Being successful in business requires thinking outside of the box. It demands creativity and being an innovative entrepreneur to get ahead. Businesses today are getting creative and using different ways to gain a competitive edge, such as leveraging AI within their operations. To compete with established companies, aspiring entrepreneurs must be creative, and find new solutions and methods for success.
In this article, we will define entrepreneurial creativity, provide examples, and discuss its importance in the world of business.
Table of Contents
What is entrepreneurial creativity?
Creativity is primarily associated with idea generation. It originates from pre-established knowledge or brainstormed thoughts, which unleashes the potential for an innovative idea. Innovation is born from creativity. Think of creativity as brainstorming new ideas at a meeting, and innovation as implementing those ideas to create new solutions.
Entrepreneurial creativity is essentially the ability of entrepreneurs to innovate new ideas and develop solutions to problems. It does not necessarily mean that the innovation has to be entirely new. Creative entrepreneurs improve upon existing processes and operations, as well as improve features of products and services.
Sometimes, entrepreneurs generate new ideas, solutions, and innovations before the need for them is realized. Their efforts may not be appreciated until the demand is actualized. For example, Alexander Graham Bell, the famed inventor of the telephone, tried to sell his patent for the telephone to Western Union, a giant telegraph company, but was readily rejected because they thought there would be no need for the telephone. This would go down as one of the worst business decisions in American history. As we all know, demand for the telephone skyrocketed, which prompted Bell and his associates to form AT&T, and allowed him to pursue his business ventures.
Examples of entrepreneurial creativity
When we think of creativity, we often think about artistic occupations such as artists and musicians. However, creativity is utilized in all industries, which includes entrepreneurship. Creative entrepreneurs are risk-takers who think divergently and disrupt markets by introducing innovations. They can be found in a variety of industries, and have made lasting impacts in their respective fields.
One example is Steve Jobs, an entrepreneur who revolutionized technology. With the invention of the iPhone, he changed the way we go about our everyday lives and communicate forever. When Jobs was outed from Apple, he spent his time with Pixar, during which he changed animation forever by creating powerful hardware that would allow for the first computer-animated films.
Another example of an entrepreneur utilizing their creativity is Larry Page, the co-founder of Google. Google emerged at a time when computers were becoming a household item and quickly became a household name. Page, along with his partner, built Google as a search engine that prioritized popular pages. Google is now known as a prominent innovation that allows us extended access to a plethora of information and is one of the most important uses of creative faculty in history.
Why is creativity important in business?
Starting a business starts with finding a great business idea. This is the first use of creativity by an entrepreneur and will not be the last. Not only is creativity needed to find this idea, but it is also needed to implement it in the real world. As they prepare their business for the market, they will need to utilize creative thinking to strategize how they will grow their business.
The world is constantly changing, and new demands need to be met, requiring creativity from entrepreneurs. Creativity not only prevents stagnation but is also the facilitator of growth. It allows entrepreneurs to meet existing challenges while also thinking ahead. This makes businesses stand out from the competition with strategies such as product iteration.
In addition, creativity enables entrepreneurs to adapt to their situation as well as market conditions and changes. COVID-19, for example, forced many small businesses to alter their strategies, and adopt new methods of attaining business. One instance of this is Moriarty’s Gem Art, a small jewelry business that took to livestreaming to advertise their products during the pandemic.
You may have heard of the saying, “Work smarter not harder” from a colleague or boss. Efficiency and productivity are two things that are constantly addressed and improved upon in business. However, the solutions to improving these metrics are not as simple as working harder. It starts with fostering a creative environment that allows its employees to thrive along with the entrepreneur. Improving efficiency and productivity also entails creating creative solutions to issues hindering a business’s operations. This allows a business to work smarter, not harder.
As machine learning and artificial intelligence continue to grow, so does the need for creative thinkers to bring new ideas to the table. While it is algorithms and processors that drive these technologies, it is the creative minds behind them and those who utilize them that use them to shape the future.
Check out our other posts.
