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<\/div>As the founder and director of one of the UK\u2019s leading PR agencies focused on independent brands, Rosie Davies built her business through creativity and innovation. Through her journey as an entrepreneur, Davies found that start-up guilt plays a major role in crushing creativity. Specifically, the pressure to build a successful that causes many entrepreneurs to stop innovating and become stuck in their own heads. To take some of that pressure away, Davies suggests<\/a> taking a break<\/a>:<\/p>\n The pressure of success can be overwhelming, but if it tells you anything else, it\u2019s that taking a break every once in awhile may just be the best thing you can do for your business because it is no myth that a strong mind and happy self will produce better work.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Use that break time to do something fun! Our favorite ways to take a break include going for a bike ride, playing a board game, or even just talking a walk down the hall. When you actively engage<\/a> in an activity, it makes it easy to let your mind wander.<\/p>\n For Mark, innovation is the foundation of business success. He\u2019s found that while many large companies envy the ability of a startup to continuously be creative, many entrepreneurs still struggle to stay creative while running their companies. This is extremely important for entrepreneurs because startups require lots of creativity, patience, and testing in order to discover strategies that work. To stay creative, Shayler asks \u201cwhy\u201d a lot- and says<\/a> to look for an unfair advantage:<\/p>\n We are lazy. Lots of us only innovate when we have to; only innovate when our back is against the wall. This wall could be commercial constraint, regulatory constraint, financial constraint. Whatever it is, use use it to help you. Use your opponent\u2019s weight against them. Obstacles are the way…We ask: What if we had to do this ourselves, TODAY?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It\u2019s important to think big! Making lists and doing extensive competitive research is already something entrepreneurs do for themselves and investors. When it comes to creativity, it\u2019s simply a matter of flipping that research into a series of questions.<\/p>\n In fact, we\u2019ve taken this advice even further at crowdSPRING by looking for ways we can compete with ourselves, and not just our competitors. More about this in our recent post on American Express\u2019s Open Forum: How To Compete With Yourself<\/a>.<\/p>\n Often called \u201cthe Uber for laundry\u201d, Laundrapp is disrupting the way that people do their laundry. After starting many businesses, Edward Relf has become a pro at innovation. He says his secret to the success of Laundrapp and his other startups was in his market research. According to Relf, when you look for gaps in a market, service, or industry you are able to see the issue from a different perspective and generate ideas. So whether you\u2019re a serial entrepreneur or just looking to improve your startup, his advice<\/a> can help spark your creativity too:<\/p>\n This is one of those opportunities where you look at the market, do your due diligence, and you actually talk to people. And then you realize it’s one of those penny drop moments where you say to yourself \u201cWow, I just can\u2019t believe no one else has actually not done this before\u201d…It’s the passion, the drive, the honesty, and the humility we have – these are massive drivers of innovation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Again, the importance of research comes into play. While this may seem counterintuitive to creativity, research actually goes hand in hand with learning. The more knowledge you collect, the more you have to work with.<\/p>\n For Avin Rabheru, staying inspired is most important to keeping your creativity. While Rabheru usually brainstorms in a strategic, logical way to keep up with his busy life as an entrepreneur and investor, he still finds time to read a good book. Along with other forms of learning, books are what Rabheru credits as his main source of inspiration:<\/p>\n I love reading, whether long-form articles, fiction books or nonfiction books. Reading from great authors can take you away from your routine, giving you perspective and making you remember that there are many more things happening in the world than the details that occupy you day-to-day. I\u2019m a particular fan of anything to do with science, technology, space and travel.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n If you\u2019re stuck looking for a book to read, places like Goodreads<\/a> and Amazon<\/a> are great for reading book reviews. Setting a reading goal helps too- it keeps you committed to searching for new inspiration.<\/p>\n Most entrepreneurs try to gauge how good their ideas are by testing them in the market. They measure their findings in terms of monetary gain, often putting their ideas to a pause prematurely. For Tom Ball, talking<\/a> to people is a better way of testing ideas, and can actually lead to more idea generation and creativity.<\/p>\n As you talk to lots of people about an idea, you notice what they love and what has no impact. It\u2019s not the same as what will make money and what will not \u2013 but it helps shape an idea that will capture people\u2019s imagination.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n For many entrepreneurs, networking events or meetup sites are great ways to make those connections and get inspired by others. Social media can help too!<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/images.crowdspring.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/27132057\/f2LqbC27_400x400.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\n1. Rosie Davies<\/a>,
\nLondon Fashion Agency<\/a><\/h2>\nTake a break!<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n2. Mark Shayler<\/a>,
\nDo Lectures<\/a><\/h2>\nQuestion yourself more.<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n3. Edward Relf<\/a>,
\nLaundrapp<\/a><\/h2>\nDo some research.<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n4. Avin Rabheru<\/a>,
\nHousekeep<\/a><\/h2>\nRead a book!<\/h3>\n
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<\/a><\/p>\n5. Tom Ball<\/a>,
\nNearDesk<\/a><\/h2>\nTalk to people.<\/h3>\n
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