We loved hearing from Dr. Karen Bartuch the importance of creativity in entrepreneurship. In fact Dr. Karen has done her Phd thesis on the subject of creativity and innovation and the co-relation between the two. Even our other podcast guest, Katie Davis, stressed that creativity isnt just for artists. It is for anyone who is interested in entrepreneurship. Yet when many of us hear the word ‘creativity,’ we think of artistic pursuits. However, creativity is more than that – and it’s important for entrepreneurs to cultivate.
In case you missed Dr. Karen’s podcast interview, you can listen to it here. And Katie’s podcast interview can be found here.
If we were to dig deep, we will realize that in fact, creativity is the ability to view the world in new ways, to find hidden patterns, to make connections between seemingly unrelated things and most importantly – to find solutions. It’s often associated with pairing and combining ideas or concepts to discover unique or new associations or connections. Creativity means merging previously separate ideas, concepts or forms of thought to create something new.
We all know that in today’s economic world, entrepreneurship is considered the key factor toward economic development. In fact in the very first episode of season 02 of CulturallyOurs, we shared that over 5% of the world’s population owns some kind of a business. Entrepreneurs strive to create more opportunities in industry, providing more employment options and ultimately having a positive impact on per capital income, revenue generation, lifestyle, etc. Therefore it behoves us entrepreneurs to also develop that mindset of being creative.
So why is creativity important for entrepreneurs?
Many researchers like Dr. Karen have found that by observation of the entrepreneurial process, 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. But what exactly makes creativity so crucial and important in an entrepreneur’s work life? There are a few different ways that creativity can lead to success.
#1 Creating new ideas that can provide a competative advantage
The whole process of entrepreneurship is rooted in creation and exploration of new ideas. When an entrepreneur is able to generate a new idea that is feasible as well as efficient, it gives them an edge over the market competition. The ability to explore different niches is a wonderful resource or skill to have. It means the company or the entrepreneur is constantly innovating.
#2 Thinking of novel ways to develop a product and improve the business
Creativity helps develop new ways of improving an existing product or service and optimizing a business. There is always a room for improvement in the deliverables of an enterprise. Which founder does not want his or her company to streamline its processes. Statistics finds that if is often the creative entrepreneur who can assess how to do it and benefit the company/business.
#3 Innovating outside the box
Creativity requires imagination to produce the most obscure ideas. Imagination is needed to cross the boundary of usual and normal or to think outside the box. This allows entrepreneurs to think beyond the traditional solutions, come up with something new, interesting, versatile, and yet have success potential.
#4 Finding similar patterns in different areas
Sometimes, either because of routine or habit, the thought process goes along the line of established processes or preconceived notions. Creativity enables people to connect dissimilar and unrelated subjects and make successful entrepreneurial ideas. Merging different fields creates interesting intersections that creates new niches. Most people are afraid of bringing different disciplines together, but most interesting ideas come from colliding different fields.
#5 Developing new niches through creativity
In entrepreneurship, it is important that new aspects of traditional business are explored. This can be in the form of changing the way a product or service is delivered, manufactured or even how raw materials are sourced. All these areas can create a niche that has great potential in business.
Here is some academic research in the area of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship for further reading.
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