Blog | Entrepreneurship

How to Create an Innovative Business

Finding the revolutionary idea to Kickstart your company

It’s hard to keep up with technology and trends these days. It seems like they move and change faster than the speed of light. So how are potential business owners supposed to get in on the ground floor and create a successful business that won’t be outdated by the time it reaches maturity?

As a Rich Dad Advisor and business woman, I’ve found that the most successful business owners practice habits that allows them to see “little things” that help them further their business efforts.

The first and probably most important habit is asking questions. It sounds like such an obvious answer but you’d be surprised on how many companies don’t do it. By asking various questions, you start to uncover problems, issues and opportunities with a different mindset. Some revolutionary thoughts might be “do we have the right sales channels for this type of customer?” or “What do our customers subconsciously want but haven’t expressed yet?”. These deeper questions can help lay the foundation for innovation.

Try to avoid asking common questions that produce stale ideas because more than likely, they’ve already been asked and addressed. Asking the right questions can lead you down paths that open new ways of thinking about your business. Practice how to ask them!

The second habit is to put yourself on the front lines. Most business owners wore many, if not all, the hats of the business. They interreacted with their customers personally, they were part of the marketing efforts, the production line, etc. They knew what their customers wanted and needed and that’s how they were able to be successful and grow their business.

But as time goes on and the business grows, it’s easy for business owners to take a back seat and not be as involved as they once were. Get back in those trenches! Or if you’re a new business owner, never leave the trenches! It helps you keep a pulse on your business and most importantly your life line, your customers. Make sure you are regularly checking in and getting involved in the processes, there is nothing wrong with it and you might find some gold nuggets that helps take your business even further.

The third habit is to establish a “flow”. This means getting in “the zone” or the “groove”. It’s a state of being completely engaged in an activity, so much so that it becomes effortless.

For each business owner and team, this is going to be different. Depending on the nature of your business and how you operate, your flow might be someone else’s hustle. So, take some time to understand your ability and create clear goals that challenge your strengths.

Speaking of using your strengths, this leads me to the last habit: let others use their strengths too.

As flawed humans, we tend to think that everyone else sees the world the same way we do. As a result, we can end up being one sided and not consider other points of view. However, if you want an innovative business, you have to let others voice their opinions and use their strengths as well.

To do this, you first need to recognize your staff’s strengths. At Rich Dad, we all had to take a personality test, if you will, powered by the Kolbe Test. It helped us understand how each other works, but more importantly exposed our strengths and weaknesses. This helped us understand how we could work together as a team.

Innovative leaders give others the permission and resources to solve problems according to their strengths. With the speed at which today’s world moves, we all know that innovation equals success and longevity. Make sure you’re doing what you can to stay in the game.