Innovation is squarely at the heart of entrepreneurship. With today’s fast-paced and dynamic world being able to innovate is a necessity to stay ahead of the competition and has been found to shape the growth ambitions and success as a female entrepreneur.
So what is innovation exactly? According to the Collins dictionary, innovation is a new thing or a new method of doing something. Hence, business innovation is the act of introducing something new to a company be it a product, a market strategy or a process that reinvigorates the company and promotes novel value and growth.
When a business innovates, it can improve its products, processes, and methodologies or create new ones from scratch. It doesn’t have to involve huge breakthroughs in technology or new business models. It can be as simple as adding features to an existing product. But innovation doesn’t happen overnight, it’s a continual process that if done right, will have a primary impact on success.
The benefits of innovation.
It grows your business, helps you to stay ahead of your competition and is one of the most important core factors for any business to consistently grow over time.
We know that success as a female entrepreneur is critical to economic growth and prosperity and this is why we must support and empower women to embrace innovation and adopt an innovation mindset.
Innovation is not an online course.
Ask yourself if this is REALLY what your market needs right now. The truth is online courses or online models are not always the answer. And they most certainly are not the definition of scaling.
There are so many online courses out there that just regurgitate the same content as every other course. And then they wonder why they are struggling to get sales. If you’re doing the same thing as everyone else it’s very hard to stand out in a crowded market, get people’s attention and for potential customers to understand why they should work with you.
Ditch the same old same old and think about how you can solve that same problem in a unique and different way? Now that’s innovation.
Without innovation, you are essentially "throwing on the pile", launching another course or product without differentiation. This is sadly the reason many new businesses fail; they're offerings aren't differentiated enough to win market share. Without creativity, you are destined to be scrolled past. With so much digital noise, brands must find a way to stand out, and that's not going to happen by fitting in. Creativity is the future of business advantage.
There are a few ways to start innovating in your business, so you can have long lasting success as a female entrepreneur.
- Have a process in place to capture ideas, whether it’s a separate notebook to write down thoughts or a brainstorming session with others.
- Start with small, incremental changes that have the potential to improve your processes or existing products.
- Make sure you know your market. Undertake customer surveys at least every year to discover new insights.
- Don’t get discouraged! Not every idea you have is going to be a great one or pan out.
Start to view innovation as a function of your business and learn to think differently, so it fosters growth in your business and sets you apart from the competition.
We Are Emersyn uses an inclusive definition “female” and “women” and we welcome trans people, women, genderqueer women, and non-binary people who identify, have identified, or have been identified as female, women, or non-binary.