What is Business2dot0 all about?
Sunday, 28 June 2009 21:31
Business2dot0, pronounced Business Two Dot Zero, (or Business Two Dot OH if you prefer) is borrowed from the term Web 2.0
Let me explain. In the beginning we had the World Wide Web invented by Sir Tim Berners-Lee back in 1989-1990. This first generation of the Web was a world for academics, scientists, technical specialists and gurus. A world developed by geeks, for geeks. Of course big business saw the potential, and piled in to commercialise the web. This era of clunky, click and wait web-sites became known as Web 1.0
Today, we have evolved to the next generation of the Web - Web2.0 - a world of user generated content, social networking, personalisation, and ever more compelling user interfaces. Some would say that Web2.0 is exactly how the Internet was envisaged 20 years ago, and we have perhaps returned to those original ideas. A web for the people, by the people.
Well, I believe there is a parallel with business.
In the beginning, business was all about cottage industries, skilled craftsmen and women, and local produce. Then came the Industrial Revolution, production lines, centralisation, globalisation, and the world of big business and corporations.
Businesses were persuaded to borrow to fund aggressive expansion plans. No matter what fancy terms we choose, like gearing or leverage, we found that this level of debt could not be sustained. When the downturn came, many firms could no longer afford to pay for their borrowing, and inevitably, some had to close.
Maybe businesses just became too big, and too complex.
This is what I call Business 1.0
I now sense that the world is changing in favour of the small and medium enterprise, the sole traders, startups, entrepreneurs and home-workers. A world where small business owners sustain themselves in niche specialist markets, without the constraints of large overheads and debt.
I call this Business 2.0
This could probably be described as a return to the original cottage industry idea.
I believe small businesses and entrepreneurs can survive by simply sticking to what they know best, staying lean, and avoiding the bloat of big business. Rather than trying to take on the world with bigger premises and more machines, they can instead grow their business by collaborating with other specialist companies. By working together in a network, they can tackle bigger and more complex projects, without becoming too big or complex themselves.
The business owner can generate more wealth, without the additional overheads or worry.
So, Business 2.0 is about a new generation of small, lean businesses.
Business2dot0 is all about helping these small and medium enterprises, by providing effective, affordable Business Tools. Business tools to help people find business opportunities utilising the Internet. Business tools to help people trade over the Internet. And web-based applications to help owners manage their businesses.
This brings us full circle. The Web has evolved to Web2.0, Business has evolved to Business 2.0, and owners can conduct all their business on the web, in The Cloud.
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