When it comes time to turn on the creativity in your solo business, are you sometimes stumped? Here are ways to jumpstart the flow of new ideas and fresh approaches to your business challenges:

1. Adopt divergent thinking.
Professional designers come to a problem thinking not of the possible three or four existing answers, but remain open to hundreds of possibilities before beginning to narrow their scope. They practice divergent thinking, a hallmark of design thinking, which assumes there is great value in exploring multiple solutions -- often inspired by unlikely sources -- before you arrive at the best one. Tim Brown's Change By Design is one of the best new books to introduce the topic to a wider audience.

2. Explore metaphors.
There is also great value in viewing your challenge through the lens of metaphor. The wordplay can shift the context of the issue, and open up a deeper understanding of functions, and the relationship of parts to the whole. Your brain will dance to the tempo of new music. (See how that works?)

3. Pull out the colored pencils.
If you're a traditional list-maker, abandon your left-brain tendencies and pull out the crayons, markers, or colored pencils. Create a map, draw a picture, or make a diagram of your problem. Putting ideas on paper in a new form can unleash creative possibilities.

You do not need any artistic training to adopt these techniques. (I've long believed that art has been trained out of people. Do we ever tell youngsters they aren't "talented enough" to learn how to read?) Rediscover your inner Picasso and give yourself the time and freedom to explore. Creative professionals don't sit around waiting for inspiration. They pick up a pencil and get to work, thinking and sketching out ideas. The next time you're stumped, adopt the practice of these professionals.

-- Terri Lonier
Founder, WorkingSolo.com

P.S.: Thanks to the many individuals who responded to my call for research participants on the topic of "what you didn't know you didn't know" in the early stages of your business. You don't need to be an expert on this topic -- just someone who recognizes this experience from your own early years in business. If you've been in business for at least two years and would like to participate, I'm still looking for people to interview. Please send me an email to let me know if you'd be willing to share your thoughts. Thanks!