In Celebration of Small Business Week, Intuit Offers Tips to Help
Innovate for Impact

MISSISSAUGA, ON, Oct. 17, 2011 /CNW/ - For many, "innovation" evokes notions of "radical change" or "transformation," but Canada's 2.4 million small business owners have a different definition. For them, innovation is less about disrupting markets and more about changes that generate the greatest impact for them and their livelihood.

These are among the findings in a Canada-wide survey commissioned by Intuit Inc., makers of QuickBooks^®, uncovering how the nation's small business owners define innovation, their goals and its effects on the bottom line. The results are to be the foundation of a small business roundtable discussion to be held in Toronto, Ontario, during Small Business Week (Oct. 17 - 21).

The poll revealed near-unanimous agreement (97 per cent) among Canada's small business owners that innovation is a key to success but it's not about massive change or innovation for its own sake. Rather, it's the innovations that impact business, which respondents defined as new or different strategies, processes or practices enacted for positive business results.

Instead of radical disruption of the status quo, they have taken a more subtle approach by making changes to existing products and services, upgrading technology, or improving customer relations and internal processes. Overwhelmingly, among those who have applied this type of approach to innovation, 98 per cent found that it positively affected their business.

"Clearly, they believe very strongly in the value of innovation, but only when it makes sense for their business," said Pamela Bailey, experience design manager at Intuit Canada. "Small business owners innovate to sustain their business. Their main goals when making innovative changes were to be more efficient and to drive growth."

"There can be a perception that innovation is too costly or time consuming to implement," added Bailey. "In the survey, those who had not made any innovative changes during the past year, 33 per cent cited financial reasons and 19 per cent said time was a big challenge."

Size impacts innovation
Many small business owners, particularly sole proprietors, tend to manage everything from dealing with customers to shutting off the lights at the end of the day. When asked to describe the current state of their business, results show that more sole proprietors see their businesses slowing down compared to their larger counterparts (6-100 employees) who are more likely to be growing or booming. Over the past year, 53 per cent of sole proprietors made innovative changes versus 90 per cent of those with 6-100 employees, suggesting that larger staffs sharing the workload may free up time for owners to concentrate on innovating for impact.

Tips for Igniting Innovation
"Unless you're trying to change the rotation of the Earth, experimenting with a series of impactful, strategic changes can be extremely effective in actually saving time and making money," added Bailey. "In working with numerous small businesses in Canada and around the world, we've found a few recurring themes that have proven to help small business owners ignite further innovation."

• Place your bets and lots of them: Putting all your eggs in one basket can be a big gamble. Small business owners tend to experiment with a number of small changes. If one doesn't quite pan out, the risk is less. These could include revising work flow, adding just a few more products to your offering, updating software and/or increasing your online presence.
• Bigger, faster or better? Some of the most successful innovation doesn't come from an overhaul, but simply concentrating on doing something better. That can be as simple as improving customer service to deliver greater value.
• Save time on the back end: Administrative and financial management tasks eat up a lot of time. Greater efficiency leaves more time to devote to actual business. Tools such as QuickBooks financial software can put the clock back on your side with a one-stop snapshot of money coming in and going out of your business.

Discussing Innovation for Impact
For the second consecutive year, Intuit is teaming with George Brown College to host "The Spirit of Canadian Entrepreneurs: Innovating for Impact," an interactive panel discussion that will explore innovation as it relates to Canada's small businesses.  This roundtable discussion will feature a diverse group of local and well-known entrepreneurs and experts, including Jennifer Ger, co-founder of renowned Canadian jewelry company, Foxy Originals, Ali McEwen, CEO of Baby On Board Apparel and George Brown College's own Mark Simpson, founder, coordinator and professor, Institute of Entrepreneurship and Community Innovation.

The panel will share stories of entrepreneurial achievement, surprises, challenges as well as opinions and insights on what innovation actually means to the nation's small business owners. You can follow the round-table live on Twitter at #quickbooksCA.

The event, to be held October 19^th in Toronto, Ontario, is open to the public, but space is limited. To learn more, visit the event page on LinkedIn (http://linkd.in/pVbuxl). To reserve a seat, contact Michael Thomson (michael.thomson@edelman.com) or Laura Casselman (laura.casselman@edelman.com).

About Intuit Canada
Intuit Canada ULC is a leading provider of business, financial and tax management solutions for small- and mid-sized businesses, consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including Quicken®, QuickBooks®, QuickBooks® Enterprise Solutions, SuccèsPME, TurboTax, and ImpôtRapideMC, simplify personal finance, accounting software and tax preparation and filing.

Additional offerings include ProFile®, a professional tax preparation software suite, the QuickBooks ProAdvisor Program and the Intuit Developer Network for professional users and developers. All are provided by Intuit Canada or through its partners.

Intuit Canada has employees across Canada and offices in Edmonton, AB, and Mississauga, ON. Intuit Canada is an affiliate of Intuit Inc., which is listed on the Nasdaq stock market under the symbol INTU. More information can be found at www.intuit.ca.

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About Intuit Inc.     
Intuit Inc. is a leading provider of business and financial management solutions for small and mid-sized businesses; financial institutions, including banks and credit unions; consumers and accounting professionals. Its flagship products and services, including QuickBooks®, Quicken® and TurboTax®, simplify small business management and payroll processing, personal finance, and tax preparation and filing. ProSeries® and Lacerte® are Intuit's leading tax preparation offerings for professional accountants. Intuit Financial Services helps banks and credit unions grow by providing on-demand solutions and services that make it easier for consumers and businesses to manage their money.

Founded in 1983, Intuit had annual revenue of $3.9 billion in its fiscal year 2011. The company has approximately 8,000 employees with major offices in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, India and other locations. More information can be found at www.intuit.com.

About the survey
Angus Reid Public Opinion conducted an online survey from Sept. 30 to Oct. 4, among 508 Canadian small business owners who are self employed or own their own business and are Angus Reid Forum panelists. The margin of error - which measures sampling variability - for a sample of this size is +/- 4.4 per cent, 19 times out of 20. Discrepancies in or between totals are due to rounding.