Tips for Kickstarting Innovation within Your Business

Cashmanager | 6 years ago

One of the key aspects to keeping a business moving forward and competitive is to always be looking for ways to improve. In order to be successful, you can’t stay stagnant!

In today’s hyper-competitive business environment it’s critical you are always seeking to improve your operations. Remember, innovation and growth doesn’t have to be a daunting or expensive process, it can be as simple as improving your accounting functions or as groundbreaking as developing a new technology.

Below we discuss some easy ways you can kickstart innovation within your business.

Innovation doesn’t have to be complicated

A lot of business owners tend to make the mistake of thinking innovation is a complicated and drawn out process. This simply isn’t the case!

At its core, innovation is another way of saying invention and improvement. Being innovative could be as simple as finding a more cost-effective packing or shipping method or as game-changing as a new technology.

Build a plan

As a business owner, it can be easy to stick with what has got you to where you are now. Often, because a procedure or system has worked well, we may be reluctant to change that. However, this mindset will only lead to one thing, failure.

It’s important you make time to review and analyse your business and see what aspects need to be improved.

We recommend setting aside some time each week or each month to look at your business and see what aspects can be improved. From there take one or two aspects and design a plan of attack. Once you have a plan in place, you’ll be able to track the progress you are making and whether the innovation is working.

Seek feedback

One of the easiest ways to see where your business needs to improve is to seek feedback from the people that interact with your product or service regularly. Whether this is your customers or suppliers, they will provide some of the best feedback, and most often it’ll be free.

There are numerous ways you can receive the feedback you desire. Whether you design a formal questionnaire or survey or simply asking for feedback as you engage in conversation.

Remember, asking for feedback from the people that interact with your business the most, will give you the best insight into what needs to be improved.

Ask your staff

Your staff will be able to provide comprehensive insight into the day-to-day operations of a business, thus, where improvements may need to be made.

In order to encourage your staff to speak up regarding business operations, ensure you build an office culture that is friendly and safe. This will allow your staff to outline where they believe improvements need to be made.

A good idea is to open the floor up to your staff during meetings or seek feedback during informal watercooler chats. Actively ask for them to outline any issues or concerns they may have. Ultimately, this tip boils down to your business making your staff feel as if they are valued members and not just cogs.  

Invest in new technology

In a world that is becoming increasingly digitised, there are countless different pieces of software or technology that can create real value for your business.

Whether it’s a cloud-based storage system or accounting software, such as CashManager by Accomplish, you’re business now as access to countless tools. Implementing new types of technology will not only make your operations more streamlined and efficient but also more competitive within your market.

Make it a mindset

In order to constantly be moving forward, innovation needs to be a mindset and a way of life. It’s important you continue to educate yourself about new industry best practices or technologies that could change how you do business.

Staying on top of the latest and great ideas and technologies will help your business stay one step ahead of your competitors and ideally lead to a more prosperous future.

It isn’t enough to say innovation is a priority, you need to actively work on it. No matter how big your business is, if you are not always looking for the next great thing, you will be left behind.

 

With CashManager by Accomplish’ accounting software is one of the best ways for businesses to improve upon their accounting and bookkeeping functions. It will not only help you keep your accounts tidy and in check but also allow you to forecast and plan for future growth.

If you would like to see how CashManager by Accomplish can help your business, click here.