Is my idea ready to turn into a business? A real-life student experience testing the concept of her own idea аt the start of an entrepreneurial journey.
There are many ways an idea can be born. For the Master’s student Adilya, living in an environment that constantly works to meet deadlines within a busy schedule, made her recognize these patterns can lead to a mechanical lifestyle, where there is little possibility for creativity to be externalized. For her, creating something new or simply exercising the freedom of our imagination are good ingredients to take the mind off problems and rejuvenate mind and body, making a great balance of work and health.
Understanding that the very demanding lifestyle does not allow much social interaction, handwork, and imagination, she envisioned a space where people could be enabled to be creatives. – I started to write down and draw what the place should offer and the name “The Creative Lab”, explains Adilya.
Studying Management Information Systems at Ringerike USN in Norway, Adilya found a low-budget opportunity to test her idea. Using the welfare system SSN, she started bi-weekly workshops with drawing, knitting, and beading materials in USN shared area. The goal was to gather feedback and gauge reactions to her concept. She also connected with Sprout to get more perspectives over the concept and check the possibilities for pitching it.
Adilya practiced entrepreneurship by testing her idea, similar to a Minimum Viable Product (MVP). Her concept was quickly accepted, leading to a series of successful workshops, including Christmas wreath-making and personalized shopper creation. The benefits were immediately observed at the end of the activities in terms of de-stress and development of new skills, which add points to her initiative in testing the concept.
There were some challenges that were acknowledged, such as scheduling activities during exam periods and close to holidays. Expanding the program by promoting it and diversifying its offerings would be highly beneficial to overcome some challenges, and to expand as well.
The most important lesson that she gives to all the pioneers in entrepreneurship is that an idea is only an idea if there is no passion and perseverance to grow it. Most importantly, she taught all of us that sharing the idea with the ones willing to support and asking customers about it at very early stages is a great way of becoming an entrepreneur.
Recently, Sprout and Adilya initiated the brainstorming for an external space, which could also serve the whole community in Ringerike and make The Creativity Lab accessible and welcome to everyone. She also joined the Sprout team thanks to her valuable vision of growing entrepreneurship within the student community, which her parallel with The Creative Lab.
If you want to know more about The Creative Lab or how to support it, please, just talk to us 😉
#business #experience #opportunity #entrepreneurship #like #students#creative
