Small Business Innovation

Innovation Isn’t Only For The Big Dogs!

While at first glance it would make perfect sense that the smaller, more agile entrepreneurial companies among us would be the more innovative. You’d think this is true. And you would be wrong. It’s not for a lack of trying or desire…It’s simply that smaller businesses lack the R & D budgets, the staff, and the vision that larger companies can commission. Clearly, the challenge for small business innovation is to break past the glass ceiling managing to keep it from innovating, and get into the game! Fewer than half of small businesses were brought into being as a result of a “new idea” according to a study by Erik Hurst and Benjamin Wild Pugsley of the University of Chicago. They assert that most new business is another “me-too” venture, offering the already crowded marketplace another grocery, plumber or florist. Little innovation required, and thus little growth.

So so how exactly does a small business get from the morass of just another business to one that is offering new and exciting services and products people are clamoring to try?

4 Strategies To Generate A Culture Of Innovation In Your Business!

• Reward and encourage innovation – Give your staff incentives and tangible rewards for coming up with and helping to implement new and innovative initiatives. Creating some enthusiasm around finding new and better ways to run your business should benefit them as well.
• Understand your markets’ needs and desires – Keep abreast of the latest trends and ideas in your market. Make sure to be hooked in to all the news and views that are effecting your business, and take action on what you hear and see!
• Be sure to connect with your existing customers – Listening and taking into serious consideration what your customers are saying about not only your business and products, but about what their wish list contains is extremely important in helping to recognize a direction you may want to explore. Keep the conversation focused on what are the customer’s problems, and use those to help fashion solutions!
• Be ready to try new things! – Don’t be scared to be innovative. A shining demonstration of a company ready to fill a need is Behance.net, a Web-based platform for creative works, where artists can show their work regardless of their resumes, hoping to turn more ideas into reality.