Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Innovation culture Encouraging people in your organization to see things differently attracts the best employees and increases the distinctiveness and value of your business. The idea A British innovation company, ?What If!, shows clients how to make their organizations more innovative. Their processes challenge people to see things differently … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Surviving a downturn Several clear principles and techniques can help turn a business around from the brink of disaster. The idea By the end of 1999, significant problems emerged at US technology giant Xerox. There was too much change, too fast; new, opportunistic competitors emerged; economic growth was slowing; … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Microfinance Microfinance is the business of lending small sums of money to entrepreneurs in the developing world, recognizing the ingenuity and commercialism of some of the world’s poor. The idea Microfinance works by loaning customers relatively small amounts of capital (eg $50) at a commercial rate of interest. This … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Learning together Responding to changes in business markets is best achieved with a willingness to learn and develop ideas as part of a group, creating an “intensive learning culture.” The idea Nokia, the world-renowned cellphone technology company, was, in the late 1980s, a nearly defunct diversified conglomerate, mostly known … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Building business relationships By giving greater priority to the quality of relationships internally with colleagues and externally with customers and others, businesses will prosper. The idea Leaders often claim that “people are our greatest asset”—without any real understanding of what this means in practice. Optima is a business based … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Six-hat thinking “Six thinking hats” is a powerful technique created by Edward de Bono. It is used to look at decisions from a number of perspectives, helping you to think differently and acquire a rounded view of a situation. The idea Many successful people think from a rational, positive … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Clear strategy Developing strategy is often over-elaborate and over-complicated. Strategy is simply about understanding where you are now, where you are heading, and how you will get there. It involves tough choices in three areas: who to target as customers, what products to offer, and how to implement the … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Support and challenge groups One of the simplest, shortest, and most effective business ideas is to encourage people to establish support and challenge groups. Practiced by many organizations worldwide, these are an indispensable way to build teamwork, productivity, and effectiveness at work. The idea A support and challenge group … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Developing islamic products The Muslim population is growing fast, 1.2 billion and rising. Other religions are also gaining followers, and all are characterized by a commitment to faith-based principles. Recognizing that commerce can have a respectable, positive, and valuable role supporting people of faith is increasingly significant. The idea … Read more
Great Small Business Ideas to Start: Three-factor theory Three-factor theory is based on the premise that workers have basic human needs that management can and should work to address. Creating an environment in which these needs are met results in enthusiastic employees. The idea During the last three decades of the twentieth century, American firm … Read more
