By Ross Martin, Accountancy Director at Hive Business.

The times they are a changing. Elon Musk says we’ll be sleeping in driverless cars in two years. I’m looking forward to working in the car when I am on the road, as long as I have better wi-fi than First Great Western. But consider what this revolution in transport is going to mean demographically: will more people decide to live further away from London if the experience of commuting is so dramatically improved?

If they do it seems reasonable to expect properties within a few hours drive of the capital to spike in value, so I’ve been thinking I should probably look to buy one. There’s also the increasing phenomenon of people working remotely (from home), which is becoming more normal as hang ups around it turn into positives. We’re beginning to admire remote workers because they’re taking responsibility for their time and their values in a healthy way that means higher productivity. In the US, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology says that remote workers are “more engaged, have stronger trust in leadership and much stronger intention to stay [with their employers]”. IBM says they feel less stressed than their more traditional, office-bound colleagues. That sounds like higher productivity, which we could use. Germans make £1.35 in the time it takes a Brit to make £1.

If remote working becomes mainstream the benefits could spread from worker and business to wider society with things like lower emissions and happier children (who get to see more of their parents). That could be more fuel for a large scale movement of people out of the capital, where the reality of day to day life is becoming increasingly unpleasant.

London slipped to 40th on the Mercer Quality of Life Survey last year due to its traffic and pollution. That said, driverless cars could swiftly reverse these problems. They will be electric so less polluting, and will be fewer in number because personal ownership won’t be necessary – a vehicle will be summoned on demand.

I suppose you can’t underestimate the gravitational pull of London, just look at all the people choosing to live there and work hard just to stand still, paying a small fortune to burrow into a stranger’s sweaty armpit on the Underground twice a day. So I’m not yet sure whether population density is going to spread further out into the Home Counties. While I try to decide, I’m thinking of all the other ways the driverless car is going to affect how people behave. It’s a big question.

If you’re a dentist thinking about buying a dental practice right now, for example, driverless cars are predicted to become mainstream slap bang in the middle of your 10-year debt repayment. It’s worth pondering what that means for your business model. If one of your key criteria for buying a practice is a big car park, is that wise when people are going to be using driverless cars like taxis? Your car park might remain empty even with a full diary. Are you then going to be able to use the space by building on it, and shouldn’t that be part of your business plan? If not, maybe you’re better off looking at another practice.

I imagine practices without parking might flourish because they’ll adapt their space to maximum effect, offering patients a forecourt to be dropped off and picked up like hotels do. It’s possible that we’ll see the rise of destination practices too, like destination restaurants, where people go out of their way to visit. Sometimes me and my wife spend an hour in the car to get to the Nathan Outlaw restaurant in Port Isaac. Destination businesses aren’t yet so clearly defined in dentistry but with the pain of travel removed (apart from the time cost, which is mitigated if you’re working or sleeping), surely this will change.

I wonder how many SMEs have thought about just how much times are changing, and whether these considerations have made it into their medium to long term strategic planning. There is a lot to be said for running things like driverless cars past your business plan. See if it stands up.

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