The Small Business Guerrilla Guide To Six Sigma

Running a small business can be a challenging endeavor, with limited resources and intense competition. In order to thrive and stay ahead in the market, it is essential for small businesses to continuously improve their processes and deliver high-quality products or services efficiently. This is where Six Sigma methodology comes into play.

Six Sigma is a disciplined, data-driven approach to process improvement that focuses on identifying and eliminating defects or errors in order to achieve near-perfect results. Originally developed by Motorola in the 1980s, Six Sigma has gained widespread adoption across industries due to its effectiveness in reducing costs, improving customer satisfaction, and increasing overall profitability.

While Six Sigma is often associated with larger corporations, it can also be implemented by small businesses to gain a competitive edge. The key is to apply the principles of Six Sigma in a nimble and guerrilla-like manner, making it accessible and cost-effective for small business owners.

The Small Business Guerrilla Guide to Six Sigma

by Jay Arthur (Kindle Edition)

4 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	637 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	80 pages
Lending	:	Enabled

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The Benefits of Six Sigma for Small Businesses

Implementing Six Sigma in a small business can bring numerous benefits.

1. Improved Efficiency: By analyzing and streamlining processes, eliminating waste, and reducing errors, Six Sigma helps small businesses operate more efficiently. This results in lower operational costs and higher productivity.
2. Enhanced Customer Satisfaction: By consistently delivering high-quality products or services, small businesses can enhance customer satisfaction and build long-lasting relationships with their clientele.
3. Increased Profitability: The combination of improved efficiency and enhanced customer satisfaction leads to increased profitability. Small businesses can reduce costs and increase revenues, resulting in better financial performance.
4. Competitive Advantage: Implementing Six Sigma gives small businesses a competitive advantage by creating a culture of continuous improvement. By optimizing their processes, small businesses can differentiate themselves from competitors and attract more customers.

The Guerrilla Approach to Six Sigma

While large corporations have the luxury of allocating significant resources to implement and sustain Six Sigma initiatives, small businesses need a more agile and cost-effective approach. This is where the guerrilla approach to Six Sigma comes in.

The key to guerrilla Six Sigma is adapting the principles and tools of Six Sigma to the unique needs and limitations of small businesses. Here are some guidelines to help small business owners implement Six Sigma effectively:

1. Start Small and Focus on Quick Wins

Implementing Six Sigma doesn't have to be an all-encompassing endeavor from day one. Start by identifying a specific process or area that needs improvement and focus on achieving quick wins. This will help build momentum and gain support from the team.

2. Use Lean Six Sigma

Lean Six Sigma combines the principles of Lean Manufacturing, which focuses on eliminating waste, with Six Sigma's emphasis on reducing defects. By adopting Lean Six Sigma, small businesses can achieve significant improvements in efficiency and quality.

3. Involve Employees at All Levels

Successful Six Sigma implementation requires active participation and buy-in from employees at all levels. Small business owners should involve their team members in the process improvement initiatives, as they possess valuable insights and on-the-ground knowledge.

4. Utilize Technology and Data Analytics

Even with limited resources, small businesses can leverage technology and data analytics to gather valuable insights and track their progress. There are numerous affordable software solutions and tools available that can support the implementation of Six Sigma.

5. Continuous Training and Support

Implementing Six Sigma is an ongoing process, and it requires continuous training and support. Small business owners should invest in providing their employees with the necessary training to understand Six Sigma principles and apply them effectively.

A Case Study: Six Sigma in a Small Business

To illustrate the effectiveness of Six Sigma in small businesses, let's consider the case of a local bakery.

The bakery faced a problem with their cake baking process, as some cakes were consistently turning out dry. They identified this as an opportunity to apply Six Sigma principles. By gathering data, analyzing the process, and involving the employees responsible for baking, the bakery implemented process improvements and reduced the error rate to nearly zero. This resulted in higher customer satisfaction, increased sales, and improved profitability for the bakery.

Implementing Six Sigma in a small business can yield significant benefits, including improved efficiency, enhanced customer satisfaction, increased profitability, and gaining a competitive advantage. By applying a guerrilla approach to Six Sigma, small business owners can adapt this powerful methodology to fit their unique needs and constraints.

Remember, starting small, involving employees, utilizing technology, and providing continuous training are the keys to successful Six Sigma implementation in small businesses. By doing so, small business owners can create a culture of continuous improvement and drive long-term success.

The Small Business Guerrilla Guide to Six Sigma

by Jay Arthur (Kindle Edition)

4 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	637 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	80 pages
Lending	:	Enabled

FREE

Thinking about Six Sigma, but worried about the exorbitant costs?
The Small Business Guerrilla Guide to Six Sigma will show you why the conventional "big business" strategy for implementing Six Sigma is wrong for small business. So how can small businesses out fox the big ones? By doing the opposite:

- To get big benefits fast, set big hairy audacious goals, not incremental ones
- To boost return on investment, narrow your focus
- To increase adoption of Six Sigma, reduce the number of people involved
- To accelerate Six Sigma, get commitment from your informal leaders, not the formal ones
- To maximize learning, minimize training

According to the SBA, small businesses:
- provide 75 percent of the net new jobs added to the economy
- represent 99.7 percent of all employers
- employ 50.1 percent of the private work force
- provide 40.9 percent of private sales in the country.
- account for 39.1 percent of jobs in high technology sectors in 2001
- account for 52 percent of private sector output in 1999
- represent 97 percent of all U.S. exporters

If Six Sigma is truly yielding huge savings for the companies that use it, then it stands to reason that small businesses need Six Sigma in order to achieve the kind of cost savings and increased profitability enjoyed by large-company Six Sigma practitioners. - Dirk Dusharme.

About the Author
Jay Arthur, the KnowWare® Man, Denver, Colorado, works with managers faced with rising costs and shrinking profits who are leery of the high cost of Six Sigma.

Jay is the creator of the QI Macros for Excel, an SPC software package used by thousands of companies throughout the US and the Six Sigma Simplified System. He has used Six Sigma in his own small business to reduce fulfillment errors by 75% in just 3 months.