Building laterally a crucial recession skill

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Tuesday, 14 July 2009 08:45

Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. And so it seems in the business world. Necessity, they say, is the mother of invention. And so it seems in the business world.

When put up against a wall, small businesses have an uncanny ability to innovate and create new ways of achieving growth. It’s a pattern we’re seeing repeat itself time and again in the face of the current recession.

Recent headlines have looked to accentuate a more upbeat economic mood. Many say we’re over the worst, with some even pointing towards signs of recovery.

Make no doubt about it though – the business environment remains tough. There’s still a great deal of pressure on entrepreneurs to find new ways of combating drops in demand from the marketplace.

Those businesses that have the biggest smiles on their faces are the ones that have achieved a degree of lateral thinking in their growth plans.

But what exactly do we mean by lateral thinking? It’s about boosting your bottom line by thinking of new ways to squeeze the most out of your assets.

By thinking outside the square in how you run your business, you can spread risk and even develop new revenue streams – two essential tools for entrepreneurs to manage through falls in sales.

Lateral thinking isn’t difficult – there are a number of easy gains if you think differently about how you manage your business.

Space

One of the greatest assets for lateral growth is space. Look at your premises with a critical eye and look to see if you’re making the most out of every square inch.

If you find that you have some spare room, however small, it could be the platform for lateral growth. It’s a principle taken on board most notably in recent years by book shops.

Many of them now have dedicated areas where they have couches and sell coffee. Turning an unused corner into a selling space for a complimentary product could add a valuable new revenue stream.

Existing products/materials

Cast a lateral eye over your existing products and materials, especially your waste materials. Again, ask yourself if you are getting the most you possibly can with the materials at your disposal.

History is littered with existing products finding new and profitable uses. Nitroglycerin, originally developed to blow holes in mountains, found a new use as a successful treatment for heart conditions.

Closer to home, we’ve seen caterers use their waste food materials as a successful compost that can be sold to garden centres or farms. Finding new uses for old products can help to open up new markets and provide a new area for growth.

Harnessing skills

The skills of your people can open up new directions of growth. Rather than simply putting your people in front of a till or in a production line, effort spent in getting to know more about your people can pay real dividends.

There may be some entertainers in your midst that could add value in a leisure business, or there could be artistic talent that could improve existing products. The truth is that until you scratch beneath the surface, you’ll never know.

Seeking advice

One of the keys of lateral growth is not to do it alone. The best ideas come out when other minds are engaged - so seek out advice from business support services, attend local business forums and speak with your entrepreneurial peers to find out what they’re doing.

This kind of growth almost never necessitates any great investment. It’s all about finding new ways to make the most of what’s already to hand.

At the very worst, you’ll try something that doesn’t work. At best, you could find a way to grow that will propel your business to the next level. What have you got to lose?

Tags: invention innovation entrepreneurship recession business skills

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