By Lisa Tomasi
I was a busy stay-at-home mom of four young daughters in New Jersey, when a devastating earthquake struck Haiti in January 2010. It took the lives of an unfathomable 300,000 people, leaving 1.5 million homeless and destruction and debris in its wake. My husband and I learned through a friend who was a relief worker that there was a great need for flashlights, batteries, tents and mosquito netting. We wanted to help but could not find an easy way to donate these goods to the cause. I quickly found that not only was donating new, needed goods to Haiti extremely difficult but it was difficult to do in the US as well. We saw a problem and innovation was the solution.
We saw a need to improve and innovate the process of giving goods and we decided to tackle it head on. In the end, we created the first online platform for food and supply drives for charity, YouGiveGoods.com. Below are 5 tips we followed during our own innovation process.
1)Solve a problem
The old saying puts it best, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” If you see a need, think of ways to fill it. Get specific about what does and does not work and concentrate on solutions. Don’t worry about how to fund a company or build a widget. The first step is having that break-through idea. Challenge all the norms and give even your most outlandish ideas careful consideration.
2)Stake out the competition
Are there competitors in your field? What are they doing right, and what are they doing wrong? Research to see if someone has tried, and failed, to solve this problem in the past and learn everything you can from those mistakes.
3)Look outside your industry
Sometimes it is hard to see new solutions when we are entrenched in the old way of doing things. This is actually a proven fact. The Harvard Business Review conducted a study back in 2014 which showed that people were more likely to discover innovation in an industry outside of their own noting that “each group was significantly better at thinking of novel solutions for the other fields than for its own.”
4)Ask for help
If you come across a need or a problem, chances are others have encountered it as well. No need to search out heads of industry; friends and family will do. And, don’t forget the kids. They are naturally curious and have not been jaded by the realities of business. Even their craziest suggestions can take you down a path that may lead to the answer.
5)Use social media and technology
Yes, social media can be used for more than sharing pictures of dinner! Post questions and ask for feedback from your online community. You may think you are filling a need but casting a wide net via social media can give you unbiased feedback on the reality of the issue for others. If the perceived “problem” doesn’t actually bother 9 in 10 of your online friends, you may want to rethink your project. Be passionate in your pursuits, but not blind. And, when it comes to streamlining and improving, technology in general will likely be your best friend.
A final tip is to always believe in yourself. As I mentioned at the start, I was a stay-at-home mom when the idea came to me to innovate the world of giving. The first hurdle I had to overcome was to believe that it could be done, and that I was the one to do it. Luckily, I was raised to believe I could do anything and that is continuously reinforced by my family, especially my husband and children. While the work has been hard, challenging and frequently frustrating, it has been endlessly fulfilling and frequently fun. You can do it too!