Creativity is one of the innate and fundamental factors of the entrepreneurial process.
Many businesses, inventions, and solutions all started as a creative idea! Turning these ideas into tangible outcomes takes time. For young entrepreneurs, it requires a supportive and resourceful environment. In his TED talk, 12 year old Thomas Suarez explains how his love for technology grew into a creative desire to design apps. This led to him creating an App Club at his school. He and his clubmates now make apps that help teachers better utilize technology in their classrooms! His explanation demonstrates ways in which parents and teachers can help their students reach the potential of their entrepreneurial creativity. Thomas's creativity is not only awesome, but inspiring! Both adults and young entrepreneurs can learn a lot from his story.
Here are some tips from VentureLab on how you can help your students navigate the 5 Steps of the Creative Process, much like Thomas’s parents did for him:
Preparation: During this initial stage, students must collect as much information about their creative idea as possible. For Thomas, this meant learning how to make an app. His parents could not directly show him how to do so, so they helped him find the devices and programs necessary to do so. If you don't know a particular skill, look into outside tool kits, clubs, teachers, and demos. Expose students to new ideas which might inspire their creativity.
Incubation: The incubation stage is the stage in which your young entrepreneur will sort through their information and synthesize conclusions. Thomas explains that he had to learn how to use the tools he acquired in order to identify what kind of app his peers would want. Ask your student to identify patterns, similarities, and surprises they found in their research.
Insight: Help your student understand what makes their idea unique and innovative! You can ask them how they would share their idea with others. What does their idea impact or change? What do they really like about their idea? Why do they think their idea is special? Thomas’s insightful moment was when he realized that other kids might have the same desire to create an app that he did. So, he created an App Club at his school!
Evaluation: This step may be the hardest step for a young entrepreneur, because it requires them to critically evaluate their idea. Ask them if their idea is accomplishing their goals, and making the difference they want it to make. This is an important stage to ask if they require more help, or want to make any changes. Thomas realized that he could take his app development one step further. He and his club-mates decide to survey teachers, and create apps that help them better utilize technology in their classrooms.
Elaboration: Here is where the magic happens! This could mean actually creating a product, putting a pen to paper, or simply getting a club sponsor.
Check Thomas’s awesome video below, and get a firsthand account from a young entrepreneur on how he maximized his creativity:
