Problem + Impact = Opportunity
Understanding the problems we face each day allows us the chance to look at the impact these problems cause and in so doing, provides us with an opportunity for a business solution.
Frustrated people are a ripe market for solutions and solutions lead to business ventures that lead to profits. One of the great skills of a seasoned entrepreneur is to allow the world to provide us with business opportunities. We just need to retune ourselves into that mode and not wallow in the problem with others, but rise above the situation and identify ways to move forward towards a solution.
This week we have already given you some tools to analyse the problem using the 5 Whys to get to the root cause. The next stage is to identify all the people who are affected by the problem. This is normally more than one group, each with their own perspective and issues related to the problem. Now we are ready to begin to analyse each group and determine a way forward with solutions and eventually a product that can be taken to market.
This methodology of business development always ensures you have a customer base when you launch. These customers are the original people you identify as being frustrated or affected by the problem. How easy is it to just start a business and launch your product knowing that your initial sales are already secured through your upfront market research.
This is far better than trying to develop a product offering that you think or hope people need then try to launch through persuading and begging people to use your product.
Consider what your problem is that you are trying to solve and then realign your product around this and the affected people. Then re-launch with the focused effort of problem-solving rather than market manipulation.
We have some more tools and tips on problem-solving on our social media pages this week and next week we start looking at our customers in greater depth. #90DayBizSprint
90 Day Business Sprint – What is your Problem
I remember as kids whenever anyone did something wrong or weird, we would ask them “What is your problem?” Who knew that this would become a cornerstone to building a business?
Getting to know and understand the identified problem is always one of the first steps of coaching we do with new business owners. And often we revert back to this for existing businesses to better understand their market and find new opportunities for business.
So, what is the problem you are trying to solve? Why does the problem exist? Who are the people involved? What are the causes? What are the effects? What would be a better outcome? What is the ideal solution?
Using the 5 WHYs and keep asking the What, why, when, who and where questions assists in a full analysis of the problem. This is always done before the ideation around a product or solution. The key here is to firstly fully understand the whole problem, look for potential opportunities and then begin to formulate a strategy that will result in a solution, but more on that next week.
90 Day Business Sprint – Week 1
Week one of the business sprint is all about you. Who are you as an entrepreneur and what makes you tick. We will look at your strengths and required support structures to make you complete and what you can do to be a fully focused functional entrepreneur and business owner.
So, some questions to ask and answer before we can kick this week off:
Who are you? Not just name and age, but have you really ever asked yourself who you really are. At your very core?
What about: what are you? A little harder to answer, but this often get to the root cause of the purpose of your life and what needs to be done in order to fulfil this purpose.
We also need then to ask: What is it that you do? Doing is Being and Being is Doing. To be just a spectator to life is not being fully engaged in adding value and just leads to entitlement and a non-participant lifestyle.
We end off with: What is your impact on society, both positive and negative. How effective are you each week, each day at making the world a better place because you got out of bed?
So journey with us this week and we peel back some of the layers to yourself and look deep within to discover your true self.
Welcome to the 90 Day Business Sprint
With just over 90 days to go until the end of the year, we thought we would offer you the opportunity to gather up the final burst of energy you have left to make the rest of the year awesome for both you and your business.
So welcome to the 90-day business sprint. This will be a 13-week journey, each week with a focus and theme. Each day with a new tool, insight or tip. Following this for the next 90 days will give you a list, a boost and a new focus on your business. Growth is imminent.
Here is the introduction video:
Our New Arrivals
Our office has two new faces together with new offerings of talent and skills for our clients.
Womba Khapwale (Left) has just extended her internship with us until the end of the year. Womba is assisting us in developing and upgrading all our training material as well as developing material for the high school’
s projects that we support through Teen Entrepreneur. Womba comes from a business and supply chain education from University of Natal.
Ayanda Mpongwana (Right) started today as our new Office Administrator. She brings a host of marketing and event experience to our office as well as her organisational and process talents. Ayanda will be looking after the front desk, client relationships and bookings as well as the workshops logistics.
We wish both ladies a huge welcome at Entrepreneur and Management Solutions and trust that our clients will get to know them both as helpful resources to their businesses as much as they are to us. Welcome ladies.