Editor’s note: This article was first published in November 2013, and its descriptions of more than 400 companies within the Virgin Group and of Branson now moving into space travel date from 2013.
Innovation and originality are overrated. Just about every entrepreneur racks their brain looking for a business idea that is original, highly innovative and not yet on the market. And if they did find that idea, the chances of failure would be extremely high.
For Theo Paphitis, a Greek business magnate based in London, known for his regular appearances on the BBC, no entrepreneur needs original ideas. What they need is to do what others do, but do it much better.
As he put it on a BBC programme, he has never had an original idea in his whole life; in fact, he isn’t innovative at all, but it’s enough for him to look at other people’s ideas and execute them better.
In fact, the real definition of innovation, once we step outside Wikipedia, would be: “copying a business idea and adapting it our own way.”
That said, even if innovation and originality aren’t necessary, you are going to have to be creative. Creativity is a skill that makes the difference between success and failure. Creative people look for solutions, not problems.
If we keep busting entrepreneurship myths (Read: 9 supposed myths about great entrepreneurs), we’d find it isn’t true either that you have to be an expert in your industry. Admittedly, if you know your industry inside out, so much the better, but an entrepreneur’s profession is being an entrepreneur. It doesn’t matter whether you sell matchboxes or units in an investment fund. Everything is sold the same way and everything requires the same system.
Just ask Richard Branson, another business magnate, with more than 400 companies within the Virgin Group. We’re talking about an entrepreneur who started out with a magazine as a teenager, went on to a music company, and later created an airline, a telecoms company and now space travel.
An entrepreneur doesn’t need to be a pilot to start an airline. As an entrepreneur, you simply have to be able to find the best professionals in their field.
(Read: 9 tips from Richard Branson for entrepreneurs)
So we can rule out the idea that to start your own business you need an extremely original idea, or a company in a field where you’re a professional. Of course, the second would make things much easier for you, but it isn’t a brake, just a small obstacle that is easy to overcome.
The last objection would be money, although someone once said that a lack of money when starting out isn’t an excuse but a blessing in disguise, because it forces you to be more creative.
Today, entrepreneurs are learning to save a lot of money both when launching their business and when promoting it. From free social media resources to barter, solidarity vouchers and even raising money through crowdfunding, technology has opened up a world of possibilities for solving many of these problems, as long as we’re creative.
Further reading
- Donald Trump: I like creative people, because they’re never bored and always make good use of their time
- Richard Branson: don’t hire a résumé, hire a personality
Featured image: WorldSkills UK, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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