming and missed out on the internet era, there’s still time to take advantage of this new mobile era.
The mobile phone will end up becoming the device we use most. It will be the TV remote (as Google TV has already done), you’ll watch your phone’s content on your living-room TV via Bluetooth, and it will be your electronic organiser, your modem and so on. In short, it will be your life.
And going back to where we started: if we want to live longer, we will also want to look better, not only on the inside but on the outside. So everything to do with beauty treatments, creams that regenerate “dead” skin and remove impurities, and physical and mental well-being will also move trillions of euros around the world.
These three will be the businesses with the most future, because they will be our main needs and concerns. Are you ready to get into this kind of business?
Further reading
- The most profitable business ideas
- Businesses with a future: home services
- Business ideas in services for companies
- Virtual assistant companies: the future
- Selling businesses as an alternative to real estate
Featured image: Smile111222, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
