SEARCH FOR BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY,IDEATION, INNOVATION,AND CREATIVITY Introduction There are many business opportunities for an individual with a creative mind. All business starts with an idea, and it is said that creativity, through innovativeness and the capacity of bringing something new in the market, spells the difference between a traditional businessman and an entrepreneur. A smart entrepreneur may decide to have a small or large business, but it is important to follow the process of identifying and evaluating the various options in generating ideas that can be transformed into a profitable business endeavor. Objectives • discuss entrepreneurial activities in search of business opportunities • describe the concept of ideation, innovation, and creativity • discuss the factors to consider in evaluating the business potential of an idea How to search for business opportunity? In selecting a business, option should not be based on luck and Immature thinking, but on a Thorough evaluation and systematic process. Start by developing long and short lists of potential Business opportunities. Likewise, the resources, skills, and technology available in the community are to be Evaluated if these are not fully or efficiently utilized. What are the factors on resources have to be evaluated in discovering business opportunities? • • • • • • • Markets Individual interest Capital Skills Suppliers of inputs Manpower Technology Other opportunity-seeking processes that can guide a prospective entrepreneur as to what Kind of business to establish are as follows: 1.Look at other successful businesses/entrepreneurs. 2.Respond to a problem area. 3.Home-Based Business Option. 4.Linkage of Resources. What are the steps in market research? • • • • • • • Defining the problem Making a preliminary investigation Planning the research Gathering the data Analyzing the data Reaching a conclusion Implementation and evaluating decision What are the stages of product life cycle? • Introduction. • Growth. • Maturity. • Decline. Venturing into a business project demands a timely and clear decision as to which area or business concern to deal with. In the selection process, one has to begin with choosing or focusing on a particular business by category or sector. THE SERVICE-BASED BUSINESS • Common examples of service-based businesses are consultancy, barber shops, repair shops, beauty parlors, care giving, designing works, renderingprofessional services, such as engineers, dentistry, medical doctor and others where there is no need to manufacture something. TRADING OR PRODUCT-BASED BUSINESS • This is a buy-and-sell transaction that can happen in your storehouse, showroom, or any otherstructureless environment. Selling involves a lot of costumer contact and requires a great deal of persistence on the entrepreneurs' part. An example of this is putting up a grocery store, bakery products, or general construction materials. MANUFACTURING BUSINESS • This is a manufacturing or production-based business by creating a product. Manufacturing can be as simple as creating hand-painted T-shirts or ceramic vases and now, the most popular is candle making, which can be done in your home. LICENSED BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES • If you find some difficulties in launching a product or service, it is a good idea to look for licensed business opportunities. Franchising is a business format somehow very similar to licensed business operations. DISTRIBUTORSHIP • This is where an independent entrepreneur, company, or individual enters into an agreement or contract to offer, sell, or distribute a particular product, but is not entitled to use the manufacturer's trade name as part of its own trade name. In our country, distributor represents foreign companies who can sell products to dealers strategically. Located all over the country. RACK JOBBER • This involves an agent or buyer entering an agreement with a parent company to market its good to various stores by means of strategically located strore racks. WHOLESALERS • These sell the product of manufacturers or producers to retailers and other distributors who have direct dealings with the end users or costumers. SUBCONTRACTING • This is a familiar form of business format in the garments sector, as well as the shoe industry. Thid involves signing up an arrangement with a major producer to complete a set of product components on pre-agreed price. VENDING MACHINES ROUTES • These are placed or locations. The entrepreneur needs to have substancial capital outlay as he had to pay for the vending machine, including the stocks to be vended. WHAT IS IDEATION? • Ideation is the creative process of generating, developing, and communicating new ideas, where an idea is understood as a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete, or abstract. Ideation comprises all stages of a thought cycle, from innovation, development, to actualization. WHICH COULD FALL IN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES: a. Need/want drives b. Time-saving drives c. Money savings d. Unique or incorporating strong competitive advantages e. Link to personal interest, preferably passion THE MOST COMMON WAY OF DEVELOPING IDEAS IS AS FOLLOWS: • Recognizing the need. Develop an idea or a product that can satisfy a need, and respond to the need by establishing a business concern. • Improving an existing product. The result of consumer dissatisfaction to the existing product could open the door to introduce innovations or improvements. • Recognize trends. Entrepreneurs should be able to recognize the opportunity to develop a product and set trends that can make them lending entrepreneurs. • Be aware of everything. There is no other way to know about what is happening around you, but to research and read. • Questions and assumptions. Anybody can question the relevance or quality of any product or services, provided, that there is an effort to improve the product. • Naming it first, then, develop it. If you have the idea, study it and develop it to something that is worth a business. THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME TIPS IN EVALUATING IDEAS: a. Do not let your idea follow money, let money follow your ideas. If the idea is clear and viable, there should be clear options for the business out of the idea. b. See yourself as a problem solver. Ideas should be a solution to an existing problem of the consumer or the market in general. c. Use research as a weapon against failure. This is an important fact in decision-making process; most business failed because of lack of information. d. Make sure your idea has longevity. An idea that is worth pursuing into a business is one which has a long-term purpose and not only a fad. e. Take a risk on your ideas. Venture into a business by using your own ideas. f. Test your idea against the past, present, and future. The market needs and demands will not be far from what is happening in the past, so it is better to get information about the past, present, and future. g. Know the Idiosyncrasies of your market. Know the needs of your market and all the factors that affect the buying process. Your idea will depend on this. THE FOLLOWING ARE THE WAYS OF PROTECTING YOUR IDEAS: a. Confidentially Agreements. It specifically provides that a signer will not share the idea to anyone. This is a typical agreement or contract where one should ask advise to a patents attorney or those with experience and expertise in the intellectual property rights. b. Patents. These gives the inventor exclusive legal rights to exclude anyone else from manufacturing, selling, importing, or using an invention during the life of the patent. The three general classifications are: utility, and plants patents. c. Trademarks. This is a word, name, symbol, or advice used by manufacturers on merchants to identify their goods and distinguish them from others sold in the market. This should be sed in conjunction with a business or a product, otherwise, this will not be granted. d. Copyrights. A copyright protect the creative works of composers, authors/writters; artists, and others. This is the easiest form of protection for intellectual property. ENTREPRENEURIAL CREATIVITY Creativity, innovation and entrepreneurs are inseparable. Creativity is an essential part of innovativeness, the starting point of a process, which is skillfully managed, and brings an idea into innovation. It is considered as a characteristic that is innate or inherent to every individual, but the social environment can influence both the level and frequency of creative behavior. It is important to understand the role the environment can play. ENVIRONMENTAL STIMULANTS TO CREATIVITY a. b. c. d. e. f. g. h. i. j. Freedom Good Project Management Sufficient Resources Encouragement Various Organizational Characteristics Recognition Sufficient Time Challenge Pressure Outside Organization THE CONCEPT OF INNOVATION Innovation is doing something different. It could be introducing something either new or different. Innovativeness is a characteristic of an individual, team, or organization. This is also the capacity to create new ideas and develop them to usable product or services. IMPACTS OF INNOVATION Efforts on innovation must have impacts— positive impacts. It must have a positive implication that is supportive of organizational goals and objectives. The innovative accomplishment exists if the following happens: 1. 2. 3. 4. Effecting a new policy Finding new opportunities Designing a new structure Devising a fresh method Within the organization, the orientation toward innovation must come primarily from the higher level of management. The elements of innovation orientation are as follows: a. Value placed on creativity and innovation in general; b. An orientation towards risks; c. A sense of pride in the organization and its members, and the enthusiasm about what they are capable of doing; and d. An offensive strategy of taking the lead towards the future.
