Date post: | 29-Nov-2014 |
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Small Business & Entrepreneurship |
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A publication of
Small to midsized businesses are the future of growth
INTRO
Because big companies are scaling down due to the global economic downturn and changing environment.
INTRO
There are Retrenchments all over the world
Retrenchments all over the world : the figures
Retrenchments all over the world : the figures
Retrenchments all over the world : the figures
Retrenchments all over the world : the figures
Over 700 firms closed & at least 3,400 laid off - Zimbabwe
What has changed?
The world has moved
From the industrial age
To the information age
Information age means physical resources or presence no longer offer competitive advantage
Knowledge is now the raw material of production and value
Shoes from Italy
Hair from Japan
Handbag from Uganda
Pants from Morocco
Necklace from
Bangladesh
Globalization and the Information Age
Watch from China
Blouse from South Africa
Proudly Zimbabw
ean
Globalization and intense competition means slow moving large companies cannot adapt fast enough to consumers’ changing demands
Innovation is the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, unarticulated needs, or existing market needs
SMEs are better placed for innovation because they:a)Are more agile and flexible and can change faster than big companiesb)Have less investment to lose if a product or business model fails as they can experiment on a lean budgetc)Are closer to customers and can “feel” their needsd)Can start again quickly if they faile)Owners more open minded, not rigid as in bureaucracy filled large organizations
How to be innovative:a)Listen to customers’ needs and adjust your offering to satisfy themb)Find unfulfilled needs in the market and provide solutionsc)Constantly adapt your products and services to the growing needs of usersd)Look at how you can be a game changer in your industrye)Continuously change your business model
Apple CEO Tim Cook presents a new iPod Nano recently
Example of Radical InnovationApple, a computer company, did not take on Sony in computers. Rather they challenged it in music.
Apple changed the way people buy music
From purchasing CDs
To downloading songs online on iTunes
Beyonce’ s latest album, simply entitled “Beyonce”, was released exclusively on iTunes in December 2013
90% of SME businesses will fail in the next ten years, unless they start being
innovative. Will yours be one of them?Sources: US Small Business Agency (www.sba.gov) & www.businesscasestudies.co.uk
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