Bath & Bristol Business Innovation and Development

What does it take to be a successful Innovative Business in Bath, Bristol or any other City or town in the South West for that matter?

Well one thing is for sure a business needs to develop and grow through innovation. What is innovation I hear you say? I refer to our friends at Wikipedia for a definition as follows:
 
“Innovation is the application of better solutions that meet new requirements, inarticulate needs, or existing market needs”  source Wikipedia
 

Looking for that light bulb Moment

What businesses have been innovative? Apple comes to mind with the iPhone. Microsoft continued to innovate and by doing so brought the world Windows.

If we think of Dyson and what they have achieved means we have vacuum cleaners that do not need to use bags.

How did cars or motorcycles progress from the basics of horseless carriages and bicycle to the incredible machines they are today? How did we go from the Wright brother’s first flight to landing on the moon?

The answer is Innovation, Innovation, Innovation.
Hmm! I sound like Phil Spencer.

As a business in Bath do you find the time for innovation? Or do you just get on with the job and pay little attention to progress or the future needs of your customers.


Because it doesn’t matter what the business, you will always need to be one step in front of the competition or at the least be thinking how you can.



Get your employees thinking Innovation

So how can you encourage innovation within your business?

The greatest asset to you and your business are the people who work for you or with you.

The average small or medium business in Bath will have people from a cross section of society.

These people will all have their own take on life, their own experiences and perspectives on life. T

hey will have different skills to solve different issues or to be able think outside the box. They will come with differing levels of intelligence or more importantly, common sense.

So why not utilise all those skills, all that experience or those different perspectives and get them involved in innovative ideas that could transform your business?

What makes innovation so important to your business? Because it’s the very process that will transform ideas into a business success.

It will turn those business ideas into profits for you and satisfaction for your customers

It may bring big ideas or small improvements that will in themselves create a bigger success

Its about the process of developing and not just about the products or services you sell



The best ideas often come away from the Office

This doesn’t have to take up too much time either. Just a few minutes here and there can bring out great innovative ideas.

 

It doesn’t have to be formal. Don't get your staff together and say “right I want some innovative ideas from all of you in turn” I can guarantee they will go blank.

 

Some of the best ideas have come when people are away from work. Whether taking a walk in the hills, on the loo or fishing by a lake.

So make it relaxed, make it fun and make it an enjoyable moment and you are more like to get those ideas flowing.

• Promote a culture where all ideas are important no matter how big or small the idea
• Once the seed of innovation is planted, allow employees time to just sit and think
• Encourage positive communication and participation from the employees
• Learn the various skills and ways your employees and maximise what they're good at
• Allow for things not working, as there is so much we can learn from our mistakes
• Be aware of the market you are in and encourage feedback from consumers
• Look to find solutions for what the consumer is looking, not what you think they need



Turn that thinking into Gold

You’ll be amazed how much employees will want to please you with ideas, so reward them accordingly.

Because though some may not fit with what you need, others could be the next big idea that changes everything for you and your business.

Whether you involve your employees or go it alone take time to consider the various ways you can innovate.

Get feedback from your customers and solve the problems or issues they bring.


Look at any issues that may be affecting the smooth running of the business. Improve or simplify the processes or services you provide by adapting to the feedback from customers.

Customers will let you know what is missing or what you don’t currently supply that they need. Take all this on board and get innovative to find solutions to meet those needs. Consider your advertising and marketing approach and be prepared to think outside the box or return to ways that you know have worked in the past.

Make sure you ask yourself some important questions:

“What is the future for my products or services?"

Ask yourself important questions about the Business

“What other markets are out there for us?”


“Will the turnover or profits improve?”
 

“Can the business perform better?”
 

“Do we offer what the customers want?”
 

“Do I like how my business is performing?”

 

“Am I utilising the experiences and skills of my employees?”

 

Remember this is step by step

Take small but definite steps to achieve any new goals or innovative ideas. Measure what you are doing and gain feedback on the way to monitor your progress. Be prepared to tweak or change things accordingly.

Most businesses don’t get the one big idea that changes everything overnight. Most businesses have an accumulation of ideas that they test and try before making it part of their day to day business. All these small innovations will soon mount up.

Think about where your business is right now. Now consider where you would like to see it in 5-10 years. Decide how you can promote innovative ideas which will make that future happen?

Innovative ideas J

Consider the checklist to innovation:

• Create a culture of innovation throughout the business
• Innovation will help with processes, products or services
• Involve employees
• Do something new or different
• Embrace mistakes and learn
• Allow some time to think
• Get feedback from customers
• Discover what's missing for the customer
• Be smarter than the competition
• Be better tan you are already
• Think outside the box
• Keep things simple
• Monitor progress

Turn ideas into action and take your business into a profitable future.
 

Bingham

Blogger for Bath Business Web Ltd 

Working Mums of the UK

Well this could be a hot potato if ever I wrote one. A man writing about working mums. Well bring it on I say and tell me what you think. I am just here to raise an issue which was raised on breakfast TV this morning. Have to say the two parents represented appeared to me to be both middle class and intellectually very bright and well educated. Not necessarily the people I would ask about the issues of working mums. Possibly not that representative of the vast majority of parents who are on low incomes and pay more an hour for childcare than they receive themselves. But that’s just me.

Do working mums get a good or fair deal from their employers? Do childless women or men have to work more hours to subsidise working mums? Is it really that easy for working mums to balance the books with childcare? Is it worth single working mums to actually to go work in the first place as childcare costs mount up?

To be honest I am not going to answer any of these questions. The reason for that is not because I am a man. After all I have a right to my opinion and can make a reasonable well thought out argument regarding any topic if I have researched it or have personal experiences which I can reflect on. I had a mum who worked. I have friends who are mums who work. I have worked with many mums who work. What I want to do is just continue the debate, as I can obviously see there is one to be had.

For me there are so many variables and circumstances to this that it cannot be so easy to say one way or the other. There are for instance a multitude of ways that business owners or employers consider this personnel issue. Because for them, that is exactly what it is. Nothing more, nothing less. Except they may feel a moral responsibility to support individuals who maybe, like themselves, have children.

It can of course be the other way round and the employee feels that the employer, as a parent themselves, will be somehow more in their favour when it comes to taking leave for a sick child or taking calls from their children’s school during the working week. I have seen it from both sides. Employers who damn the parents for wanting to do the best for their children or employees who damn employers because they have expectations of what the employer should be offering.
 
Surely in this day and age of equality, duty of care, accountable management, being a responsible employer (or employee), good working practice, improving moral standards, good working conditions etc. etc. You see where I am going with this.

At the end of the day if we just consider this as a personnel issue and don’t get caught up with the emotional stuff, which both sides sometimes want to drag into the discussion, it would be a lot easier for everyone to come to an agreeable conclusion. I for one, don’t want to see employees be penalised or marginalised because they have children. I don’t want to see employers or business owners under unnecessary pressure when they are balancing up the needs of their business and the productivity levels of their staff.

At Bath Business Web Ltd we do have working mums and dads. They would be the first to agree that there have been challenges because of the commitments and needs of both parties. BBW Ltd strives to move forward, learn, develop and grow from these experiences.

Ultimately businesses are there to make money. They are there to generate a sustainable and seemly profit. In doing so they also have a duty to their employees to treat them in accordance with current law, legislation or generally agreed moral or ethical practice. They are not there to meet the personal needs or requirements of each individual employee. However, knowing these needs or requirements and working together with their employees, even in a small way, will always be the most beneficial and satisfactory way forward for all.

So many people have so much to say on this emotionally charged topic. There are at least, a number of places for parents when seeking help, advice or information.

We need to continue the debate because it is not going away. We need parents to nurture and develop the next generation of entrepreneurs or employees. We need to support working parents and fly the flag for all those who want to contribute to the workplace as well as raise a family.  We need not cave in to the emotional or unrealistic expectations of certain individuals who just go out to create confusion or a selfish viewpoint.

We need to get realistic and up-to-date in our thinking when it comes to working parents, whether we are the employer, the parent or government politicians.

It would be great to hear what you have to say regarding working parents. Whether you are a parent or an employer. How do you think the UK deals with mums and dads in the workplace?

Bingham

Blogger for Bath Business Web Ltd