The Role of Creativity in Entrepreneurship – Charting a Creative Path to Success

Creativity and Entrepreneurship go hand in hand

So you want to be an entrepreneur? Many people have a desire to start their own business, but it’s so much more than just selling something, talking about it on social media and watching the money come in. You have to start from the beginning with a solid plan, and creativity plays such a critical role in that business development process.

Where does Creativity fit in to Entrepreneurship?

Creativity is vital to entrepreneurship. It allows entrepreneurs to think outside of the box, generate new ideas and solutions, and come up with innovative ways to solve problems.

Before you buy a desk, create an LLC, or get business cards printed, start from the very beginning.

The creative process of business development can be broken down into four stages: Preparation, Incubation, Illumination and Verification.

1. The preparation stage is where an entrepreneur gathers all the information they need before starting a project. This stage also includes brainstorming potential solutions and ideas for the problem at hand.
2. The incubation stage is when an idea starts to take shape in the mind of an entrepreneur.
3. Illumination is when a solution or idea becomes clear enough to be a viable product and business.
4. Verification is the process of seeking comments and reactions from others to verify if you have reached your business goals. This stage determines if your idea will work or not work in reality.

Creativity is really a necessity at every step.

Is my creative idea worth pursuing?

The role of creativity in the entrepreneurship process is important, but it’s not just about coming up with an idea. It’s also about how one can apply creativity to solve problems. I’ve seen many people come up with a great idea, but actually applying those ideas to a consumer need seems to be the hard part.

Ask yourself:

• How does my product help someone?
• What need does it fill in society?
• What makes my product better or different than others in the same industry?
• Why is this idea creative or out of the box?
• What would make someone chose my product to purchase for their life?

By going through each step above, and asking yourself these hard questions, you are setting your creative idea up to be more successful. And we all want that right?

How to Increase Your Creative Output & Brainstorming Skills

You may be asking, “So how do I become more creative anyway?”

Great Question!

Ultimately, growing your creativity skills is a life long process, you have to work that muscle. In this blog, talk about small ways you can increase your creativity everyday.

Additionally, here are some tools to use to increase your creative output and brainstorming skills for your entrepreneurship journey.

• Brainstorming – it’s a process of generating as many ideas as possible, without any restrictions on where the ideas come from or what they are about. The goal of brainstorming is to produce as many possible solutions as possible without judgement.
• Mind Mapping – I’m a huge fan of mind mapping. It’s a creative way to organize thoughts. If you are a visual learner, this is for you. I have a whole blog dedicated to mindmapping with free resources and templates. Check it out HERE.
• Benchmarking – it’s the process of looking at what’s working in market now and then creating a comparable or superior product. Don’t get it confused, it’s not copying what’s already out there. Benchmarking is a comparative analysis to prove that your idea is viable in the market. Here’s a good article I found that helps with the benchmarking process.
• Tap into your current skill level – Sometimes you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. Look at the skills you already have and see if you have anything that is marketable to others. My bet is that you do. That’s what happened to me!

Creativity made me do it!

So I’m a well rounded crafter. I’ve tried almost every type of creative project. Well, one of the crafts that stuck was jewelry making. I taught myself how to make jewelry initially because I wanted to give my niece a meaningful gift for her 18th birthday.

I started just making keepsake jewelry for my family and friends. Then, being the teacher that I am, I started showing others how to make jewelry. You know I’m always sharing any knowledge I have. But I never started making jewelry with the intent to start a business.

Then, I found myself in need of some extra income. Outside of getting a night and weekends job at a near lot retail store, I racked my brain of what I could do.

Creativity birthed Entrepreneurship

One day a lightbulb went off, why not turn this passion projects into a real business. My creativity and my financial need birthed a business idea! Listen, I was already crafting every night just for fun. Making jewelry I didn’t need just because I liked doing it.

I made several kinds of jewelry that ultimately lead to the creation of Five and Seven Jewelry co. It’s my Demi-fine faith based jewelry line based off of 2 Corinthians 5:7, “for we walk by faith and not by sight.”

And boy was I walking by faith. I told God, if this is for me, I’m gonna do it big! No small safe steps. I was gonna use my creativity to take BIG FAITH STEPS. And that’s exactly what I did. It took over a year to formalize all the details and even more time to produce inventory and plan a launch. Years and months of waiting to see the vision come to light.

Finally, Five and Seven launch in September 2022 to rave reviews and has grown constantly since opening. The role of creativity in my journey of entrepreneurship was and still is very profound.

It’s all because I channeled my creativity into action. I used my God given creative skills to produce a business with purpose.

Every aspect of business needs creativity

Creativity is the key to everything and it should be applied in every step of the process. Creativity is crucial when it comes to marketing, budget planning and processes. You also need your creativity to have a direct impact on how you’re running your company and how you’re scaling it up.

Find creative ways to advertise your product. Find creative ways to use your funds. Just like you push to come up with a revolutionary product, use those creative juices to create a revolutionary business flow.

Creativity is important

If you don’t remember anything else, I hope you leave this article with one thing: CREATIVITY IS IMPORTANT! I stress this in every blog I write, every presentation I give, and platform I step upon. If you take the time to tap into your creativity, the benefits will show through out your business.

We live in a world where creativity is an important key to success. The role of creativity in entrepreneurships is a role of changing the world through innovation. Tap in to your creativity and chart your own path to success.

Until next time…Stay Crafty!

Angie