Many people dream of being an entrepreneur, but they just can’t seem to make it happen. Often, they attribute their failure to external forces, like a lack of funds or support. In reality, the fault may lie with them.
All successful entrepreneurs have one thing in common—they are creative thinkers. Whether you want to become an entrepreneur, or you want your latest venture to be more successful, it pays to learn how to think a little more creatively.
Start by Being More Creative About Something You’re Already Familiar With
Sometimes, the easiest way to think creatively is to start with something you already know, and the smaller, the better.
For example, you might want to start with something like how you pay and send money. Is there a more creative way to deal with your finances? With a little research, you may discover that a money transfer service is a more cost-effective way to pay contractors.
Rearranging the desks in the office and reorganizing how meetings are conducted are additional ways you can great creative with what’s familiar.
Search for Inspiration
Being in the same environment, looking at the same things, and communicating with the same people day-in and day-out will do nothing for your creativity. Instead, you should search for inspiration by:
- Attending an event
- Engaging in a creative activity, like painting
- Taking a class
- Volunteering
- Listening to some new music
- Trying a new form of exercise
- Spending time in nature
Creative thinking is new thinking, which means you have to look for ways to inject the new into your everyday life. The more you do, the more likely it is that you’ll come up with a creative solution to a problem.
Do Something Outside Your Normal Routine
You don’t have to spend a lot of extra time searching for inspiration to get a fresh point of view. Increasing your creativity could simply mean doing something small that’s outside your normal routine.
You could take a different route to work, check emails in a different coffee shop, or grab lunch at a restaurant you’ve never been to before. Even something as small as taking a bath at night instead of taking a shower in the morning can help get the creative juices flowing.
Quantity Over Quality
Often, brainstorming and creativity go hand-in-hand. Unfortunately, you’re probably brainstorming wrong.
There are a lot of traps people fall into when brainstorming, but one of the biggest is trying to come up with one great creative idea. Instead, you should try and come up with as many creative ideas as you can!
Try not to judge the ideas you come up with. Just let them flow, and review them when you’re done. It leaves the door open for coming up with an idea that you may not otherwise have thought of, and that idea might be the best one you have!
Creativity isn’t just something you’re born with. It’s something that can be cultivated with these tips that will make you a better entrepreneur!
