These days, South African businesses are having to deal with a rapidly changing business landscape.
With their deep pockets and tried-and-tested practices, big corporations sometimes operate much like a cargo ship on the ocean; they may change course for land masses, but are relatively unmoved by heavy swells. However, in 2018, smaller businesses (or start-ups) have continued to prove that creativity and speed are vital elements of success.
What alternative business practices and innovations are fuelling the success of these small businesses – and, more importantly, how can big businesses incorporate these into their own models?
Here are some of the lessons that big businesses could learn from their younger, agile and street-smart contemporaries:
- Dare to be digital.Pursuing digital channels to get the word out about a product or service is undeniably effective. Operating in the digital space allows for far greater flexibility in terms of service offering and communication – think social media or smartphone apps.
- Hire the right people.In a small-business, there is far less room for inefficiency, which means that it is vital to ensure that the right people are hired for the job. Be ruthless in your approach to using resources efficiently. Having the right team in place could elevate the potential for innovation by creating more cohesive, motivated teams.
- Keep your team happy.Small enterprises are increasingly giving their employees what they really want, which may not be the usual "big business" benefit of fantastic maternity leave or medical cover. Giving people benefits that they actually want results in a more motivated, committed workforce. For example, the "incentive" of having flexible working hours could mean that a business can remain "open" longer – while their competitors have shut up shop for the day.
At MiWay, we understand that running a business – big or small – is difficult. This is why we do our best to enable our business insurance clients to focus on running their business while MiBusinessAssist takes care of administrative, HR and legal matters, amongst others.
Just another way we enable our clients to live their way.
