Beyond The Virtual Office – Entrepreneurship In The Metaverse
The internet has a new frontier, and it’s called the Metaverse. This parallel universe is made up of digital representations of real people, places, and things, and it’s growing at an exponential rate. There are already millions of active users in the metaverse, and that number will only increase in the coming years.
Established businesses have been taking advantage of all that the metaverse has to offer in terms of content marketing and brand awareness, among others. Some have even gone as far as to integrate virtual and physical goods (now coined phygital goods) to allow users to use their products in the metaverse, effectively blurring the frontier between the real world and the digital one. For entrepreneurs, the metaverse presents a unique opportunity to build businesses and reach customers in a completely new way. Here are five business ideas for the metaverse.
#1: True Virtual-Office-as-a-Service
Traditional virtual offices are businesses that provide a real physical address to remote businesses in prestigious neighborhoods or in places where it’s too expensive or impractical for a business to set up a real office. This type of virtual business address allows companies to provide a real mailing address that is more credible and trustworthy than a P.O. Box.
However, the metaverse is changing the traditional idea of the virtual office to what its name really suggests: office space in a virtual world (i.e., in the metaverse) where companies can hold meetings with their team and with their clients, no matter where they are in the world.
While anyone can buy a plot of land in a metaverse platform and build their own virtual office, for most businesses, this process can be too much of a hassle, opening the opportunity for a business to provide this service as a fully-fledged business.
This type of business would be responsible for setting up and maintaining the virtual office space for their clients and providing any necessary support (e.g., customer service, technical support, etc.). The beauty of this type of business is that you can do it remotely, and it’s one of the most future-proof businesses to start in the metaverse, given the trend for all businesses to enter the metaverse sooner or later.
You may also want to read: Content Marketing in The Metaverse and Beyond
#2: NFT-Based Virtual Real Estate Business
Like in the physical world, land is a valuable commodity in the metaverse, and many entrepreneurs have taken notice. In fact, land grabs were so rampant in the early days of some of the most popular metaverse platforms like Decentraland that investors managed to get 5x their investment and more in record time. Today, prices have settled, with some parcels going for $10,000 or more.
There are already several businesses built around virtual real estate that utilizes cryptocurrencies to power the new virtual economy. This will only become more popular as the metaverse continues to grow. We’ve already seen industries such as credit cards, supply chain management, and eCommerce adopt blockchain technology. Real estate is sold either as empty parcels of land or virtual 3D properties that are a joy to move around in. The scarcity of land and the popularity of these platforms are the main factors that drive prices up, making flipping virtual land as good a business model as flipping real houses in the physical world, only without having to jump through legal hoops and being constrained by the laws of physics.
Both parcels and buildings in the metaverse are bought and sold as NFTs in popular NFT marketplaces or big crypto exchanges. NFTs ensure that each lot of land is unique and ownership can only be attributed to a single person or entity. Buying an NFT is the virtual equivalent of purchasing a good in the real world and registering ownership in the land registry. Only, in this case, the land registry is a blockchain like Ethereum, Klaytn, Polygon, and more.
#3: 3D-Asset Creation for the Metaverse
2D assets like images and videos have been a staple of the internet for decades. But as screens become 3D-enabled, VR headsets and hardware become more accessible. And as we move further into the metaverse, there is an increasing demand for 3D assets. These include static assets like 3D models of buildings or products and dynamic assets like animated characters or creatures or rigged 3D models for others to animate.
Creating these assets is not easy and requires artistic talent and technical know-how. However, for those with the necessary skills, it can be a very profitable business as there is a growing demand for high-quality 3D assets – especially given the increasing popularity of AR/VR applications and games.
One way to get started in this business is to create a portfolio of 3D assets and showcase it on popular 3D asset marketplaces. Alternatively, you can create your own website or online store to sell your assets directly to customers – as a virtual assets service provider.
Another way to get started is to offer your services as a freelancer on platforms like Fiverr or Upwork. Once you’ve built up a good reputation, you can start charging higher rates for your services.
#4: Immersive VR Courses
One of the biggest impacts of virtual reality, augmented reality, and the metaverse, will be on education. VR offers the opportunity to see every concept related to science, engineering, and technology in action instead of just in letters in black and white. It also allows an immersive dive into different historical events, letting us feel as if we were there when things happened. However, until recently, due to the high cost of the equipment and the development of these VR experiences, this was no more than a pipe dream.
Nevertheless, with the metaverse presenting itself as the next step in the evolution of the internet, companies are struggling to move technology forward and bring costs down for mass adoption. With more and more people learning how to create unique and immersive VR experiences, VR education will be more within our reach, and the metaverse will provide the perfect backdrop where this new type of education can flourish.
Consequently, developing VR courses can be a very lucrative business for those with the necessary skills. You’ll likely be able to sell these courses on online learning platforms like Udemy or Teachable, or you can develop them for corporate clients who want to offer their employees unique and immersive learning experiences. There are no limits when choosing a target audience and the best platform to host your courses.
#5: Virtual Event Planning
The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many businesses to move their operations online, which has profoundly impacted the events industry. Many events that would normally be held in person have now been moved online, and while this has opened up new opportunities for event planners, it has also created a whole new set of challenges.
However, as the metaverse becomes more popular and accessible, there will be a growing demand for virtual event planners who can create unique and immersive experiences for their clients. This could include anything from weddings and birthday parties to corporate events, product launches, concerts, sporting events, and much more.
If you’re interested in getting into this business, you’ll need to be well-versed in the use of 3D software and have a good understanding of how to create immersive environments. You’ll also need to be creative and have a good understanding of what makes a successful event. Finally, you’ll also need the hardware to record, digitize, and stream the event.
While there is still some way to go before the metaverse becomes mainstream, it’s clear that it has the potential to revolutionize the events industry. If you’re thinking of getting into event planning, now is the time to start learning about the metaverse and how you can use it to create unique and immersive experiences for your clients.
Bottom Line
So, if you’re looking for a new business venture and want to get in on the ground floor of what is sure to be one of the most important technological advances of our time, look no further than the metaverse. With so many opportunities available, there’s something for everyone. Whether you want to create 3D assets, provide virtual office services, or become a leading authority in immersive V.R. education, the metaverse has plenty to offer entrepreneurs at all stages of development. If this piqued your interest, we encourage you to learn more about this exciting new frontier. There’s never been a better time to start a business in the metaverse!
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Jordan Bishop
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