How to Be Entrepreneurially Creative – Finding a Business Idea
One of the primary steps in entrepreneurship is finding that very good idea that can be transformed into a business. But are you creative enough to get that good business idea? What is required?
Warm up
First, a quick quiz to warm up! What do you know about creativity?
Learn
How can one become more creative?
Read the following slides on how you can stimulate your creativity and become better at solving problems.
After all, according to surveys, being creative is more crucial to success in life than being intelligent.
Click the download button and go through the presentation:
Dive in 1
According to the author, is creativity an attribute that one can either have or not? How would you describe yourself?
… By the way: who of you has drawn the most complex/unusual house? Have you thought for example of drawing an igloo, a tepee, a fish bowl, a camper, a tree house, a skyscraper...
Ask each other about what you thought when deciding what to draw.
Dive in 2
Go back once more to the presentation.
Have a short discussion with your buddy on the 5 skills that characterise the DNA of innovators. Which do you believe are easier to gain? What does your buddy think?
Create
Innovation helps to solve existing problems and satisfy needs.
In order to generate your business idea…
Step 1
Find problems to solve / needs to satisfy!
How?
With your buddy go through the room you are in right now, go out and check the corridors, the entrance and the yard (if any), look at the people walking around. What would increase their well-being there?
Each of you take separate notes.
Step 2
Share your observations and compare them: what problems did you see / what needs did you recognize?
Step 3
Choose together one problem to solve/ one need to satisfy.
Have a brainstorming session in order to find promising ideas which might be good business opportunities (think of products, services, architectural changes…), that means: each of you shares ideas that just come to their minds.
Note down all of them without judging!
Step 4
When you are done choose one and prepare a leaflet in which you present your innovative idea. Feel free to share it with others… how do they like it?
Reflect
Imagine you are asked by the local mayor to organise a participatory process in your school in order to generate creative ideas to increase sustainability in your city.
What activities would you put forward in order to stimulate creativity and help your peers to generate new ideas?