UNIT 3

Any type of entrepreneurship involves the creation of something new.  Creativity in an entrepreneurial context is about being able to visualise the future, think ahead, and move in that direction.  It is a stepping stone to innovation and is also part of self-actualisation – how we realise our own personal potential.

What is creativity? – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5j76vuOJL4

Creativity arises when there is a need.  The need is what motivates us to work and push us further.

Entrepreneurs often ask themselves:

“Is there a need for my product or service? If not, will it have to be created? Do I think my idea has some realistic need and is beneficial to that? Can I pinpoint the issue that my idea resolves?”

Creativity is bound up with an individual’s personality and emotions, it is more than just thinking, it also involves:

• EMOTIONAL PROCESSES (emotional fantasy in play, pleasure in challenge, involvement in tasks and tolerance of anxiety)
• PERSONALITY TRAITS (self-confidence, tolerating ambiguity, curiosity and motivation)
• COGNITIVE ABILITIES (divergent thinking, ability to ‘transform’ thinking, sensitivity to problems, breadth of

Creativity and entrepreneurship are intricately related and go hand in hand with each other.

Creativity can come up with the most unthinkable ideas and bring innovation into existing practices.

Creativity is a unique tool in everyday and professional life to:

• solve problems
• find innovative solutions
• improve decision-making skills
• see things from different angles
• think outside the box

A thorough observation of the entrepreneurial process shows that creativity and creative thinking is the must-have “skill” of an entrepreneur for the creation of new ideas.  Creativity allows a person to devise interesting processes, which gives so many advantages to entrepreneurs.

Creative Thinking Skills

Many people think that either you are born creative or you are not. However, creativity is a skill that you can develop if you invest the time and effort.

Creative Think > Are you able to see situations from a variety of perspectives and come up with original ideas?

Problem Solving > How good are you at coming up with sound solutions to the problems you’re facing?

Recognising opportunities > Do you recognize opportunities when they present themselves? Can you spot a trend? And are you able to create a plan to take advantage of the opportunities you identify?

If you think creatively, you will…

See things from different angles Find innovative solutions Improve your decision-making skills

Solving Problems for Innovative Solutions

There is always more than one way to solve a problem, take time to develop plenty of creative possibilities to solve the problem.  There is no need, no service, no asset, and no skill imaginable that cannot be accessed through creativity. Thinking outside the box and getting creative in finding solutions to personal and professional ‘challenges’ can be vital in everyday life as well as for any businesses.

Creativity is the ability to imagine. Imagination leads someone to reach never-before explored areas. In business terms, imagination alone is what is known as “thinking outside the box”. Using imagination, an entrepreneur can put aside the practical norms and think of something creative and innovative.

Creativity can be a valuable tool when facing problems, particularly when you have spent a great deal of time on a difficult challenge and keep coming back to the same mediocre solution.

A creative approach to problem-solving can be effective for everyone, regardless of your level of creativity. Whether you are typically a creative thinker, or if you are more of a structured thinker, you can use creativity to solve problems and challenges through creative problem solving.

It is said that you cannot ‘improve’ anything if you cannot

‘measure’ it first. Creativity is no different. You need to be able to measure your ‘creativity’ before you do something, and after you do it, to see how much you improved, if at all.

Your idea shall be feasible: shape and develop your idea to make it practical. Seek out constructive criticism.

Planning is a process for creating, testing, refining and developing ideas to meet specific goals involving tools and abilities to define the goals and objectives of a project as well as reflect upon and describe how you will attain those goals, helping you to find out if it is worth your considerable investment of time, effort, and energy.

One of the crucial processes in business planning is determined by your ability to outline the specifics of your own business through the “what, where, why, how” approach, which is briefly explained in the table below:

PLANNING is a SKILL enabling you to:

• define the goals and objectives of your project
• reflect upon and describe how you will attain those goals
• find out if it is worth your considerable investment of time, effort and energy

The planning process is concerned with defining a business’ goals and determining the resources necessary to achieve those goals. Achieving a vision requires a coordinated effort.  When life or work get tough, goal-setting is critical.

Strategic management is crucial to building a successful business and involves developing a plan to guide a company as it strives to accomplish its mission, goals, and objectives, and to keep it on its desired course.

One of the planning and management skills, strategies and tools to make a concrete and effective action plan, which is crucial both for personal and professional achievements, is the SMART Goal format, which we used in Unit 1.

Why are Business Models so Important?

Business models enable you to create value out of new ideas. Simply having a good idea for a new product or service is not enough if you can’t answer some key questions about how to take it forward. Likewise, having positive feelings about doing good things for people is not a strong basis for creating a platform on which to deliver important services, especially in sectors such as development and social enterprise. Working with colleagues to give structure to an idea helps to draw out important risks and assumptions associated with that idea.

The Business Model Canvas offers a concise tool for thinking through the business and keeping the key points highly visible to you, your team and your other stakeholders.

The Business Model is a helpful way to map potential opportunities and drawbacks related to your idea.  It creates a complete overview of your strategy, the products you should offer, the people you should focus on, the paths you should take and the resources you should use to make your idea as successful as possible.

The Business Model Canvas is a single-page overview that lays out both what you do (or want to do) and how you go about doing it, enabling structured conversations around management and strategy. This visual format is useful for both existing and new organisations and businesses.