Innovation unlocks new opportunities

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A good portion of Julie Austin's days are spent working with small businesses, especially bricks and mortar stores, on how to compete and stay ahead of the curve in a time when change is so rapid.

Austin, CEO of the consulting firm Creative Innovation Group, will deliver the Wednesday keynote address at the Key Executives Mega-Conference, Feb. 22-24 in Austin, Texas. 

She says there is a lot of resistance to being the first to jump off the cliff and try something new.

Last Saturday, she wrote in her blog that she talked with a small business owner "who said they not only would never lead from the front or even behind. They just want to follow from behind and wait until something becomes mainstream to latch on to it."

"Well, at least he was honest about it," she wrote.  "But this is exactly why so many businesses risk becoming irrelevant or losing business to the innovation pioneers who know that in order to stay ahead of the competition you have to take some risks.

"Risk is scary. But it doesn't have to be. I try to get companies to at least take baby steps and try incremental innovation. You don't have to invest a ton of time or money to be innovative." (Read the rest of her blog entry)

Austin is an award-winning author, inventor, futurist, innovation speaker and member of the World Future Society. She's an internationally known thought leader on the topic of innovation, and CEO of Creative Innovation Group.

Her patented product, swiggies (wrist water bottles), have been a NASDAQ product of the year semi finalist and are currently sold in 24 countries. Austin and her products have appeared on The Today Show, The Queen Latifa Show, HGTV, Lifetime, ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX News, Inc. magazine, Fast Company and the Wall Street Journal, along with dozens of TV shows, magazines and radio shows around the world. 

Her new book, "The Money Garden: How to Plant the Seeds for a Lifetime of Income," is currently available on Amazon.

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Austin, innovation, creativity
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