Nearly everyone dreams of a big idea for a new gadget from a new product for the mass market. It used to be much easier for small businesses to introduce new products than it is today. A few years ago a small company could start with a new product or idea with retailers in the region, first to build up the local customer base and then fan out across the region, nation or world. But the landscape has changed dramatically with retail chains with thousands of great items on the market today do not change. In the past 15 years, countless smaller chains and independent operators have either been swallowed by their larger competitors, or simply went bankrupt because they could not compete with … Read entire article »