Six Sigma

Six Sigma is a methodology that was originally aimed at private organisations but, with its high success rate and flexibility, is now employed by governments and small organisations. The aim of Six Sigma is to find variations and errors in processes – and to fix them to avoid any form of waste.

There are weaknesses in this methodology though. One of the main weaknesses of Six Sigma is that it doesn’t manage processes from different departments and it only improves certain areas. Another weakness in the Six Sigma methodology is that doesn’t always retain the benefits that it achieves.

Find out more about Business Process Management by reading our discussion ‘BPM – Makeover or Life Change?‘

Business Process Management

Business Process Management (BPM) is a higher-level process which concentrates on improving the whole process; it doesn’t focus on individual complex issues. It’s ultimate aim is to automate processes for improved performance across the board.

Six Sigma within Business Process Management

Similarities

Both processes use detailed mapping and analysis that are focused on process performance and metrics; in order to minimise variability.

Differences

Six Sigma methodology is very structured, and focuses intently on process mapping and the solving of specific problems. Solutions are based on hard facts as opposed to estimations or experienced suggestions. This methodology is therefore incredibly beneficial to those depending too heavily on just Business Process Management. Together, Six Sigma and BPM allow a more balanced approach to process management.

Coupling Six Sigma With Business Process Management

Combining these two methodologies can help to rectify the shortcomings of each, e.g. using BPM gives the perspective lacking from individual Six Sigma projects.

Identifying and ultilising the right tools from each methodology can bring a great deal of useful information which will ultimately save your company time and money. For example, it is useful to use a BPM monitoring system to keep up to date with your processes so that any potential problems can be caught early and fixed. In return, the DMAIC model of Six Sigma has proved very beneficial when applied to the Business Process Management framework.

For a successful process you need it to be well defined, this will make sure that it doesn’t stray away from its path. Six Sigma can be used to collect the processes information and then BPM can measure the processes using a process plan.

Using both of these methodologies, a business can find out where waste is occurring and then eradicate what is unnecessary – once waste is identified, it is fairly easy to solve the problem.

By combining Six Sigma with Business Process Management techniques you’ll see the best results, across the board, in the shortest amount of time.

Related posts:

1. Business Process Management – Makeover or Life Change?
2. Six Sigma Training: Business Process Mapping – Top 10 Tips

Six Sigma Black Belts work full-time on Six Sigma within an organisation, running the process and any projects that need full-time focus. The Green Belt often has other responsibilities outside of the Six Sigma framework, but runs individual Six Sigma projects – reporting to the Black Belt.

The Role of the Six Sigma Green Belt

A Green Belt has trained knowledge of Six Sigma methodology, but their role is to run individual projects on behalf of the Black Belt. They are the ones to implement the process, collect data and problem-solve. The Green Belt may lead smaller groups within the project team and provide some lower level management.

Lean Six Sigma Green Belt training is the first step to learning Six Sigma theory and techniques. We offer a full Black Belt Training Package that covers both the Green Belt training and the Black Belt conversion course.

Specific criteria and responsibilities demanded by companies of their Six Sigma-trained employees can vary, as we mentioned last week in our post about what a Six Sigma Black Belt needs to know. The overall knowledge, skills and attributes demanded of a Six-Sigma Green Belt will always involve the following:

Qualities of the Six Sigma Green Belt

Knowledge of DMAIC Theory, Tools and Techniques

A Lean Six Sigma Green Belt will know the theory behind the DMAIC (Define, Measure, Analyse, Improve, Control) model of performance improvement, and how to apply it. Only by understanding and applying DMAIC can the Six Sigma process plan be sure of achieving the scope required.

They will know the tools and techniques required for planning, problem solving and executing within the Lean Six Sigma methodology.

Customer Focus

A Green Belt is trained to gauge the needs of the customer and how this can be equated to a measurable output. The Six Sigma process is based on assuring quality and efficiency; both of which depend on customer requirements – whether this ‘customer’ is a person, a group, or the next step of the supply chain.

Experience

Six Sigma Green Belts have other responsibilities beyond those of the Six Sigma projects; but have the ability and experience to manage and execute those projects that need just part-time attention. They will have gained this experience since training – most definitions of a qualified Green Belt include a certain amount of time in the role post-training – and from time spent as a Yellow Belt or White Belt as an untrained part of a Six Sigma team.

Can the Six Sigma Green Belt solve this problem?

Leadership

Because the Green Belt plays a leadership role in running individual projects within the Six Sigma process, they must be able to motivate and manage other staff. Leadership is not usually part of a Six Sigma training curriculum, so staff training to be Green Belts are often already managers. Otherwise, they’ll learn principles of leadership and project management separately.

Problem Solving Skills

Strong problem-solving skills are the mark of a great Six Sigma Green Belt, even before they are trained. This plus the specific problem-solving techniques taught by Six Sigma training mean the Green Belt can be given responsibility for the project and the decisions made along the way.

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1. What Does a Six Sigma Black Belt Need to Know?
2. Five Benefits of Team Building
3. Six Sigma Belt Definitions

Our Six Sigma Training is taught by Master Black Belts, and our small training groups mean an excellent learning environment. We offer Green Belt Six Sigma training, as well as Black Belt Six Sigma training package.

The role of the Six Sigma Black Belt is critical to the success of a quality improvement project. As Change Agents – and the most trained individuals for the process – it’s up to them to understand the necessary methodologies and DMAIC theory of Six Sigma.

Organisations hiring Six Sigma-trained staff need to know what to expect – and insist – from their Black Belts, Green Belts, etc.

Six Sigma Black Belts need to have expertise in the following four areas:

Company Knowledge

Hands on experience of the process in question is essential for successful implementation of a Six Sigma strategy.

There needs to be a real case for improved productivity and the resulting effect on reputation and/or finances. Without this company knowledge, problems cannot be identified as accurately or as quickly.

Improving business productivity ties with an improved consumer experience as the main focus of any Six Sigma-run project.

Consumer Knowledge

The importance of knowledge of what the end user requires from the output can not be overlooked. This is essential to monitoring success, and ensuring the right aims are set in the first place. A focus on the consumer is integral to the Six Sigma process of eliminating process variation.

Knowledge of Tools and Techniques

An effective Black Belt can only carry out and measure strategies if they are up-to-date with the latest techniques and tools for the job. This applies to both the techniques of Six Sigma and tools involved in the processes being managed. Referring to a specific curriculum such as the one set out in Roger W. Hoerl’s white paper on Six Sigma Black Belts is one way to be confident in your definition and understanding of the black belt, and associated techniques at their disposal.

Strategy

A Six Sigma Black Belt has to be an excellent strategiser. Learning the theory and techniques of Six Sigma is essential, as is aptitude for planning and executing projects. Strategies will need to be based on the consumer, the business gain and need to utilise the best techniques and most up-to-date tools in order to achieve the goal.

A Six Sigma Black Belt will have shown a passion for operational consistency and improvement even before undergoing their Six Sigma training. The above are the main skills needed for success as a Six Sigma Black Belt; these and other important qualities such as effective communication skills, adaptability, leadership and professionalism are also important for the role and are looked into in more depth on our Six Sigma Training course. You may also want to read our post with Top Tips for Successful Lean Six Sigma Projects.

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1. Six Sigma Belt Definitions

We offer our Lean Six Sigma courses through a similar system to Six Sigma – different belt levels to determine the level of learning. These include Lean Six Sigma Yellow Belt Training for team members and Lean Six Sigma Green Belt Training for team leaders and project managers. We also offer the more advanced Lean Six Sigma Black Belt Training (which includes Green Belt) for those who wish to manage Six Sigma projects as a full time role, this course only covers Six Sigma and not lean.

What is Lean?

Lean is an approach typified by the Toyota Production System. Originally designed to eliminate waste in a manufacturing environment, Lean is also successful in a number of other sectors including finance, business and government. Waste is defined as activity that does not add value for the customer and so is a customer focused approach. Any process that the customer would not be willing to pay for would be deemed as waste.

What is Six Sigma?

Six Sigma comes from another car manufacturing business, Motorola. It was then popularised at General Electric. Six Sigma aims to improve quality by creating products and processes that are nearly defect free. Six Sigma processes allow for 3.4 defects per million (or 0.00034%) products. Motorola set this as a goal for their manufacturing line and it has since been adapted for other uses.

Again, this is a customer focused strategy as it eliminates products that do not meet customer specifications.

Why Combine Lean and Six Sigma?

As you can see from the graphic below, the two processes work together to ensure:

• Lower costs
• Shorter lead times
• Higher quality

This two pronged approach leads to proven benefits within your company as you remove waste and cut the number of defects.

Who Uses Lean Six Sigma?

Both Lean and Six Sigma were originally developed in manufacturing environments but are now popular is a number of different sectors, and we have highlighted its uses in previous posts.

Lean Six Sigma in the Office and Service Sector

The courses we provide are primarily aimed at a business environment. There are a number of transactional and service tools that are particularly useful in the office and service sector as highlighted in our post ‘Six Sigma in the Office‘.

Lean Six Sigma in Government

Lean Six Sigma has become a popular methodology for local councils, and we have trained a number of employees at Brighton & Hove City Council. Use in Government has also seen Lean Six Sigma in the news in America as Six Sigma evangelist Mike George looks to popularise the methodology and encourage adoption across all US government departments.

Already used by the Department of Defence and a large number of local government departments, George believes that the implementation of Lean Six Sigma nationwide would reduce America’s deficit without raising taxes. Similar steps are being taken in the UK to improve the running of council bodies.

As a customer focused methodology, government is an area where keeping people happy is paramount to keeping your job. Lean Six Sigma would go a long way to reducing the number of damaging stories of local and national government waste.

Lean Six Sigma in Sports

Perhaps the most out-0f-the-box use for Six Sigma, Steven Falk has written a book on applying Lean Six Sigma to sports. Falk claims that if every player and team performed at 99.99% of their potential then they would all perform better and would mean that they wouldn’t make unnecessary mistakes.

As you can see, Lean Six Sigma has a wide range of possible applications due to its proven benefits to businesses. Six Sigma is a fully scalable methodology which can be applied just as successfully to small and medium businesses as it can to manufacturing giants.

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1. Lean Six Sigma Methodology Backed by Presidential Candidates

Tip One: Don’t Take on Massive Projects

Massive projects, taking place over long stretches of time, can encourage procrastination – as far-off goals are less motivating – and can be discouraging since your team will feel that they are achieving less. Instead, try to work on smaller and more focused projects, which will be far easier for your team to concentrate on.

Tip Two: Keep Control at the Beginning

At the beginning of a project, thinking has to be fairly rigid to get things up and running. There will be space for individual creativity later on; for now, focus on a framework. Remember to think about customer needs at this stage. Use the DMAIC tools map right from the start to establish a plan.

Tip Three: Middle Management is Essential

In order to properly motivate and keep a close eye on your team, Middle Management is essential. Make sure that your project leaders are keeping them in the loop, and they will ensure a smooth and connected working environment.

Tip Four: Make Sure Your Leaders are Active Teachers

All leaders, and especially senior leaders, have to remain fully engaged. It is their responsibility to ensure that the team successfully improves, through leading process improvement activities. The project and the team will not be successful if leaders delegate their responsibilities to others – this will lead to a lack of strong leadership and possibly failed improvement activities.

Tip Five: Train During the Project

Training while involved on projects is far more productive and cost-effective than over-training your team in advance. Six Sigma training during projects also has the advantage in that you will be able to see what is needed, rather than relying on guesswork. The most important thing is to be able to recognise problems which customers will face and removing them early. Technical skills, though important, should come second.

Tip Six: Stay Involved!

As well as maintaining your involvement in the team through working as their teacher, you must make sure you stay involved in the real work of the team. This means avoiding, where, possible, working with your team only through a virtual medium. When problems come up, go to your team, see what they are doing, and talk to them face-to-face. Reminding your team that you are a real person can encourage both them and you to discuss problems more thoroughly.

Tip Seven: Everyone Can Solve Problems

Avoid thinking that experts are always needed. Although experts can be essential, on a day to day basis, everyone can use basic six sigma tools and think creatively and practically. Don’t let your team get stuck too often waiting for an expert’s opinion.

Tip Eight: Stay Open

Make sure your team is always aware of what you are doing. Use emails to communicate what is happening, and, most importantly, talk to people. Your team need to know that they are not at risk of sudden change, and a fall in morale could be devastating for the project.

Tip Nine: Avoid Procrastination

Above all, make sure that your team is getting things done. Don’t allow them to waste time on tools when it is clearly not being productive.

No related posts.

This guest post takes a look at why team building is important and should be considered when setting up a new Six Sigma team…

Team Building Encourages Employees to Strive Towards a Common Goal

The emphasis on team building is an important component of establishing good internal communications within companies and organisations. Many times, corporate events sponsor team building workshops or classes so participants can enhance their management skills or improve their productivity.

Team building emphasises making use of individual skillsets as well as group communications in order to achieve company objectives. As a result, the practice makes it possible for members of organisations to reach common goals by learning how to efficiently interact with other people in their department and throughout their company as a whole.

Team Building Programs are Generally Hosted Outside the Office Environment

The main reason for implementing team building programs at corporate events, seminars, and webinars is to increase production in a company and motivate employees. By employing team building exercises and activities out of the office environment, participants stay more focused and enjoy the program more. In turn, they can take the information they learn with them to their jobs without being sidetracked by the internal barriers that can exist within an office environment.

The Benefits of Team Building Activities

Today, many corporations have found that sponsoring team building seminars and corporate events increases employee awareness and underscores creativity within the workplace. The benefits can be significant, especially in the following five ways:

1. Building Employee Morale

By working as a team, employees concentrate on defined goals and work harder at realizing the company’s objectives. Team building therefore places an emphasis on increasing employee morale. Participants are taught how to direct their separate skillsets toward a common goal. Employees with various abilities and experiences then learn to channel their individual talents to achieve a company’s initiatives.   In turn, the corporate culture is open and inquisitive, all which leads to increased employee motivation and the realization a company’s goals and plans.

2. Increasing Productivity

Team building participants also learn how to increase their production in the workplace. This involves distinctly defining departmental and company goals and procedures and learning how certain processes lead to the results a company is seeking. By focusing on individual steps, team building participants can also help their company reach its overall organisational objectives.

3. Defining a Team’s Weaknesses and Strengths

Team building, too, helps individuals see where bonds are strong and where improvements can be made. Therefore, participants are more aware about how they are communicating with other employees and if they are correctly interpreting the information they are using.

4. Improving Troubleshooting and Problem Solving Skills

By understanding a company’s objectives as well as individual departmental goals, team building participants learn to troubleshoot or enhance their problem solving skills. Team building encourages the practice of “thinking on one’s feet.” Therefore, participants learn to develop their listening skills, use forethought, and communicate directly.

5. Developing One’s Potential

Team building also advocates creativity, and combines it with leadership traits, communication, and a sound knowledge base of a company’s vision. As a result, people who learn team building skills are able to recognize their own hidden strengths, making them all the more valuable to a company or organization.

The Focus is on Communication

Team building classes teach people to take their individual talents and learn to use them while still being a part of a team. As a result, diversity is recognised as well as such attributes as cooperation and strong communicative skills. Success is realized as each employee is encouraged to develop individually, all the while working with others to reach one common goal.

Written by Tom Tolladay, Event Organiser for Chillisauce who specialise in Team Building Activities and Corporate Events

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A Brief History of Google

In 1996, Google was nothing more than a research project being worked on by two Stanford PhD students. Today it is used by over 1 billion unique visitors every month searching for everything from information about the mosquito to the history of potential employees.

Larry Page and Sergey Brin are now household names, and the company is a global corporation. It’s a level of success that is simply staggering and that many wish to emulate.

While luck has surely played a part, there are some particular business strategies and policies that drove them forward.

Innovation

The very basis behind Google was innovation. Page and Brin began the Google project due to their belief that the system used by other search engines was not the best way of giving relevant results.

Even now, with their huge level of success, Google is still innovating, constantly acquiring other properties, tweaking their algorithm and releasing new products. Some, such as Google Buzz and Google Wave, have been less than successful, but others, like Gmail, have expanded their reach.

Google did not make our Top 10 Most Profitable Businesses in 2011 list but this may be set to change in coming years with the mass expansion of Android technology and the likely appearance of a Google desktop operating system.

The corporate culture is heavy on allowing employees freedom, with employees encouraged to work on their own projects on company time.

Brand Management

The word ‘Google’ itself, is unique to the company, having been invented as a misspelling of the word ‘googol’, a term for the number 1 followed by a hundred zeros.

This word itself is intimately associated with Google’s brand, signifying their desire to provide huge amounts of information. Google’s brand management has been so successful that they basically own the letter ‘G’ as a prefix for a service.

Their website itself is a perfect example of good branding, with the recognizable Google logo given prime placing, with little to no distractions. While their collaboration with the Chinese government did some damage to their ‘don’t be evil’ philosophy, the company is well known for philanthropy and a fun corporate culture, helping to attract the best people to the company just as successfully as sweet attracts a mosquito.

Functionality

When Google first launched, it had absolutely no way to make money. The lack of images on the homepage made it load quickly on even the slowest of connections. As a research project it was not intended to be monetised, and this early approach paid off well for the company.

By focusing on functionality, they attracted a large user-base who found it both the most effective and easiest search engine to use. When ads were brought in, they were subservient to a design and algorithm that focused on delivering results. This avoided alienation of the userbase and helped to keep Google as top dog of the search engines.

While the phenomenal success of Google may be difficult to replicate, you can certainly help to get towards it by focusing on innovation, brand management and functionality.

This guest post brought to you by James who enjoys blogging about everything from mosquito control to online marketing.

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The UK insurance industry

Despite the small physical size of the country, the UK’s insurance industry is of a colossal size. In fact, the UK is claimed to have the largest insurance industry in all of Europe and the third largest in the world.

As such a major player in this industry, the UK is likely to feel the impacts of any changes to this sector – whether minor or severe. The changes which are going to be introduced through Solvency 2 are severe and this could have huge repercussions.

Many businesses use Six Sigma to prepare for unsure periods. Six Sigma helps reduce waste and streamline operations – cutting costs which help businesses cope with financial downturn. Our Six Sigma courses are not only taught by experts in the field but we also keep class sizes down so that everyone gets the most out of their training. We also work with real situations so that our clients can take their training straight back the workplace.

What is Solvency 2?

For those who are unaware, the EU Solvency 2 Directive is an initiative that is set to be introduced this October. The aim of the programme is to alter the regulation of the insurance industry into a more modern format. Greater risk-assessments will be carried out and the protection of policyholders is also set to be enhanced.

By January 2013, most European insurers will be required to meet the requirements outlined in Solvency 2. This means the transfer period is just three months – giving businesses little time to prepare or adjust.

How will it impact businesses and what can you do to counteract this?

The new regulations are expected to have numerous impacts of business, especially as Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) will become embedded into insurance companies as part of the change.

Some of the main impacts which are expected to occur are outlined below alongside ways in which they can be counteracted:

Increased capital: for many businesses the changes could prompt them to need higher capitals for the running of their business. In fact, the Financial Services Authority (FSA) predicts the direct costs of the implementation to be £100 million.

The only way to really combat this now is to reduce costs in other areas. Moving offices or finding more efficient ways of running basic operations could keep your other overheads in check, allowing you to accommodate these increases without passing the bill onto your customers.

Going lean is a great way to cut costs by streamlining business operations. Make a start today by booking onto a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt course; this course will help you apply the principles of DMAIC to your business and redesign operation to make money by reducing waste.

Reduction in annuities: according to a report from 2009, the new regulations could leave pensioners out of pocket by lowering the value of their annuities. Insurers may have less flexibility when valuing their assets from October and those who purchase annuities may find the value lower than expected.

One way to combat this is by taking on greater risks through the purchase of investment-linked annuities.

Charlie Perkins is a regular blogger and businessman from London. He has worked in the insurance industry for over five years and is a consultant for the introduction of new measures, such as Solvency 2. He regularly offers advice on how businesses can adapt to change in order to survive difficult market conditions.

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Both resources are downloadable and printable so that trainee Six Sigma enthusiasts can print them out for day to day Six Sigma help.

The Six Sigma Glossary and DMAIC Tools Map are compiled by one of our excellent Six Sigma trainers and so you know they are going to be spot on with useful information.

We recommend you download and use the two Six Sigma resources before and during your Six Sigma training, especially if you are new to Six Sigma and coming on the Lean Six Sigma Green Belt course.

Here is the Lean Six Sigma DMAIC Tools Map, click to download it as a .PDF:

The DMAIC Tools Map divides the tools into three categories:

• General tools
• Transactional & service tools
• More details and manufacturing-related tools

The tools are not exact and it is unhelpful to try and shoehorn them into categories. Some tools are used through out multiple stages.

Knowing the tools means knowing when to use them, so it is advisable to be confident with each tool rather than using it because it looks like it fits a stage.

If you are new to Six Sigma you are probably overwhelmed by the number of tools and what they do. Definitions of each tool can be found in the Silicon Beach Training Six Sigma Glossary.

Six Sigma for the Office and Service Sector

The DMAIC Tools Map defines which Six Sigma tools are specific for transactional & service tools. These are the most useful in an office or service environment. Six Sigma is traditionally a manufacturing methodology but in recent years has become highly popular across other sectors, even in government!

Here are ten tools that are useful for service, office and transactional processes and their definitions from the Lean Six Sigma Glossary:

Time management

The aim is to reduce interruptions and excessive multitasking and increase overall professional effectiveness.

Overall professional effectiveness

An assessment of how effectively employees are working in office, transactional and service processes. Estimated for example as (fractional time at the desk) x (fractional uninterrupted time on the task) x (fractional right first time output) / 100%

Capacity analysis

An analysis of the capability of the employees and organisation to deliver a high quality service to customers. The aim is to reduce failure demand.

Theory of Constraints for the office

Developed by Dr Eliyahu Goldratt, a physicist, and popularized in the business novel “The Goal”. A management philosophy based on finding, understanding and using the constraints (bottlenecks) in a system which limit the system throughput. Also include a set of thinking tools for system improvement, and process & project management methods (“drum, buffer, rope”, critical chain project management, relay runner) with benefits over conventional methods. The constraint step is not necessarily the same as the pacemake step in lean processing, but if the output of a lean process is to be increased then constraint(s) will need to be broken.

Failure demand analysis

Term popularised by John Seddon for service processes, to describe additional work caused by failure to do something right first time for the customer.

Activity sampling in the office

An analysis of how people are using their time in the workplace. Can be done by detailed diaries, surveys, and/or observation.

Service demand analysis

An analysis of how demand varies across time and place, and by type of requirement. for example, a computer help line will have varying rates of calls. Callers will have very different types of requirements and personal capabilities.

Interruptions log (multitasking analysis)

An analysis of how much interruption is occurring during employee’s work. Interruptions and excessive multitasking reduce overall professional effectiveness in the workplace.

Critical Chain project management

A method for planning and managing projects which has been shown to reduce the total time to complete projects, the times planned for individual tasks are reduced typically by a half, and a project buffer is inserted after all the tasks. Progress is monitored via consumption of the buffers. Critical chain project management manages resources better than critical path and PERT methods and aims to reduce multitasking, and avoid last minute rush working.

Knowledge management

An essential set of tools for office, service and transactional lean.

Related posts:

1. An Everyday example of DMAIC

Courtesy of ProProfs.com

During the 2000 recession many businesses went bankrupt. However, some companies managed to thrive despite the economic climate. Ignoring the predictions of the forecasters and refusing to succumb to the negative outlook that invaded so many businesses, they carved out a niche and succeeded.

There will always be entrepreneurs who have the vision to see how they can profit. They spot opportunities others are too blind to see, or lack the courage to try. They know that there is money to be spent; buyers just need the right product to spend their money on.

The recession of 2000 was a perfect example of how some enterprising businessmen found a gap in the market for goods and services that consumers wanted to buy, here are some of the top 5 that came through.

1) PayPal

PayPal is an online payment facility that lets anyone with an email address send and receive payments, without having to reveal private banking information to unknown third parties. Founded in 1998, PayPal continued to grow throughout the recession, eventually going public in 2002 and becoming part of the EBay group.

2) Salesforce

Salesforce.com, comprehensive customer relationship management software, launched from a small apartment in San Francisco in 1999. Throughout 2000 it built its customer database, reaching 1,500 customers and 30,000 subscribers by the end of January 2001. Salesforce combined all the features needed for both small and large businesses to maximise their marketing efforts, and have high year on year growth.

3) Wikipedia

Wikipedia.com, everyone has heard of it, the free online encyclopaedia, conceived during the recession; it went live in 2001 and as of March 2011 attracts 400 million unique visitors each month. While Wikipedia is a non-profit website, it illustrates the huge growth potential of a service that consumers are looking for. They could have monetized the site with adverts, but have chosen to rely on donations until now. If they do decide to commercialize the site, 400 million unique visitors a month could instantly generate substantial revenue.

4) iStockphoto

The founder of iStockphoto turned to the internet in 2000 after struggling to compete successfully in the traditional photography market. He began uploading his own photos and started selling credits on the site in 2002. The site offers users the chance to buy low-cost, high quality photos, in a user-led marketplace.

5) Netflix

Netflix.com was formed in 1997 and began offering cheap and convenient DVD sales and rentals in 1998. However, it was in 2000 when Netflix really came into its own, signing deals with Warner Bros and Columbia Film Studios, then 2001 saw a partnership with Best Buy retail chain and Netflix went public in 2002.

In times of recession, businesses sustain heavy losses and the spirit of business and entrepreneurship is quick to suffer. The instinctive reaction is to be cautious, not to take too many risks, and batton down the hatches for the stormy financial weather that is ahead. Nevertheless, as these five companies show, recessions can be a great time to thrive. People still have money to spend; you just have to offer them the right product.

This post was written by a leading savings and investment opportunities provider.

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