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Why Innovate? How?

All companies, whether small or large, whether new or established, must innovate. In fact, all companies eventually reach a crisis where the options are stark and simple. You can innovate, or you can die.

Many companies, even the largest, stumble when they reach that crossroads. In fact, the average life expectancy of a Fortune 500 company is less than that of a human being. As Ray Stata, Chairman of semiconductor giant Analog Devices Incorporated (ADI) once said: “Every business has a life, and you always need to be looking beyond that life. The job of the CEO is to sense [the end of life] and respond, and to be an encouraging sponsor for those who see the future.” In other words, the only way to turn a thriving enterprise into an enduring institution is to strike a healthy balance between innovation and business-as-usual.

A high-stakes innovation challenge could arrive at any moment. Your own crossroads could be months away or it could be decades away. To wait for it to arrive is to wait too long. The day to start building your company’s innovation muscles is today.

The U.S. Small Business Administration is seeking comment on two proposed rules published this week in the Federal Register that would revise the small business size definitions for businesses in three North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Sectors: Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting; Finance and Insurance; and Management of Companies and Enterprises.  The proposed revisions reflect changes in marketplace conditions.

The SBA proposed increasing 11 size standards in the Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting Sector.  Up to 7,500 more firms in this sector would become eligible for SBA loan and federal procurement programs, if adopted.

SBA also proposed increasing 32 revenue-based size standards and 5 asset-based size standards in the Finance and Insurance Sector.  In addition, SBA proposed increasing two size standards in the Management of Companies and Enterprises Sector.  Lastly, SBA proposed to change how it measures the size of International Trade Financing firms from average assets to average revenues.

SizeUp Allows Business Owners to Research Data and Analytics to Start or Grow a Business

Small business owners and start-ups across the country can now take advantage of a new business tool to help them compete and grow. The free tool, called SizeUp, helps businesses identify new customers and compare their performance against other businesses in their industry with data collected from hundreds of private and public sources. The tool can be found at www.sba.gov/sizeup.

“Market research and analysis is critical for the success of any small business owner or entrepreneur. Tools like SizeUp deliver data right to the fingertips of business owners to help make smart decisions and have the greatest opportunity to start, grow, compete and succeed,” said SBA Administrator Karen Mills. “In today’s challenging economic environment where small businesses create nearly all net new jobs in the U.S., help for small businesses is more important than ever before.”

When business is disrupted, it can cost money. Lost revenues plus extra expenses means reduced profits. Insurance does not cover all costs and cannot replace customers that defect to the competition. A business continuity plan to continue business is essential. Development of a business continuity plan includes four steps:

• Conduct a business impact analysis to identify time-sensitive or critical business functions and processes and the resources that support them.

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Just a couple of years after they launched their new business, Mukund Kavia and Kusum Kavia could see the end coming.

Combustion Associates, Incorporated (CAI), a minority business enterprise, had opened its doors as an engineering consulting firm in Southern California in 1989. Their timing could not have been better. California Air Quality Management Districts had just passed more demanding air quality regulations. Commercial boilers of a certain size — those used to provide heat and hot water in schools, hospitals, and hotels, for example — needed to be upgraded to meet the new standards. The managers of such operations did not typically employ experts on boiler emissions. They needed help. They needed someone like Mr. Kavia.

As a result of its fortuitous timing, CAI got off to a fast start. Mr. Kavia was a Kenyan of Indian descent, and he had been educated in the United States and the United Kingdom in the field of mechanical engineering. In starting CAI, he had found a satisfying way to put his skills to work and to earn a living as an entrepreneur.