I think of it as composing and song-writing, as I do more in creation and production than "make beats," but the processes are generally the same... Conversely, they (creative processes) can take different forms and have different starting points. If you feel "blocked," it could be because you don't yet have all of the necessary musical tools in your toolbox. If so, keep studying and work with a more simple, loop-based program like Acid or GarageBand or a number of others. In that way, you can practice skills of seeing which samples go with which to create certain types of feels, but you won't have to synthesize music out of thin air, so to speak.
As far as inspiration for composition/song-writing/arranging/producing/beat-making, the process can start with another song you hear, a sound in your head, a drum or percussion rhythm, a bass line, a melody, chord pattern, a riff or melody fragment, or even a lyrical idea...
Try using a part of a melody or a riff from an instrumental solo, and reimagine everything else around it.
GJ