-By Adam Witmer-
Innovation. Everyone is talking about it. Everyone seems to know they need to innovate. And everyone seems to try to sell their innovation as a marketing pitch.
But the word “innovation" has become an over used buzz word. Even the president of the United States talked about small business innovation in one of his State of the Union addresses.
The problem is that the true meaning of the word has been lost because of the overuse of the word innovation.
Read MoreI love small businesses - I advise them and have started a couple of them - but I have to admit, owning a business today is harder than ever before.
A successful business recipe used to consist of the following:
hard work + a fair price + good customer service = successful business
Now, that recipe is no longer enough. Today, we need...
Read MoreChange is never easy. But change is essential to keeping up with the competition. Especially for small businesses who must compete against the economies of scale of large corporations. Change doesn't have to be a major production or significant undertaking with months of planning and the use of major resources - change can be accomplished through business hacking.
Business hacks are the micro-elements of innovation and strategy. When added together piece by piece, business hacks can provide for a large, substantial change. Just like a marathon is run one step at a time. The following are three ways to quickly hack your business today:
Read MoreWalmart leads the world as the largest and most powerful retailer. Their big box stores offer low prices and a large selection to their customers who line up to take advantage of the savings. As I explained in a recent post, Walmart has been able to offer such low prices due to their economies of scale. But it has come at an expense; their customer service is often nonexistent. And this provides an opportunity for other businesses to gain a strong market share in Walmart's shadow. One of these businesses is Target.
In this article, I am going to dissect Target's business model focus of customer service and how they have found a competitive advantage to compete with Walmart without (completely) slashing their prices.
Read MoreIn a recent post, I discussed the importance of being aware of economies of scale. I explained that it is important to be aware of economies of scale so that we can strategically innovate our businesses to gain a competitive advantage. This becomes increasingly important as big box corporations are able to cut prices further and further so that we can no longer compete on price. The good news is that big box companies leave many "holes" in the marketplace demand that need to be filled.
Every small business can compete with the "big box" by implementing three big business hacks.
Read MoreCompeting in the age of big box stores can be overwhelming. "Mom and Pop" stores have been run out of business by huge corporations like Walmart, Home Depot, Kroger, and yes, even Amazon. Yet, many consumers want to "shop local" and support business owners. But how can a small business compete with the big box giants of today? By applying strategic innovations to their businesses.
But first, we must understand why it is important to have an awareness of economies of scale.
I first learned of the concept of "economies of scale" in my high school business class. It was explained to me in basic terms that big businesses gain efficiencies from being large that make it difficult for small businesses to compete. While economies of scale include things like a knowledge base, expertise, distribution, partners, and advertising, one of the biggest challenges small business owners have in competing with giant retailers is price.
Several years ago, a friend of mine owned a game store where they sold all types of games, both common and unique. He was able to dig into a niche market and were experiencing success.
At the time, the game "Apples to Apples" was brand new and building momentum. My friend started offering this game early on before
Read MoreI recently met a fantastic artist. Scott Stearman is a sculptor who specializes in bronze work, such as life-size statues and memorials. The process he goes through to create the end product truly is amazing. Long story short, Scott actually starts his process with a very small clay model. This model is then magnified and processed to create a mold for the bronze, which is then finished. The part of this process that I found most intriguing is that the large finished product is being made from a very small model. This means that any errors that are made on the model are magnified multiple times when it is enlarged to create the bronze mold. Having a half inch error on a model can result in a four inch error when the model is magnified to become eight times larger.
I have found that the same is true with a business model. If a business does not fully refine their strategy on the small scale, it becomes magnified as the business grows. This is not always a bad thing, but how much more effective could a business be by being intentional? If a business model is not intentionally designed, the business will ultimately default on a business model that may, or may not be the most effective model for the business.
Regardless of the size of a business, any business owner can be intentional about the design of their business model by refining four strategies.
Read MoreA Leader's primary role is to ensure that a group of people produce a desired outcome. To accomplish this goal, a leader must encourage their team by setting a clear vision. The vision may be a short-term goal, such as a meeting agenda, or a long-term goal such as a five year plan. No matter what the goal, the vision is essential for motivating a team and getting others on board. Some leaders, however, appear to suffer from LADD - Leadership Attention Deficit Disorder.
Leadership Attention Deficit Disorder often manifests itself in three different ares:
Read MoreLeadership looks different today than it did just a decade ago. In years past, a leader’s authority was often derived from his or her special skill or expertise. Because a leader had a special skill (or inside knowledge), he was able to take an authoritarian my-way-or-the-high-way leadership style. In just a few short decades, all of that has changed. No longer can leaders rely solely on special information or expertise as a leadership advantage. Thanks to Google, information is just too easy to come by. The internet has leveled the playing field so much that newer generations are demanding a radical new kind of leadership. Organizations need radical leaders.
There are four R's to radical leadership:
Read MoreMore than ever before, businesses need a competitive advantage in the marketplace. They need to stand out and provide something that is truly unique from the competition. This is why so many radical leaders are turning to innovation experts to guide them to a competitive advantage. The truth is, however, innovation is a fairly simple concept when broken down appropriately.
In it's simplest form, there are three main types of innovation: 1) pioneering innovation, 2) best practice innovation, and 3) technological innovation.
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