Small Business Edge Newsletter

1) “Trickle-Down” Innovation

2) Guide to iOS 18

3) Podcast Wisdom

Hello Friends and Fellow Business Owners,

Welcome to Fall! My word for this week is innovation.

According to Steve Jobs, "Innovation is the ability to see change as an opportunity—not a threat."

What does it mean to be innovative? How can we use innovation to succeed in business today? For starters, standing still is not an option. As you read this newsletter, your competitors are evolving, new technologies, like AI, are reshaping industries, and customer expectations have never been higher (Happy Tuesday, BTW)!

Innovation is finding new ways to add value to your customers, improving processes, or rethinking your products and services. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel to be innovative, but you do need to continuously improve it to stay relevant.

The key to sustained success and relevance can be found in how your business adapts, grows, and implements new ideas. Innovation isn’t a one-time effort or a program that allows you to check a box when you’re done with it. Innovation is a mindset that successful leaders consistently weave into the fabric of every part of their businesses.

Why every part? Two reasons: First, you never know from where or whom your next great innovative idea will come, and second, it empowers employees to believe that their ideas and suggestions could help the company chart a new path or launch a new product or service.

Embrace innovation like a big group hug at work. Give your team permission to think outside the box or blow it up if they prefer. Just don’t stand still.

Now, go change the world!

Peace,

Brian

P.S. Per my recent posts on social media, I hosted a special show last Tuesday (9/17) on SiriusXM Business Radio (channel 132)?called Small Business Edge with Brian Moran. The show was a hit, and I got the green light to host a second show on Tuesday, October 1st?from noon to 1pm ET, on the same channel with the same name. So, mark your calendars and feel free to call in with any questions you might have for me about starting, managing, growing, or saving your business. The phone # is 844-942-7866. I want to hear from you!

1. ?“Trickle-Down” Innovation

Sometimes, the innovations that most help small businesses are not their own but those of big global corporations that create innovative solutions to help small companies with their numerous challenges.

That’s precisely what Zoho Corporation, a leading global technology company, has done. Zoho just released an updated version of Zoho Analytics—its self-service business intelligence (BI) and analytics platform. The update features over 100 enhancements.

Zoho says this new version of Analytics has added power, intelligence, and flexibility, all engineered to help your business gain a competitive edge.

Raju Vegesna, Zoho’s Chief Evangelist, says the new Zoho Analytics “is a democratized platform that is powerful, intelligent, flexible, and simple to use.”

The?new?version?of?Zoho?Analytics?is?available?immediately.?

There’s a lot more to learn about Zoho Analytics. Check out the latest pricing information and read more here.

More on Innovation

• Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program
• How to Foster Innovation in a Small Business
• SBA’s Office of Investment and Innovation?
• 5 Innovative Ways to Run a More Efficient Small Business

2. Guide to iOS 18

I assume many of you own iPhones and have already downloaded or will soon download the new operating system, iOS 18. The OS comes packed with a ton of new features, including a redesigned Photos app, new ways to customize your Home screen and wallpaper, new Messages reactions, privacy-related features, and numerous other changes.

And there’s more to come later this year with Apple Intelligence (AI features), which will run on the newest iPhone 16s and several older models.

It can be confusing to download a new operating system and then not know exactly what to do. To help, Macworld created an iOS 18 “super guide,” which is definitely worth checking out.

Learn more about how iOS 18 works.

3. Podcast Wisdom

Click HERE to listen to the podcast