195. Why innovation is overrated in entrepreneurship

In today’s episode of the Sweaty Startup, Nick talks about innovative and creative entrepreneurship. Those words get thrown around so much these days, but Nick talks about how those types of entrepreneurs aren’t the ones getting paid.

This topic has always been close to Nick, because he started the Sweaty Startup based on execution and operation rather than innovation. This doesn’t mean to stay away from new technology and great ideas, because using online forms and things like Google My Business are operations that help your Sweaty Startup grow. What he means is that for every Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, there are hundreds and hundreds of other innovatives that we don’t hear about that failed.

Nick doesn’t consider himself an innovator, he considers himself an opportunist. So when starting and running your own business, Nick suggests forgetting creativity, and looking for simple ways to grow and be better. You can do the same things that all your competition does, but be a little better than they are. Be creative in the ways you think of opportunities to be better than your competition.

Think differently than other businesses and you will succeed. Nick looked at storage facilities that were mom and pops owned and they were operated like it was the 80’s. All he had to do was add online accessibility, satellite management, and easier operations and he is wildly more successful than other storage facilities. What is more important than being innovative is being active. Just get out there and do it.

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About Me

I started the Sweaty Startup in December of 2018 because I believe the Shark Tank and Tech Crunch culture is ruining the real spirit of low-risk entrepreneurship.