It is better that you evaluate the ideas before you launch yourself rather than to waste time and money discovering you have made a mistake some way down the line.
What is the difference between an idea and an opportunity?
An idea can occur at any time, to anybody, randomly, seldom materialise. Everyone has ideas but they don't always come into reality.
An opportunity occurs when environmental factors merge to create the right conditions for the right idea to take flight. In the right place at the right time:
1. You are aware of what is going on around you and the time is right to take advantage of it
2. You are in an enabling environment
3. You have the resources to make it happen
Amazon Case study:
How would you respond if you were creating products and services in a developing economy where there is very little financial support from government and little spare cash for people to help themselves?
''Amazon was not profitable for 10 years. Only when they changed their business model were able to make it a stable and successful operation. They had one of the most successful sales web sites ion eth world but simply could not sell enough books to make a profit. Then a huge penny dropped for them. What they had actually achieved was the development of a unique selling platform that they could offer a sa service to other book sellers. So now they had two different customers a) those who buy books and b) those who sell books. So sometimes you need to step back form what you are busy doing to see what you are really achieving. Amazon went on to patent ‘one click’ and also ‘ other people who bought this also bought''
So, how do you find out find the environment is receptive to your idea or not? Here is a test list you can use to find out if your target audience may be receptive to your idea or not.
You can apply these questions to your own project work. For instance, if you are creating a site specific installation piece, you might consider what environmental factors you should accommodate in order to get an appropriate response from your audience.
What site specific political issues should you be aware of?
What are the local economic conditions you want to respond to or reveal?
What cultural aspects of society in that place are you picking up on?
What are the economic factors that will make this project possible?
If you cannot answer these questions then you are not aware enough.
PEST Analysis:
Political Factors
Economical Factors
Social Factors
Technological Factors
The Big Bang:
Political Changes:
Local,national and international
-Trade Laws
-Tax Breaks
-Human Rights
-Legalisation
Technological Changes:
Do you know about the latest thinking or just what you see in the shops?
(Wired, Guardian, Economist)
Economical Changes:
-Do you have an informed opinion on it?
-Read a broadsheet newspaper once a week
Social Changes:
Do you know what is affecting everyone or just what affects you?
-Work-life balance
-Eco-aware
-Ageism
-Debt Recovery
-Grow your own
An opportunity is when these factors come together at the same time.
Being able to pick up on these signals in a marketing environment are key qualities of Entrepreneurship. The common tool is a PEST analysis.
Look at current : -
1.Political Changes ( from local issues to national and international issues)
2.Economic changes (unemployment, Big new employment opportunities create new wealth, Currency exchange rates)
3.Social Changes ( trends, behaviour patterns, TV reflects popular trends)
4.Technology changes ( what has just changed, what are the latest opportunities on eth internet or on mobile applications)
5.Forget last year’s trends and last decade’s technology – Everyone else has already been there.
What kind of Creative are you?
Evolutionary -------------------- Revolutionary
(The revolutionary will plough through everything and everyone to make change
The evolutionary is someone who adapts current situations, products and designs to gradually make changes that will carry people along with you.)
(The manager looks after existing situations and makes them more effective and efficient.
The Opportunist will seek new opportunities and hopes someone else will help them make it work)
(A cautious creative will give the market what it wants
The risk taker will give the market something it didn’t realise it needed yet!)
What is a Creative Entrepreneur?
There are roughly three types of entrepreneur.
1.The owner worker
1.Pros. – you practice your own aret in a solitary manner and are totally in control of every aspect of your work
2.Cons:- It is easy to fall into the ‘creative labourer’ trap. Your income will be limited by time, health and interruptions.
2. Owner manager
1.Pros:- your role is more diverse and you meet more people. You can develop talent in others and they enable you to generate more income. It is easier to control quality at arms length.
2.You have less time to do your own creative work. You have to think for others. You become a manger of people.
3.Owner Entrepreneur
1.You direct the creative work of others and orchestrate a number of different income streams so if one income stream fails, there are still others to keep you afloat. You can take more holidays and relax doing your own creative work.
2.Sometimes the opportunities you identify do not bring any income. Sometimes risks lead to disasters.
Where do opportunities come from?
-Social/Political Trends
-Technological Developments
-Political Change
-Economic conditions
-Human Need
-Problems
-Research
Some things to research and how they spotted opportunities:
(Starbucks, Nike(Bowerman), Sony Walkman, Concorde, Internet, Richard Branson Virgin, Innocent Smoothies)
Technology PUSH --- Market PULL:
-Technology PUSH means that new products that have emerged through the development of new technology are presented to the market without necessarily knowing how successful they may be.
-Market PULL means that products are developed in response to market demand for change.
Where does the creative fit in?
-Project management
-Know how to find the right people
-Know where to source stuff
-Can work as a team
-Gets along with all kinds of people
-Optimistic
-Communicates well
Project Manager Skills:
1.Define the Problem- What is required by whom and by when
2. Build Confidence - Gain client trust and convince people to invest in your innovations
3. Problem Solving - Lateral thinking, holistic thinking and 3-D visualisations
4. Risk Analysis - PEST analysis
5. Physical Resources - Know your suppliers, develop relationships and make them your friends
6. Planning - Create a system that works for you and that helps you to communicate ideas to others
7. Human Resources - Be connected, network and know who can help you achieve high quality solutions
8. Quality Control - Define the quality of work required. Never entrust this decision to others because your reputation is on the line.
Opportunities can simply arise from these aptitudes because you, or others, recognise that you can put things together in a better, more effective, more imaginative and more convincing manner to achieve higher quality results. This is the most common opportunity that is developed. Some people think that entrepreneurs are heroes with massive personalities but actually, they tend to be quiet, hard working people who are sometimes a bit dull. Richard Branson, James Dyson and Sir John Hegarty are perfect examples of that.
So you think you have spotted an opportunity?
Skills:
-Technical
-Process
Aptitudes:
-Teamworking
-Entrepreneurs do not do it alone
Predisposition:
-Risk/Caution
-Evolution/Revolution
/Manager/Opportunist
How do you know if this is a good opportunity or not?
-Look at competitors:
How many?
How well are they doing?
What do they do well?
What could you improve on?
Assessing Competitors:
Strengths - What you can learn from the things they do well?
Weaknesses - What are they not good at?
Opportunities - For you or your practice
Threats - From Macro environment
Assess the quality of Opportunity:
-For me (How will it affect your personal life, where you live, your family and your work / life balance?)
-For the customers (How will you affect the customers’ quality of life or businesses)
-For the planet (What beneficial effect can you have on your local, national and global environments?)
-For other stakeholders (Who else is affected by your business? For example, if we look at Leeds City Art Galery, who can you say is affected by its activities? These people are all stakeholders)
Stakeholders can be organised in these three brackets.
•The internal environment in a business / practice
•This may just be you. Or may be 10 people who work together
•The Micro environment
•These are the stakeholders who are just on the periphery of your ‘world’
•They are affected by your success or failure
•The Macro environment:
-These are stakeholders or factors which are beyond your control.
-They are not directly affected by your success or failure but by the cumulative effect of many successes and faillure.
-You may be significantly affected by these factors beyond your control.
SWOT Analysis:
Strenghts
Weaknesses
Opportunites
Threats
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