embrace innovation Small business people often suggest that they lack the capital to invest in innovation. Many view innovation as the preserve of bigger businesses such as Apple or Google. At the same time, there is increasing media attention on the ‘disruption’ caused by new start-ups (small businesses at the beginning) such as Airbnb and […]

embrace innovation Small business people often suggest that they lack the capital to invest in innovation. Many view innovation as the preserve of bigger businesses such as Apple or Google. At the same time, there is increasing media attention on the ‘disruption’ caused by new start-ups (small businesses at the beginning) such as Airbnb and UBER, which have exploded because of innovation. There is an apparent contradiction here. The fact is, innovation is important for all businesses, big and small. Few businesses can grow without embracing innovation. Innovation does not necessarily mean new technologies. As demonstrated by Airbnb and UBER, it need not involve any substantial technological development. It may simply involve a new business model or approach to service delivery. Recent research showed that in 2014, small and mid-sized businesses in the United States stole 0.7% of business previously enjoyed by big business. Between 2009 and 2014 the total…