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Business Innovation – Radical and Disruptive Innovation
One of the most interesting aspects of creativity and innovation is the relationship between incremental and radical change.
Creativity can be defined as problem identification and idea generation whilst innovation can be defined as...
Buying Jewelry For Your Business Part 6 Buying Pearl Jewelry
Whether you presently own a retail or web based business and are looking for an additional profit center or you are thinking of starting a business, jewelry is a “no-brainer” choice for a proven product category. The buying public, (particularly...
Creative Thinking versus Critical Thinking
The process of creative thinking is often, mistakenly, intertwined with critical thinking. There is a tendency to write and edit simultaneously, couple hypothesis generation and evaluation, combine problem identification with solution. To increase...
Harness Your Entrepreneurial Spirit
You have permission to publish this article electronically or in print as long as the resource box is included. Please notify me of publication by sending a website link or copy of your publication to claudette@metavoice.org. Word Count: 485 words,...
Small business grants innovation at its best!
The small business grants innovation research is from the USDA. This is just one of many federal business grants that could serve your need for your small business. This free grant is a project grant and the federal government has set aside 2...
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Should I Start My Own Business? : Learning About Yourself
An excerpt from the eBook "Should I Start My Own Business? - Realising What You Want, Making Plans & Taking the First Steps", by Michelle Payne-Gale, available at: http//www.essence-services.co.uk.
Starting up a business and working for yourself is very different to working for someone else. What you do, how you do it and your role in it is completely up to you.
Before making a decision on your new venture, think about yourself as a person; What do you want? What do you have? What are you like? What is your area of expertise?
It is important to focus on your requirements, as well as what motivates and makes you happy, when deciding whether to start your own business, as this will usually dictate what your level of commitment will be. A business stands a much better chance of success if these factors compliment each other.
What Do You Want?
Think about what you want to achieve by setting up your own business. It may be that you see a financial opportunity, or that it promises future happiness and fulfilment to do your own thing, presenting your own product or service to the world. Whatever the reasons are, ensure that they are honest and sustainable.
Think about what you want to do. You may want to design or invent an innovative new product for a specific type of customer, or to provide a service that fulfils a customer need. If you don’t yet have an idea, focus on your interests, things you are good at, things that irritate you, things you feel are missing from everyday life. Put together a list of these. By the time you have added as many thoughts as possible, you should be able to identify a few business ideas that you can consider.
Think about what you want for the short, medium and long-term future. Would you like the business to be running in the same form in the future, or do you plan to develop and expand it? Are you planning to set up and run the business yourself for the rest of your working life, or do you plan to sell it? Do you know how you will cope with changes in customer needs, technology and tastes? Write down your hopes for your venture at 1 year, 3 years, 5 years and 10 years from launch. Thinking about the future at this early stage probably sounds extreme, but it will help you as a basis for making your business plans, keeping you on track, and for the times when things are difficult, it will remind you of why you chose to start your own business in the first place.
Think about what you want to be in your new venture. You may want to be a sole trader, or to recruit your own staff and become an owner-manager. You may want to take a back seat and run the business from afar. Whichever you choose, make sure the position will fulfil you for as long as possible, and more importantly, have the necessary background, skills and knowledge to succeed in that role.
Whatever you want, remember that it must ultimately satisfy or make you happy. Few businesses experience overnight success, it sometimes takes years of hard work. Now imagine spending years toiling on a project that you dislike…
What Do You
Have?
Once you’ve established that you It is vital to consider your personal resources, and their suitability to running a business. Most people who start their own businesses have come from, or worked closely to the field related to their business subject. This will have shaped their personal attributes, working practices and skills and training.
Think about your strengths and weaknesses, and summarise what you can offer of those strengths, and what you need to avoid or develop of the weaknesses. Examine your own management abilities (skills in managing finance, marketing, distribution and business relationships), and your personal attributes (strength of character, personality, level of commitment, determination, innovation, forward-thinking and leadership skills).
What Are You Like?
In your personal and working life, you will have learned lessons or practices that you can now apply to the running of a new venture.
Think of any occasions where you learned the best way of carrying out a task, or forming or ending a relationship, or learned to avoid a method that backfired. Think about how they have shaped the way that you work or live now.
Apply any suitable lessons learnt to achieve the best result from that venture. Use them as reminders of what to strive towards, and what to avoid.
What is Your Area of Expertise?
Everyone has at least one special quality, talent or area of expertise that makes him or her stand out from the crowd. Consider your special qualities or expertise, and how you can use them in your new venture. It could be that you have a skill for invention, or a specialised knowledge that surpasses many, and is not so prevalent in your chosen market. What makes you unique, and puts you in a position where you will be remembered and respected by your customers?
Having identified a special talent, quality or expertise, consider whether using that facet would give you continuous enjoyment. The happier you are, the more focused and effective your results will be.
Summary
Before starting out on any new venture, it is vital to know yourself and your abilities. Your choice of business should be an appropriate match. Don’t choose an exciting and trendy new career if it doesn’t fit in with your lifestyle or future plans. Try to choose a subject you are proficient in. Be honest about your reasons for starting a business, and keep a written track of all factors and decisions relating to you personally. Remember that above all, the decision to work for yourself, and your choice of business idea should satisfy you and ideally make you happy, because you will be spending A LOT of time together.
About the Author
Michelle Payne-Gale, owner of Essence Business & Admin Support Services, specialises in virtual administration, marketing, & creative support for start-ups and growing businesses. Additional articles and the e-book "Should I Start My Own Business? - Realising What You Want, Making Plans & Taking the First Steps" are available at: http//www.essence-services.co.uk. Read the Essence blog at http://essence05.blogspot.com
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| DTI - Welcome to the DTI's Innovation Home Page |
| The DTI is working to stimulate a significant increase in innovation throughout ... It covers Living Innovation, web streaming of a series of high profile ... |
| www.dti.gov.uk |
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| Innovation - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| An innovation in this light occurs whether or not the act of innovating ... A convenient definition of innovation from an organizational perspective is ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
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| National Innovation Website |
| The Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources has developed this website to raise awareness of the importance and benefits of innovation and ... |
| www.innovation.gov.au |
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| Innovation, creativity and brainstorming resources from ... |
| A comprehensive site designed to provide busy entrepreneurs with a focused collection of the best resources on innovation, creativity, and brainstorming. |
| www.innovationtools.com |
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| Innovation Weblog - Trends, resources, viewpoints from Chuck Frey ... |
| The Innovation Weblog - Valuable trends, resources and viewpoints in innovation, creativity and brainstorming from Chuck Frey at InnovationTools. |
| www.innovationtools.com |
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| CORDIS: Innovation Portal: Home |
| This Innovation Portal is supported by DG ENTR of the European Commission, ... European Commission adopts new Communication on Innovation: on 13 September ... |
| cordis.europa.eu |
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| CORDIS: Promotion of Innovation: Home |
| This programme stands at the cross-roads of the Community's policies on Research, Innovation and SMEs. |
| cordis.europa.eu |
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| Innovation Network... leveraging innovation, creativity and ... |
| The Innovation Network is an association of companies and employees committed to innovation. The site features some interesting articles as well as some fun ... |
| www.thinksmart.com |
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| Business Innovation : Car Reviews, Online Gaming, and Product Branding |
| If your in need of great Online Gaming material, we carry up to the minute news and reviews for all of your favorite games and gaming systems. |
| www.businessweek.com |
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| Innovation - Life, Inspired | PBS |
| Learn about fascinating innovations, explore interactive features, submit questions to our experts, investigate resources and lesson plans, and more. |
| www.pbs.org |
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| Innovation.org - Welcome |
| Impact of Innovation Saving & Improving Lives Controlling Healthcare Costs Strengthening ... Future of Innovation New Medicines in Development Next Wave of ... |
| www.innovation.org |
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| Innovation: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
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| www.technorati.com |
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| Innovation Relay Centres - The World Largest Network for ... |
| Innovation Relay Centres giving advice on Innovation, Technology Transfer and Exploitation. Major European source for innovative technologies or new ... |
| irc.cordis.lu |
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| The Tech Museum of Innovation | Welcome |
| The Tech Museum of Innovation - Welcome! The Tech Museum inspires and educates the innovators of the future. |
| www.thetech.org |
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| Pages tagged with "innovation" on del.icio.us |
| CoDev 2007 - Co-Development for Business Growth: Open Innovation and Alternatives ... PDMA & IIR's 5th Annual Front End of Innovation ... |
| del.icio.us |
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| innovation |
| Publication highlighting the research activities of NUS. The site provides snippets of selected articles online, and provides a subscription form online. |
| www.innovationmagazine.com |
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| Canadian Innovation Centre |
| Services includes invention evaluation, technology due diligence, market research, and education programs. |
| www.innovationcentre.ca |
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| London INNOVATION :: Home |
| Maximise your business potential through innovation. Learn the secrets of successful business innovation in London. |
| www.london-innovation.org.uk |
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| Eric Von Hippel's Homepage |
| Downloadable Books. Democratizing Innovation (2005) ... The Sources of Innovation (1988). Free download of the complete book. Permission granted by Oxford ... |
| web.mit.edu |
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| Intel Innovation in Education |
| www.intel.com/education/ - 3k - Cached - Similar pages |
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