CREATIVITY

Creativity is the quality or ability to create  or invent something. Another definition that I want you to take crucial is the ability to use one’s imagination to create new and original ideas, especially in an artistic context.

Now, if you are creative, don’t just be creative for fun and not make that ideas you possess useful, Creativity leads to entrepreneurship. What is entrepreneurship? Entrepreneurship is the art or science of innovation and risk-taking for profit in business. This means someone who exploit his or her initiative or his or her creative ability into business.

What is business? Business is defined as a particular trade or profession that one does to provide income which the particular fellow is surviving on. This makes someone a business man or business woman, that is, one is able to be comfortable in life. This is what turns someone into an entrepreneur with his creative acts.

So what we’re saying so far is even at this secondary level, which is where ones brain is super active, You should learn a trade. Be it tailoring, hair dressing, fishery, rearing of chickens (either layers or broilers), bead making, wireworks, arts, pencil sketch, pastries, catering, Air freshener, Liquid Soap, and so on.

DISCOVER YOURSELF

1.      Create your own life timeline.

2.      Distinguish your own thoughts from the thought of the others.

3.      Start relying on yourself.

4.      Develop your own moral conduct and practice sticking to it.

5.      Organise your own personal world.

6.      Immerse yourself in solitude.

7.      Seek out a passion: When you believe in something and see beauty in it, you should do it, no matter what someone else think.

8.      Find a mentor.

9.      Sort out your own career path.

10.  Abandon the negative.

11.  And get it done.

DISCOVER THE TALENT IN YOU

According to the dictionary, a talent is a natural endowment of a person. It is an ability or natural capacity that you have built in you, which may range from one’s creativity to one’s athletic abilities. We all have them, we just have to find them.

Listen to others: Those around you usually know what your talents are, even when you don’t. If you think about it, people have likely been telling you that you are good at something for a long time. You just weren’t listening. Now is the time to listen.

Determine what is easy: Are there things that you find really easy or obvious to do, while others may struggle or muddle their way through? If you have things that you find super easy, you believe that they should be just as easy, or obvious, for others, but that’s not how it plays out. In this scenario, they struggle while you stand there feeling like it was a catwalk!

What you enjoy most: Your talents may be demonstrating itself in other ways. Are there magazine topics that you just can’t get enough of? Are there shows you love? Think about what it is that you love to do most when you have free time. If you are drawn toward it, it is a natural talent.

Shut up already: Is there a specific subject that you love to talk about, often to the point that your friends want to shoot you? Consider the subject, perhaps it may be one of your hidden talents or is connected to one.

Just ask: Ask everyone you know that will give you an honest assessment about what they think your talents are. Ask them to ignore your bad habits and have them share the one or two things that they think you are hands down most talented at. Ask a lot of people who know you, but always ask them one-on-one. Compile the results and there is your hidden talent.

Key Components: When you know what your talents are, you feel more in tune with your life. You can also use those talents to excel in the business world. Whether you leverage those talents in your product or service, or you use them to network and make quality connections, they are important to know. When you capitalize on your talents, it no longer feels like work, it just feels like living. And anything that makes business and life more enjoyable is bound to be a good thing.

Advantages of Entrepreneurship

1.            It gives a great amount of freedom.
2.            It can be exciting.
3.            It allows you to set your own earnings.
4.            It offers flexibility.

Disadvantages of Entrepreneurship

1.      It can be difficult to compete with other businesses.

2.      It requires you to dedicate a huge amount of time

3.      It does not guarantee 100% success.

4.      It comes with unpredictable work schedules.

7 Benefits of Entrepreneurship

1.   

   That you do what you love.

2.      Flexibility: You are not being held on a spot compare to companies and civil servants.

3.      You are your own boss.

4.      You create your own personal future.

5.      Perpetual Vacation: Freedom is constant in your life.

6.      You are viewed as a leader.

7.      Being someone: “Things are impossible until somebody does what another believes can’t be done”.

Entreprenuership That You Can Go Into

1.   

   Fishery

2.      Poultry

3.      Air Freshener

4.      Tailoring

5.      Catering

6.      Pastries

7.      Salonist and so on

Knowing How To Tackle Your Obstacles

1.      Mindfulness takes ongoing efforts.

2.      There will always be distractions.

3.      Progress doesn’t always come quickly.

4.      You may always want to give up.

5.      Your goals may want to challenge your mindfulness.

6.      You might forget the journey is your destination.

7.      Sometimes, the thoughts within you might end up conflicting each other.

Defeating The Obstacles

A. External Obstacles: These are obstacles outside of your control such as the economy, natural disasters, physical limitations, and the political climate.

B. Internal Obstacles: These obstacles are generally one-time issues but you have direct control over them, such as debt, cash flow, time availability, needed skills or talent.

C. Habitual Obstacles: These obstacles reflect how people get in their own way. They can only be removed with behavioural change.

To overcome these obstacles, business or personal, you must master these areas:

1.      Embrace self awareness.

2.      Use your time to your advantage.

3.      Commit to focused discipline.

4.      Engage your own creativity.

MARKETABILITY

What is marketing? Marketing is a form of communication between you and your customers with the goal of selling your product or service to them. Communicating the value of your product or service is a key aspect of marketing.

GOALS OF MARKETING

1.     

   Make use of your social networks accounts to advertise your goods.

2.       Find out the price of your goods, so you can reduce your own to beat your competitors.

3.       Know the strategic areas where your goods sell.

4.       Know the mouths that your goods sell to.

5.       Make sure your goods are in good hygienic condition.

6.       Let your goods be inspected by authority such as Nafdac, SON and sorts.

7.       Make sure your goods are regulated, so different companies won’t have the name, This is done in Cooperate Affairs Commission (C.A.C).

7 CHARACTERISTICS A SUCCESSFUL ENTREPRENUERS HAVE

1.      

 Know failure is the fastest way to learn.

2.      Understand the value they have to offer.

3.      Know how important integrity is.

4.      Are their authentic self.

5.      Are tenacious.

6.      Are resourceful.

7.    Are ready to try new things.

TEETHING AGE

People, people, people: Hiring for a startup is always a challenging task and most leaders will tell you it’s the people mandate that gives them more sleepless nights than cash or product issues! Most startups can’t offer high salary packages, fancy offices and a 5-day week. Startups need people who are self-motivated, eager to learn, and can adjust with ease in the startup culture. If money is the only factor for the candidate being interviewed, then there’s always a handsome salary package waiting around the block. That said, finding the right talent is extremely crucial as going forward, it does decide the startup’s fate. Not focusing too much on resumes, but on the characteristics the candidate reveals; giving defined projects to judge their abilities; and gauging through the exercise their nature whether they are a team player or not, flexible or not are some things that have worked for us. Last but not the least, design an attractive employee referral scheme, because no one knows better than existing employees the kind of person it takes to succeed in your startup. Entrepreneurs need to be as convincing in selling the job to prospective employees as they are selling product or service to customers and business model and value proposition to venture capitalists.

Retaining the talent: Once you manage to hire the right candidate and think all is well, think again, because more often than not, it isn’t! Next thing you know, she puts in her papers and wants to move on to greener pastures. Right here is the next bump on the road – being able to retain your best talent. As a founder, you will need to continue to sell the new hire on the opportunity throughout their first few weeks at work, maybe even months or years. Add to this equation the fact that startups typically hire young people who are more restless and want to see quickly how they impact the business and their role in the bigger picture. Therefore sharing on an ongoing basis the vision and future roadmap, including execution plans and the role new team members are expected to play, will hold founders in good stead.

Getting in your few customers: This is a typical chicken-in-egg situation startups faces wherein they need solid existing customers to prove their credibility and value proposition so as to bring in more customers into the fold. Convincing your prospects to work with you when you’re not a big name, have limited resources, no case studies, and specifically in our case, convincing them to trust you with their customer data, isn’t easy. Add to the equation the fact that you are going up against big players loaded with cash. They are like big gorillas, which can be very scary when you have to face them in the ring. The only way you can beat them is to be extremely agile, move quickly, and be extremely sharp in finding new opportunities.

Building a brand name: Here too, startups are faced with a double-edged sword, whether to focus on building trust and the best capability in their product or on grabbing the marketing limelight by racing to be first-to-market, thus compromising on some capability, in an already crowded marketplace etc.  

Both are important but a tough feat to accomplish, especially when resources are limited.  The traditional brand building tropes are cost-prohibitive; therefore, startups need to be innovative and organic in their approach. Social platforms such as Media can be used creatively to develop impactful communication. Half the battle is won.

ENCOURAGE YOURSELF

1.        

       Set a personal mission statement.

2.      Make a plan.

3.      Start a routine.

4.      Set time for yourself.

5.      Plan ahead and set reminders.

6.      Set rewards.

7.      Engage friends.

8.      Indulge in inspirational activities.

9.      Stay positive.

10.  Sleep.

   

  Written/Presented by

                                                            ADEBAYO BUSAYO