Innovation is an essential part of business and it is important to constantly innovate in order to stay ahead in competition. A good definition of innovation is “the creation of something new or different, or the application of knowledge or skills resulting from research or study in a field designed to alter how things are done or the process of doing them”. This definition is broad enough to apply to many different forms of creativity, not just innovations in business. Examples of things that are considered innovations include new models for a particular business, new products, processes, or discoveries. Innovation can also be a change in any aspect of any business, for instance, the management of an existing business.
The process of innovating may not always be easy and pleasant. It can involve a lot of hard work and compromise. Sometimes, innovative solutions are required from the innovators which may be in a niche they are not good at designing or do not have the appropriate data, resources, and skills. Innovators also face the problem of not having enough customers to make their invention commercially viable, which can prevent them from trying out new ideas. There are also times when they need to compete with large businesses whose products or processes are already known.
So how can you as an entrepreneur ensure that you are innovating and creating something new? Well, firstly, you need to define what you mean by innovation. Are you trying to improve upon something that already exists? Are you trying to create something new? In order to answer these questions you will need to consider all angles.
The best way to determine if you are innovating or not is to consider how other similar businesses in your industry are doing. Look at how they are marketing themselves, who else is marketing in their field, and how successful they are at getting attention. You can also search for innovative companies in various industries online and get plenty of information on their products and services to help you determine whether you should be thinking about starting a business that could be considered innovative. A good example of this is Apple. While there are tons of imitations of the iPhone, none have been able to take the device beyond its boundaries and become something truly unique.
On the other hand, if you look at established businesses in your industry, you can see how these companies have used disruptive innovation to create new markets and products. For example, the iPhone is basically an iPhone – with a mobile phone – but it has added some extra features that allow it to be a miniature computer. Apple has recognized that there are people who would rather have an iPhone, rather than an old fashioned PDA, and therefore they created a product that will do more than just take calls. Apple knows that they will have competition, and they have chosen to do one of two things: either create a product that eliminates the need for an iPhone, or make an iPhone that works better than any competing product.
There are many ways to define a new innovation. If your company needs inspiration, it is worth looking around at some of the ideas innovated by large corporations. However, it may be easier to start with something small, such as changing how an existing product or process works, and seeing if it can be made even easier and more efficient. In this case, you can likely say that you have created the first truly innovative product.
