While some say that a fully developed metaverse is five to ten years away, perhaps longer, understanding precisely what is to come and what you as a small business owner should know about the metaverse is important. Make no mistake about it. The metaverse will alter how some facets of the business are conducted, if not many facets of the business. As with the advent of AI technology, you need to be prepared, and again, comprehend what it all entails. Below are five things the small business owners should know about the metaverse.
1. What exactly is the metaverse? When people talk about the metaverse, they are referring to a realm in which virtual worlds are basically interconnected. In a multiple virtual world scenario, people can communicate from various worlds. Things can be transferred from one world to the next, and they can exchange assets. As mentioned, however, a fully developed metaverse is not here yet. According to some tech experts, the advent of a fully realized metaverse could take as long as 15 years. In the meantime, adapting to the virtual reality technology that we currently have, among other types of emergent metaverse-related tech, will be necessary for any business.
2. AR technology is going to be vital to the metaverse. AR refers to augmented reality technology. And actually, there are several businesses, particularly those with e-commerce platforms, have already started to integrate some aspects of AR into their business model. For example, retailers such as Target, Wayfair, and Amazon allow you to see what furniture and decor products will look like in a space before you buy. Certain clothing brands and shops let you “try on” items to see how they will look. When talking about the metaverse, in some ways, we are talking about blending these various platforms and assets to create a vast virtual universe.
3. Smaller businesses do currently have access to AR technology. For instance, Shopify lets business owners use 3-D models on their product pages so that customers can get a better understanding of what products look like in a given setting. There are also specific social media elements and functionalities that businesses can use to interact more effectively with customers; these things will also eventually be a part of the metaverse. You don’t necessarily have to be an Amazon or a Wayfair to utilize AR tech for your business. Granted, you are starting small in the grand scheme of things. Still, at least you are taking the initiative as a business owner and dipping your toes into the shallow end of what will become the very comprehensive metaverse.
4. Also, there are currently workrooms that allow you to connect with people across the globe. Several platforms offer collaborative meeting environments. These essentially are workrooms that enable you to meet with people in a virtual setting. Taking Zoom a step further, these types of collaborative meeting environments have a virtual reality aspect. They are becoming increasingly popular and soon enable small businesses to expand their capacities worldwide.
5. You might start to incorporate NFTs into your business. NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, despite popular opinion, are not just digital art. Many business owners are using NFTs within the context of their company. They are giving people access to physical products via NFTs. Some are creating courses that can be purchased as NFTs; more and more small business owners are finding innovative ways to utilize emergent metaverse technology.
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Our goal is to help small business owners see their businesses thrive and grow. We offer a variety of fast and flexible loan programs designed with entrepreneurs in mind. From short-term loans to lines of credit to SBA loans, we have a broad array of financing options to suit just about any business model. Our resources range from $5000 to $1,000,000, and we can have the cash in your account in as little as two days. We do work that quickly. If you need additional working capital, call today, and let’s get started!