The Price of Gas Look to the brighter side of increasing oil prices: It can actually fuel you to become a better entrepreneur.

What do higher gas prices mean? From a macro view, it means the end of the Industrial Age and the beginning of the Information Age. So businesses that operate in an Industrial Age context, such as airlines and auto manufacturers, are hurting.

Higher gas prices also mean the rich are getting richer and the poor are getting poorer. A dollar means a lot more to a person making $50,000 a year than a person making $500,000. So when a gallon of gas goes from $3 to $4, the dollar increase hits lower income people harder. A dollar increase means people who once drove their car to work now ride the bus or train. For these people, a $1 increase in the price of gas can mean a decrease in their standard of living.

For entrepreneurs, higher gas prices mean you have to become a better entrepreneur. For example, if your company produced one pizza per hour in 2007, you'd better be producing 10 pizzas per hour by 2009. And not only do you have to produce 10 pizzas per hour, but you also have to sell 10 pizzas per hour. Simply buying a faster pizza-making machine or hiring more pizza makers won't cut it.