The process of innovation offers no guarantees but does have a habit of throwing up all sorts of unforeseen opportunities. For many small businesses though the cost of failure appears to outweigh the potential reward. Innovation just looks too hard to do.
Maybe the little guys need reminding that the big guys get it wrong all the time, its just that they know its the price they have to pay in the pursuit of the next über-profitable hit. Large companies (who often started life on the kitchen table) channel a significant percentage of their profits back into product development and test marketing even though they expect most stuff will never see the light of day. At some stage in the evolution of every business, product or service someone or a small group of people took a punt, a flyer – yep they winged it! and there was a chance it might not of worked.
But for most small companies innovation is often perceived as an expensive luxury they can’t afford.
Yet the internet still offers fantastic, cost effective opportunities to develop new revenue streams in sectors of all types – and you don’t have to start with a blank page or wait for a beam of light to hit you from the heavens.
Why not improve on an existing concept or mix a few ideas together to create something new? A new approach or just better execution could be your USP and the start of a new chapter for your business.
Web development costs much less than 10 years ago so there’s much less risk in trying new things.
To paraphrase the late great Sir Freddie Laker, ‘the only man who doesn’t make mistakes is the man who doesn’t do anything’. Sure there are no guarantees but your business exists because someone put their head above the parapet.
So go on, set some money aside and try something new because innovation is what made your business what it is.
