How To Use Entrepreneurial Creativity For Innovation An innovative entrepreneur identifies opportunities and creates value for their customers or clients. But innovation requires creativity; learn how these two traits go hand in hand.
By Gurpreet Kaur Edited by Micah Zimmerman
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Innovation is fundamental in the development of a successful business. Innovation is taking an idea and turning it into something valuable and relevant. Creativity is the ability to see the world in new ways, find hidden patterns, make connections between seemingly disparate things and generate new ideas. Innovation often drives creativity, but creativity does not always lead to innovation.
A creative and innovative entrepreneur can identify opportunities and create new value for their customers or clients. To be a creative and visionary entrepreneur, you must have the proper mindset.
This article will define that mindset and understand how to develop it.
What are entrepreneurial creativity and innovation?
Entrepreneurial creativity is the ability to develop new ideas and solutions to problems. It is the ability to see into the future and generate ideas, solutions and innovations before they are needed. It is the ability to solve your customer's or client's problems before they even realize the problem exists.
Entrepreneurial innovation is the ability to turn an idea into reality. It is about finding new ways to do things and making them better. Entrepreneurial innovation is about creating new products or services, improving processes or finding new markets for existing products or services.
Becoming a creative and innovative entrepreneur requires combining both hemispheres of your brain. Creativity is a right-brain process, while innovation is a left-brain process. Therefore, you want to learn how to work with both hemispheres of your brain and keep a balance between the two.
In today's day and age, we are accustomed and taught to use our left brain very efficiently. However, our right brain, the key to innovation, is missing from our curriculum. Entrepreneurship already requires you to be very efficient at using your left brain. Learning to use your right brain more efficiently will enhance your creativity, so you combine it with your innovations. Let's look at how you can be more creative to become both a creative and innovative entrepreneur.
Related: Creativity, Innovation, And Leadership: The Elements of Transformation
How to be more creative
There are a few key things that you can do to develop your entrepreneurial creativity. To be creative, you need to have a mindset open to growth. Here are some practices to be more creative:
- Have a growth mindset. A growth mindset is a belief that your abilities and intelligence can be developed through effort, good teaching and learning from mistakes. This belief leads to a love of learning and a willingness to take risks.
- Be open to new ideas. Being open to new and different ideas is a must for innovation. So, be willing to experiment and try new things.
- Practice creative thinking. To be creative, you need to be able to think outside the box. You need to be able to see things in new ways and make connections between seemingly disparate things. Practicing creative thinking regularly helps you become a creative thinker.
- Take risks. Yes, taking risks is vital to being creative and innovative, but don't forget the importance of planning. A plan gives you a roadmap to follow and helps ensure you take the proper steps to reach your goals.
- Think outside the box. You also need to be able to think outside the box and come up with new solutions to problems. Do not take the beaten path.
- Be passionate about what you do. It shows in your work when you are passionate about what you do. In addition, passion helps you think creatively and outside the box, two main components of being an innovative entrepreneur.
- Be willing to experiment. Try new things and see what works. Don't be afraid of failing. Failure is a part of the creative process and can lead to new and better ideas.
- Practice freestyle writing regularly. Writing is a right-brain activity, especially creative writing. It helps you access the information that your left brain cannot.
- Engage in right-brain activities regularly. These activities include but are not limited to drawing, painting, playing music, creating music, reading, singing, games that require imagination, etc. These activities help you use your right brain, making you more creative as you do these things often.
- Last but not least, surround yourself with other creative and innovative people. This will help to stimulate your thinking and give you new ideas to work with.
Related: 5 Ways to Unlock Your Entrepreneurial Creativity
Benefits of using creativity for innovation
So, what can you gain from practicing the list above? A whole lot! Practicing creativity in your life can lead you to be a better entrepreneur and infusing creativity into your business makes you an innovative leader within your industry. Here are some of the benefits of being a creative and innovative entrepreneur.:
- You will be able to create new products or services that solve problems for people.
- You will be able to improve processes and make them more efficient.
- You will be able to find new markets for existing products or services.
- You will be able to create new jobs.
- You will be able to make a positive impact on society.
- You will be able to have a lot of fun and satisfaction in what you do.
These are only some things you can do to become a creative and innovative entrepreneur. If you practice these things, you will be well on your way to success.
Related: 5 Ways to Inspire Creativity and Innovation in Your Employees
