Tag: innovation

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A young African innovator who turned an idea into a viable product

StawiTurning an idea into a viable product is often scoffed at by those who say it’s just for dreamers. And you’re sneered at if you learn or read how to go about becoming an entrepreneur because “you may as well give up before you start”.

Eric Muthomi, 26 years old, came up with an idea to process bananas from smallholder farmers in rural Kenya and process them into banana flour. He started his business Stawi Foods and Fruits after studying law and completing short courses in enterprise management. Continue reading “A young African innovator who turned an idea into a viable product”

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How entrepreneurs can benefit from innovation in these times

1005577_506641316068140_11700165_nGoogle X has launched its experimental pilot Loons project in Christchurch and Canterbury, New Zealand, a project that has mounted broadband transmitters on high-altitude balloons. The idea behind the project is to give people in remote areas access to the Internet.

This is a project from Google’s secretive research lab whose mandate is to come up with new technologies. It has been experimenting with a Google driver-less car, Google Glass, similar to a normal pair of glasses but with an HD display over the right eye, and an airborne turbine prototype works for electricity-generating propellers at high altitudes. Continue reading “How entrepreneurs can benefit from innovation in these times”

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How innovation can help your business thrive in this economy

CyberPhysicalSystems

A new demonstration gearing solutions factory in Fellback, Germany, will continuously interlink machines, product equipment and semi-finished products via the Internet – so that specification of a gearwheel can be altered at the last minute.

 

The interlink process will be integrated into a “thinking” production operation known as cyber-physical systems. This will contribute towards securing the future of Germany’s industrial base.

 

Another innovation of the gearing solutions factory is that it has been designed to integrate into a densely populated urban environment. Eco-relevant issues such as noise, flue gas, waste, CO2 emissions, water and effluent as well as energy consumption are minimised.

 

This modern factory may be far removed from the everyday reality of small retail, service and manufacturing businesses in South Africa. Yet local business people need to be just as innovative in their thinking to thrive in this economy, especially businesses that export.

 

Where do new ideas come from? Without people, there are no ideas. How are ideas formed? An idea results from combinations, associations, connections and recombinations people make in their brains during conscious or unconscious thinking. Continue reading “How innovation can help your business thrive in this economy”

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What challenges fire your innovation powers the most

Joker (comics)
Joker (comics) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The guru coaches and experts make starting and running an independent small business sound so easy that just about any fool can do it. Yes, we all believe them.

Let them speak to real business owners who are forced to live with landlords that push-up rentals every year. One small business owner I know lives in fear that his landlord will learn that he is doing well and push-up his rent. He’s devised sharp ways to keep the big bulldog at bay. Taking cash, running his business on word-of-mouth and keeping quiet as a church mouse about his sales. Continue reading “What challenges fire your innovation powers the most”

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How do you scout for ideas?

Wine-tasting
Wine-tasting (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

It pays to look for ideas outside your usual routine. Perhaps you are tired of sitting at home, in your study using idea-generation techniques. Then get out and take a look around. Perhaps you’ll find new ideas or ideas to make money with the ideas you already have.

Observation is one of the best tools or methods for finding ideas. Go for a walk. Visit a shopping mall. Trawl through a mall you usually don’t shop at – go to a mall in a low income area or go to an expensive maul out of the range of your customers. Continue reading “How do you scout for ideas?”

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What you need to know about protecting your ideas

Copyright Symbols
(Photo credit: MikeBlogs)

You’ve worked damned hard to grow your brilliant idea into the tangible form of a product or service. What protection do you have to prevent others from copying it? Is it worth the trouble to seek copyright, patent or trademark protection?

If you’ve done your homework, and strongly believe that your idea is unique, then it’s worth taking a look at having your intellectual property legally protected. It could be worth the cost because your brilliant new product or service gives you your entry into the marketplace as well as a competitive edge. Continue reading “What you need to know about protecting your ideas”

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How to promote yourself and your business without TV appearances and display ads?

We’ve all seen the rise of the celebrity entrepreneur, business people who have been able to create public personas that help them promote their products, services and brands.

The exposure of a company on TV is worth millions. Just think of entrepreneurs such as Sir Alan Sugar, Donald Trump, Sir Richard Branson, Simon Cowell and Martha Stewart who have chalked up many accumulated hours’ worth of television coverage. Continue reading “How to promote yourself and your business without TV appearances and display ads?”

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Do you experience these struggles when trying to come up with profitable ideas?

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Introduction to my book, “Secrets of Generating Ideas For Profit: how to quickly and easily get viable business ideas”, by Chesney Bradshaw, published by Bell & Cray Business Books:

All it takes to make a million is to come up with a new idea for a product or service and you’ve got it made. A fantasy? Dream? A reality?

Small businesses, start-ups and solo entrepreneurs are coming up with new products and services all the time – just open up your business weekly or business section of your newspaper and you’ll see it. Or, go look around at shopping malls and see the number of new products that have been launched by small companies. Continue reading “Do you experience these struggles when trying to come up with profitable ideas?”

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Secret sauce for small business start-ups

Now with the economy as it is, formulas, systems and processes to start up a business of your own are flooding email in-boxes and splashing on the cover of small business magazines.

Nothing wrong with that except for the glaring omissions in the advice, making it sound like a small business is so easy to start it’s like child’s play. We’ve covered the importance of transforming personal resources into business resources, market research, testing and implementation plans. But there’s still one secret sauce that doesn’t appear in these offers, books and articles written by gurus (gooroos), academics and instant authors, publishing hundreds of thousands of instant e-book’s each year.

That ingredient is so obvious that it’s left out or left alone because the authors seem to have no idea of how important it is. Continue reading “Secret sauce for small business start-ups”

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How a fun, practical creativity tool gave this man in his 60s a second income – and a new lease on life

I met with a business broker I have known for some years who has given me business advice from the trenches as he deals with valuing and selling all sorts of businesses. He can spot a dud a kilometre away.

John McQuade as Charlie Wild from the program Charlie Wild, Private Detective.
John McQuade as Charlie Wild from the program Charlie Wild, Private Detective.

Yet he’s being having a hard time selling businesses in this down economy. Sellers are desperate to sell even events businesses which have little assets and dubious goodwill because of fickle corporates who change suppliers at the drop of a hat.

Buyers of concrete solid businesses such as small manufacturing companies are taking long to make decisions – a sale can take up to 6 months or longer.

On top of this, he’s been moving from a large home in the suburbs to a smaller cluster house. Downsizing has proved traumatic for his wife who wants to take all her positions to their new home. She’s finding it difficult to change and let go. Continue reading “How a fun, practical creativity tool gave this man in his 60s a second income – and a new lease on life”