Six Sigma, in fact, not only aids growth but also gives small business owners a competitive edge over their peers. Six Sigma eliminates defects in any process, be it manufacturing or transactional by using a disciplined, data driven approach and methods.

Six Sigma quantifies the processes performance in terms of its efficiency and brings down the defects to 3.4 per million opportunities. Anything that can be categorized as being outside the customers specifications is considered a defect.

How Six Sigma Helps Small Business Owners

In this extremely competitive and globally integrated market, it is difficult to reach the top position and even more difficult to stay there. This calls for a proactive implementation of quality improvement methods and initiatives.

Conversely, when a business fails to satisfy customer needs and expectations, it begins to lose customers, the order book starts to look thin and the drop in market share is reflected in the bottom line. In such a situation, implementation of a quality improvement program is the only alternative.

Six Sigma first understands the problem before attempting to resolve it; this is the common-sense approach. All business process are isolated and studied, and this is done using facts and data; intuition and gut feelings play no part in it.

The root cause of the problem is identified; and only then is corrective action implemented. Six Sigma also ensures that the process does not revert to the old ways.

What Six Sigma Can Do For the Small Business

By implementing Six Sigma, the business will start seeing improvements in customer satisfaction, product and service quality, delivery schedules, and a reduction in product and service development time.

Defects will be either reduced or totally eliminated, processes will be streamlined and optimized, non-conformances and disconnects identified and eliminated.  There will also be a reduction in inventory and increase in production. Six Sigma can be used in industries such as trading, service, manufacturing, engineering and in many other fields.

Six Sigma involves employees in the process of improvement, thus increasing their satisfaction and morale. The success is recognized throughout the business resulting in the employees yearning for more; and this helps employees take a fresh look at their approaches and change accordingly.

Implementing Six Sigma will result in increased profitability, increased market share, high level of customer satisfaction, reduced inventory costs, increased quality of products and services, and value addition.

Six Sigma identifies what the customers value the most and then incorporates them in a very defined and quantifiable way, thus ensuring the long-term growth and well being of the business.

Getting Started

The owners of small businesses have to make a determined effort to see that the program is implemented.  If possible, the owner should stand up and take responsibility, or else designate someone or a group of individuals to govern the Six Sigma program.

The business owner or team leader will have to establish the ground rules on how the program will be implemented. The business owner and team leader have to completely believe in the program for it to succeed.

The business owner will have to deploy the required resources and infrastructure to support the program. Most importantly, the owner has to seek the services of a Six Sigma Master Black Belt to mentor the team.

The mentor will develop training modules and successfully train employees to implement the program to achieve the desired results.