1463: The Most Important Skill for Entrepreneurs (and 7 Ways to Cultivate It) by Nick Loper on Entrepreneurship

[00:00:00] This is Optimal Work Daily. The most important skill for entrepreneurs and 7 Ways to Cultivate It by Nick Loper of SideHustleNation.com.

[00:00:11] What's the most important skill for entrepreneurs? Ask a dozen people and you'll probably get a dozen answers.

[00:00:17] Sales is a popular response. After all, if an entrepreneur can't sell customers on his product,

[00:00:23] team members on the vision or investors on the potential, the business won't go anywhere.

[00:00:28] Hiring is considered another critical skill, getting the right people on the bus in good to great speak.

[00:00:35] But the most important skill of all, it's not sales or hiring or programming or anything like that, it's creativity.

[00:00:43] Creativity is something I've struggled with, but now realize it is the fuel for the entrepreneurial fire.

[00:00:48] Like oxygen, without it, nothing will burn.

[00:00:51] Every business, every project, every side hustle starts with an idea, a creative spark.

[00:00:58] Until you create something, you've got nothing to sell, nothing to inspire others, nothing to dent your universe with.

[00:01:05] I've had a hard time coming to grips with the profound importance of creativity.

[00:01:09] I mean, I'm not an artist or a musician who might be singing the praises of creativity.

[00:01:14] In fact, just last year I was rejected for a local side hustle opportunity for not being creative enough.

[00:01:20] I definitely consider myself the left-brained analytical logical type.

[00:01:25] I love my straight lines and my Excel spreadsheets.

[00:01:28] I'm not creative, I thought?

[00:01:30] You may have heard the argument that creativity is systematically stamped out through our cookie-cutter education system.

[00:01:36] The common illustration of this is the experiment of asking a group of first graders how many of them are artists

[00:01:41] and watching a classroom full of hands shoot up, and then asking the same question to a group of eighth graders and listening to the crickets.

[00:01:49] For years I bought into that argument because my definition of creativity was too narrow.

[00:01:54] Sure, I'm not composing sonnets or painting original murals, but I am creative.

[00:01:59] I've written books, hundreds of blog posts and build websites.

[00:02:03] I just didn't recognize those works as creativity at the time, and the thing is you are creative too.

[00:02:09] Like any skill, creativity can be exercised and improved upon with practice.

[00:02:13] In James Altichr's choose yourself, he calls this the Daily Practice.

[00:02:19] The skill is inherent in all of us, kind of like how you probably already have six pack abs.

[00:02:24] They just might not be visible yet hidden under a layer of fat.

[00:02:28] Here are some ways to bring that creativity to the surface that work for me.

[00:02:33] One, read.

[00:02:34] This one is tough because it's time-consuming, but I think it's worth it.

[00:02:38] Both fiction and nonfiction.

[00:02:39] It puts your brain in a different world and can uncover ideas you never even knew were there.

[00:02:45] Two, listen to podcasts.

[00:02:48] Some of my most creative moments have come while listening to podcasts.

[00:02:51] There's just something about hearing from other entrepreneurs that helps spark new ideas and projects.

[00:02:57] Even if you only act on a small portion of them, it still gets the juices flowing and it feels great.

[00:03:02] You can start with the side hustle show.

[00:03:04] Three, change your environment.

[00:03:07] Sometimes a change in work location can spark creativity.

[00:03:10] I normally work from my home office either on the treadmill desk or sitting at a regular desk,

[00:03:15] but changing it up could be as simple as working from the kitchen table or on the outside patio.

[00:03:20] Bonus points for getting out of the house completely and going to the library, a coffee shop or a co-working space.

[00:03:26] A different environment triggers a higher sense of alertness.

[00:03:29] Can't get to the coffee shop, but like the ambient noise?

[00:03:33] TryCoffotivity.com.

[00:03:34] Four, drink coffee.

[00:03:37] As a former lifelong non-coffee drinker, I finally see the appeal in this magical mixer.

[00:03:42] I still don't drink it every day, but when I do, I feel like I could take over the world.

[00:03:46] In jumpstart your business brain, author Doug Hall observed a measurable creativity boost

[00:03:51] in his coffee drinking students compared with their non-cathinated peers.

[00:03:55] And it doodle? Yes, but try it.

[00:03:58] Five, chat with your six degrees.

[00:04:01] Set up lunch dates or better yet coffee dates with people in your network you don't normally see.

[00:04:07] The conversation will be fresh and an outside perspective on your business can fuel some ideas you never really thought of.

[00:04:13] While in Vegas recently for affiliate summit, I was able to meet up with a couple people who had left a comment on my site

[00:04:19] or listened to the podcast, and it was awesome.

[00:04:23] Six, swim.

[00:04:25] For whatever reason, swimming has always been a great stress reliever for me.

[00:04:29] I think it might be because the time in the water is isolated and quiet, leaving me alone with my thoughts, which can also be dangerous.

[00:04:36] There's no music or conversation and no scenery other than the black stripe on the bottom and a turn every 25 yards.

[00:04:43] It's the perfect place to work out your creative muscles at the same time as your other muscles.

[00:04:48] Seven, attend conferences and meetups.

[00:04:52] Surround yourself with like-minded and differently minded people and learn from them.

[00:04:56] I like to attend the industry events just to see and hear what other people are working on.

[00:05:00] Even though there's a time and sometimes financial cost to attend, I always walk away with some new creative ideas.

[00:05:08] Why does creativity matter?

[00:05:10] It's what makes us human, it's what makes us entrepreneurs.

[00:05:13] The process of creation of creating something that's your own is one of the most rewarding activities you can do.

[00:05:19] And if there's a business opportunity in there somewhere, all the better.

[00:05:26] You just listen to the post titled The Most Important Skill for Entrepreneurs and Seven Ways to Cultivate it by Nick Loper of SideHustleNation.com.

[00:05:36] This show is sponsored by BetterHelp.

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[00:06:00] Whether or not you've been through significant trauma, therapy can be a great tool for setting boundaries, learning new skills,

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[00:06:32] That's BetterHelp.

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[00:06:38] And thank you to Nick, he used to work full time for a giant corporation but built his business during nights and weekends.

[00:06:45] And as he alluded to in this post, he's also the host of the podcast The SideHustle Show.

[00:06:50] It's for part-time entrepreneurs looking for actionable tips to start or improve their businesses.

[00:06:55] It's a great podcast and usually right up there at the top of the charts of the business podcast,

[00:07:00] an Apple Podcast definitely worth checking out.

[00:07:03] And the blog is great too, of course.

[00:07:04] You can come by sidehustlenation.com for a lot more.

[00:07:08] But that wraps up another episode here so have a great rest of your day.

[00:07:12] Hope to see you back here tomorrow where your optimal life awaits.