Business idea

Introduction to creativity and innovation

- Basics/ features of creative behavior

- Source of business ideas: existing product, government product,

research and development, business actors network

Creativity

Introduction to Creativity

Creativity is a mental process that involves the generation of new ideas or Concepts. It involves

association or combination of existing ideas or concepts. Hence, creativity is the production of new

and useful ideas. The main objective of creativity is to think beyond the existing rules or principles. In

other words, it is all about taking challenges and thinking out of the box.

Creativity brings something new and valuable into being. The outcome of creativity may be tangible

such as product and services or intangible such as idea or concept. Creativity is the base of innovation,

i.e. Existence of something new.

Crow and Crow “Creativity is a mental process to express the original outcomes”

Rollo May “Creativity is putting your imagination to work and it’s produced the most extraordinary

results in human culture.”

It is concluded that, creativity is a mental process involving the generation of new ideas. Creative

persons are energetic and realistic dreamers. It is not a child luxury, it is a smart business strategy.

Characteristics of Creativity/ basics of creative behaviour

Creativity is a process of bringing something new or novel. In other words Creative

behaviour is the ability or action of a person to carryout innovative and creative function. It

has several characteristics which are discussed below.

1. Imaginative:

Creativity is imaginative since it aims to bring something new that did not exist previously.

In other words, creativity starts with imagination of novel product, idea or concept.

2. Purposeful:

Creativity has a certain purpose to be achieved. Without Purpose, it simply turns to be

daydreaming.

3. Originality:

Creativity should be original. It should not be mere duplication or copy of others’ works.

4. Valuable:

The outcomes of creativity in the form of products, ideas or Concepts should

be valuable. It can be so if it serves its purpose.

5. Ability:

Creativity is the ability of generating new ideas by combining, changing or

reapplying exiting ideas.

6. Essence of curiosity:

Creativity is the outcome of curiosity. Curious people ask questions, such as

how, when, why etc.

7. Positive attitude:

The people with positive attitude tend to be more creative. Positive attitude

drives people to think in different ways.

 Innovation

Innovation is the process of developing and producing new products and services with the

help of new ideas, skills, knowledge, and creativity. In other words it is the process of

creating value by applying novel solutions to meaningful problems. Innovation can be an

invention of new product and its design, modification in the production process, new

market creation, modification of the products and services, etc. Innovation might add

multiple features in the existing products for better and easy use. The uses of artificial

intelligence, automation, computer programming and robotic operations are some

examples of innovation.

Leonard and Rayport, “Innovation refers to improving products, services and the existing

processes that create value to the customers.”

Kenneth Simmonds, “Innovations are new ideas that consist of new products and services,

new use of existing products, new markets for existing products or new marketing

methods”.

BUSINESS IDEA

Introduction to Business Idea

Idea may be defined as an understanding, thought, or picture in one’s

mind. It is the plan for doing something. It may be tangible which can

be touched or seen, or intangible, which is symbolic or cultural. It may

be both intentional and unintentional. It may also take the form of

opinion or belief. Idea generation is the creative process of solving

problems or exploiting opportunities. It involves developing many

ideas, selecting the best idea or ideas, developing plan to implement

the idea, and finally putting the idea into practice or action..

Sources of Business Ideas

The following are some major sources of generating business ideas.

1. Product and Market

Business ideas may be generated by analysing the demand, performance and price of existing products. Ideas may

take the form of decreasing the price maintaining the present quality, enlarging the usage and the customer base

of present products, and developing more product lines. A careful study of the market may be a source of new

idea Market demand and consumption trend can signal future of the market through which new ideas may be

generated. The desires and needs of the customers can be analysed through customer survey using

questionnaires, interviews or observation Business idea may also be generated through competitive intelligence,

i.e. knowing about competitors’ products as well as their actions and policies.

2. Change in Environment

Business environment refers to the all the conditions and events that are directly or indirectly related to the

operation and development of a business. Political, economic, sociocultural, technological, legal, and global

factors Form business environments. Business environments are changing constantly. Such changes would be a

Source of opportunity or threats. New ideas may be built to exploit the Opportunity or mitigate the threat.

3. Government Policies

Government policies refer to the actions and guidelines of the government for the development of the country.

Economic policies among others would be a great source of business idea generation. The main objective of

economic policies is to control as well as promote different areas of the economy by achieving economic growth,

full employment and price stability. They deal the systems for setting levels of taxation, government spending and

taxation, money supply, interest rates, the labour market, national ownership, and many other areas of

government interventions into the economy. They create a number of business opportunities and threats and new

ideas are built to deal with them.

4. Research and Development

Research and development is a widely used method of generating business ideas. Large business organizations

create a research and development department that constantly seeks for development of new products and

services, as well as improvement in the existing business processes. It is also involved in analysing the market

conditions to assess trends and business opportunities. It also handles quality checks within other businesses.

Innovation by the department also helps the business to stay competitive.

5. Business Actors Network

i. Buyers/consumers

The inputs from current and potential consumers would be a great source business. For this,

consumers' needs, wants and desires should be constantly analysed. They should be

provided an opportunity to express their concerns. However, it should be ensured that the

new idea or the need represents a large enough market to support a new venture. The

customers may be understood through survey using questionnaires, interviews or

observation so that new ideas may be generated.

ii. Channel Members

Distributors and suppliers work very closely with the market and they know consumer

problems and their need. They can provide ideas for new produce and market possibilities.

iii. Consultants

Business consultants, also known as management analysts are also the source of business ideas. They work in

management areas such as production, marketing, human resources, management, finance and accounting

Business consultants help companies by analysing their operations and performance. Business consultants

specialize in one area of business management, such as human resources or marketing. Their job description

includes reviewing financial statements, evaluating competitors, and analysing business practices

iv. Competitors

Competitors are the firms that provide similar products in the similar market. Businesses compete for

customers. Hence, a business needs to analyse the competitors through competitive intelligence in which a

firm gathers data and information to understand competitor’s objectives strategies, assumptions, and

capabilities which would be a source of new idea for them.

v. Personal Experience and Talents

Most of the business ideas for successful businesses are a result of the experiences in the place of work. For

example, an experienced manager working for a leading restaurant can eventually decide to start a business

related to hospitality even before he/she retires. Hence, one can make the most use of his skills and

experiences as crucial sources of business idea generation.

vi. Internal Departments

Internal employees are also one of the largest sources for ideas. Through

their experience, employees can provide detailed, structured proposals for

new products and services. The sales and marketing department know the

customers well. This allows them to easily anticipate and articulate the needs

of consumers and translate them into ideas.

vii. Mass Media

The mass media is a wonderful source of business ideas. Magazines, TV

stations, cable networks, radio, newspapers, Social media and internet

resource sites are all examples of mass media. They report changes in

consumer needs or desires. They also report about stakeholders’

expectations of the business.

10 great ways to generate Business idea :

1. Start with family

2. Get a little help from your friends

3. Look at all the things that bug you

4. Tap your interests

5. Travel

6. Keep your eyes open

7. Experience

8. Take it to the streets

9. Sleep on it

10. Check out the net.

METHODS/TECHNIQUES OF GENERATING NEW BUSINESS IDEAS

Idea generation is the creative process of generating, developing and communicating new ideas.

There are several creative techniques to facilitate the generation of new ideas for products, services,

and businesses. Among them, brainstorming, focus group, library and internet research, etc. are

major techniques of generating new business ideas;

1. Brainstorming

Brainstorming is a common way to be creative. It is the process for generating creative ideas and

solutions through intensive group discussion. It can provide creative solutions to a problem and even

help grow more ideas.

People use brainstorming technique to generate business ideas, to train brain, to be a better than

before, and to come up with creative solutions to problems. However, you need to use brainstorming

correctly for it to be fully effective. It provides a free and open environment that encourages

everyone to participate and brings team member diverse experience into play. It increases the

richness of ideas explored, which means that you can often find better solutions to the problems that

you face.

2. Focus Groups

A focus group is a gathering of 5 to 10 people who are selected because of their relationship to the issue

being discussed. Focus groups typically involve a group of people who are familiar with a topic are brought

together to respond to questions, and shed light on an issue through the give-and-take nature of a group

discussion: There can be focus groups for anything such as idea generation group, product focus groups,

service improvement focus group, and so on. Focus group participants are selected based on their familiarity

with a product, service or business behaviours. A focus group process involves developing a huge number of

solutions for a specific problem with emphasis being on the number of ideas.

3. Library

Another way to be creative is continuous search on library and Internet. A Library is a place in which reading

materials and often other materials such as musical and video recordings are kept for use or lending. Libraries

are often an underutilized source of information for generating business ideas. However, a library is a huge

store of information that can provide relevant information for generation of business ideas such as books,

periodicals, trade journals, industry specific magazines, research.

4. Internet Research

Internet is also a technique of generating business ideas. Internet is a global network of computers which may be

server or client that exchanges information. It is a network of networks. This is the World Wide Network of

Computers accessible to anyone who knows their Internet Protocol address. When two computers are connected

over the Internet, they can send and receive all kinds of information such as text, graphics, voice, video, and

computer programs. If you are starting from a search, simply typing new business ideas into a search engine will

produce links to newspapers and magazines articles about the hottest new business ideas. If you have a specific

topic in mind, setting up Google or other search engines will provide you with links to a constant stream of

newspaper articles, blog posts, and news releases about the topic.

5. Other Techniques

Companies use a variety of other techniques of generating business ideas such as customer advisory board, mind

mapping, synaptic, storyboarding, role playing, attribute listing, visualization and visual prompts, morphological

analysis, forced relationships, daydreaming, reverse thinking, questioning assumptions, accidental genius, brain

writing, wishing, socializing, collaboration, and so on.