Business Ideas for a Flatter World

Tom Friedman’s book, The World is Flat presents some interesting concepts about the impact of technology on the future of our working world. By understanding the “flattening” of world through telework, opportunities are exposed that could not have existed even ten years ago.

The best example that I have seen is the outsourcing of the drive-up window at McDonalds. Because a specialized call center operator works in a quiet, non-distracting environment, they are better able to take an accurate order. There is now a company in Santa Maria, California that handles order taking for over 40 restaurants as far away as Honolulu. It is not hard to imagine that these operators are also more effective at “selling up” the clients and remembering to ask if “you want fries with that order” sitting in a quiet call center with the din of the restaurant around them.

Finding good opportunities for telecommuting and telework have been challenging for many who are interested in making their living this way. Perhaps they should try to think out of the box more and look for opportunities to apply “flat world” approaches to everyday problems. Having a successful model like McDonalds should inspire many who desire to start a business or telecommute rather than work from an office.