Bitcoin, virtual currency, has awesome potential. It’s used by people to buy and sell all over the world. It’s great, however, it’s fraught with problems. One of the biggest Bitcoin exchanges Mt. Gox, shut down, and U.S. regulators are still figuring out how to deal with Bitcoin.
I could go on but my advice for small business owners is not to jump on every wagon that comes by, filled with new technology that’s not matured and that hasn’t been proven by the market - especially if you have a lot to lose. Brent Leary spoke about this on an episode of The 3TechGuys Show.
Some of you might want to test accepting Bitcoin. That’s fine - if you are testing it with a small amount of money that you can afford to lose.
We have seen, and we will continue to see, the coming and going of lots of new, upgraded and different technology. This is good (thank you iPhone, Netflix, search engines and Shark Tank). My caution to you is to not base your business on new technology. When things don’t work out - then you’re business is in jeopardy.
Always start small and test:
- If you hear lots of customers talking about using the new technology - listen up.
- Watch what your competitors are, and are not, doing.
- See what main stream media has to say:Â Small Business Trends, OPEN Forum, Big Ideas Blog, Inc.com, Entrepreneur.com, Wall Street Journal, NY Times, Atlanta Tribune and other publishers.
- Test the new technology with friends and long time, loyal customers - let them know it’s a test.
Focus on loving your customers, creating a great website, investing in social media and building your business.
Let other people test new technology - but keep your eyes open.
Republished by permission. Original here.
Bitcoin Photo via Shutterstock
