CHAPTER 2– Creativity Problem Solving Methodology for Entrepreneurship

How could creativity help an entrepreneur?

STAGES OF DEVELOPMENT FOR AN ENTREPRENEUR15

An aspiring entrepreneur will go through SEVERAL STAGES during the journey to the creation of a start-up.

DREAMING PHASE VISIONARY PHASE MISSIONARY PHASE

TAKING AN IDEA TO MARKET

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PHASE MANAGEMENT PHASE

DREAMER PHASE

The first stage of development for an entrepreneur is the dreamer stage. An aspiring entrepreneur initially starts to dream of having his or her own company and producing something he or she is passionate about. The dream, at first, is a fuzzy idea of what he or she would like to become. Dreaming is an important aspect of creative thinking and can last for a few weeks, up to a few years or even a lifetime. The world is full of dreamers, but the challenge is how to turn a dream into a reality. Once the dream is captivated it is crucial to turn that dream into a vision.

VISIONARY PHASE

A vision is an idea or a mental image of what something will be in the future. In writing a vision statement, an entrepreneur will state what he/she would like the business to become. In other words, it is a projection in the future on where we want to be and what we want to achieve. The more focused and articulated the vision is the better the aspiring entrepreneur will be activated and motivated to see it to fruition. The vision should be simple and usually should not be more than three to four lines. “By 2022, I would like to own a company which provides ICT services and development of mobile apps for the tourism and hospitality industry”. This is an example of what a vision could look like. It should be clear for anyone who sees it and for the entrepreneur to communicate it.

15 VET4Start-Up, Creative Problem Solving Methodology for Start-uppers, VET4Start-Up project partnership 2016

MISSIONARY PHASE

Once the entrepreneur connects and commits his passion in the vision, he or she has to focus on creating a mission. A mission is to set a task which has a beginning and a responsibility to provide a service or product. During the missionary phase, the entrepreneur develops a plan with milestones and activities to be carried out to activate the mission.

MANAGEMENT PHASE

As the mission is turned into a plan, the entrepreneur has to identify and source the various resources required for the mission to be achieved. This is a very crucial period in the development of every start-up because it is the activation of the plan that will ensure whether the entrepreneur will be successful in his mission of building a company and operating it to grow and prosper.

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT PHASE

Once the company starts to mature and stabilize, the entrepreneur cannot sit still on his/her achievements but needs to develop the company according to changes in the market and competition pressure. Therefore, an entrepreneur needs to be creative in adapting the company according to the ever-changing needs of the market. It is important that the entrepreneur understands the different phases of the journey and navigates from one phase to another without major shocks or disruptions.

TAKING AN IDEA TO MARKET PHASE

The challenge for any entrepreneur is to generate an idea which could be a product, a service, or a system for which there are people, organisations and companies who need that product, service or system and are willing to pay for it. The following road map is not cast in stone and should be a flexible map that assists entrepreneurs in taking an idea to market and set-up an enterprise.