3 Ways to Keep Your Business on the Brink of Innovation

3 Ways to Keep Your Business on the Brink of Innovation One thing I have learned about growing a business through my own experience cofounding a nontraditional marketing agency is that its crucialto always keep thinking of new ways to be creative and innovative. No matter what youre selling, you have a lot of competition. You need to stand apart and show people what makesyou special. Over the years, Ive gotten several invaluablepieces of advice on this topic, either from personal mentors or from leaders Ive read or listened to. The following are three tips that have helped me the most in my effort to stay creative1. Creativity Is About Synthesis Not OriginalityCreativity is usually associated with thinking outside of the box and similar cliches, but the fact is that few ideas are 100 percent original. The most brilliant and profitable business ideas are usually variations of already existing th emes, rather than completely new concepts. This idea was driven home for me by one of the most successful innovators of all time, Steve Jobs, when he said Creativity is just connecting things. According to Jobs, what sets creative people apart is that they areable to connect experiences theyve had and synthesize new things.To illustrate this ideaI recently revisited a series of BMW short films (calledThe Hire)that featured vehicles being destroyed. While this was a highly innovative marketing campaign, the films themselves were not all that original. Whatwasoriginal was the pairing, or synthesizing,of two usually separate realms advertising and pure filmmaking. Since then, other companies have used similar tactics, but the BMW campaign was a great early example of blurring the lines between ads and film.I always try to keep this principle in mind in my own business. Its not always necessary to be completely original.If you want to be creative, you need toconsider putting existing el ements together in new ways.2. Design an Environment That Supports CreativityI learned this from a previous boss, who always played Mozart in the officebecause hed read that it boosts productivity. Its easy to forget how big a role your immediate environment plays on your ability to perform at your best, yet everything from the colors around you to the sounds that you hear can havean effect on the way your brain functions.You cant always control your environment. For example, if you work in a cubicle, thats where you have to spend your day. However, even then its possible to make adjustments by placing photos or items that inspire you nearby.What Ive found to be especially effective is using music and other sounds to help me focus. For example, Ive personally been using theNoisliapp, which creates a variety of sounds andbackground colors to stimulate your creativity.3. You Dont Need a Huge Marketing BudgetGuerrilla marketing pioneer Jay Conrad Levinson helped teach me that effective marketing campaigns dont have to be expensive. As he put it, Marketing is every bit of contact your company has with anyone in the outside world. Every bit of contact. That means a lot of marketing opportunities. It does not mean investing a lot of money.As someone who specializes in nontraditional marketing strategies, I always go back to this quote. Too many businesses equate marketing with paid advertising, and while this can have its place, there are many free andlow-cost ways to promote your organization and its products/services. To take advantage of these, you must constantlykeep your eyes open for new opportunities.The philosophy of the guerrilla marketer is to constantly be aware of free or inexpensive ways to connect with people. The Internet and social media in particular have made this easier than ever. For example, one of the best ways to get attention is to pair a compelling image or video with a social media post.These are some of the most valuable principles Ive d iscovered when it comes to staying creative in the workplace, especially when running a business. The act of creatingis a personal process thats not exactly the same for any two people, but you can certainly help spark your own creativity by employingcertain practicesand internalizing certain ideas.-A version of this article originally appeared on BusinessCollective.Yan Revzin is the cofounderofFortune Cookie Advertising,a nontraditional and out-of-home media placement company selling advertising space within fortune cookies at Chinese restaurants throughout the United States.