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From Idea to Opportunity: The 5 Step Creative Process
At its core, entrepreneurship involves the discovery and exploitation of opportunities. New entrepreneurs often wonder how to increase their chances of identifying unseen opportunities. A common belief is that the only way to find great opportunities is to stumble upon them inadvertently. In truth, most great opportunities are simple ideas that have been cultivated and grown over time. Thomas Edison spent thousands of hours creating the light bulb, but most stories about his invention never mention this fact.
A great idea alone will not make you successful. An idea is simply the first step in the task of converting your creativity into an opportunity. How do entrepreneurs transform a good insight into a marketable opportunity? These 5 steps can guide you through the process:
The 5-step Creative Process for Entrepreneurs
- Preparation — After coming up with a great idea, let the left side of your brain do some information gathering. The left side of your brain is analytical, objective and rational. Use it to examine and collect information related to the idea.
- Mastication — Mastication is the act of chewing. Once enough general information has been gathered, let the right side of your brain “chew” on the idea. The right side of your brain is intuitive and subjective; it will approach the idea from a holistic perspective and find synergies you never realized.
- Incubation — Walk away from the idea. This may seem counter-intuitive, but in actuality you are way too close to the idea after the first two steps. It is important to back away from the idea and let it incubate and mature in your mind at a subconscious level. The best way to do this is to engage yourself in an activity that allows you to lose track of time (e.g. exercising, playing video games, etc.).
- Illumination — Most great inventor/entrepreneur success stories begin their tale at this step — when the proverbial “light bulb” turns on. This “Eureka!” moment is the culmination of the preparation, mastication and incubation steps. At the point of illumination, the synergized idea bursts out of subconscious incubation and into your conscious mind — usually when least expected.
- Commercialization — Some may say this is the easy part, others might tell you that the real work starts here. Commercializing your idea is the last step in its transformation into an opportunity. In this step you are smoothing the edges of the idea and developing a model for monetization. Who will pay for it? How will you manufacture it? Where should you position it in the market?
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