Are You a Problem Solver and How That Makes a Difference to Your Business

One of the most critical qualities that makes or breaks an entrepreneur is his or her ability to solve problems. As a business owner one is likely to face a number of roadblocks, obstacles and dead ends, this is but a part of the journey called entrepreneurship. What is important is not getting bogged down by all or any of this, instead finding a way out of it or around it.

As an entrepreneur building a successful business hinges on your ability to spot problems faced by others and developing a solution for those problems. If you can help solve a problem that plagues society in general or a particular group of people then the job is half done. Here’s how…

Employment Generation

If the recession not so long ago and the US economic crisis some months ago are anything to go by, employment generation remains one of the biggest problems faced by nations across the globe. The unrest in the Middle East earlier this year too was sparked off by job woes.

If you can channelize available manpower to help people earn a respectable livelihood and apply their skills, you are solving a big problem and getting people involved in your idea, concept or venture.

Let us take the example of social enterprises, Ecoexist, a Pune based social enterprise which works with disadvantaged groups of people like small and marginal farmers, mentally challenged adults and senior citizens, women prisoners, women’s self-help groups and the like has a “no factory policy”. They choose not to have their own manufacturing unit as they are committed to generating employment for the aforesaid groups of people.

Examining Needs and Finding Low Cost Alternatives

There are multifarious needs around us, different groups of people have different sets of problems, issues and needs and a good enterprise always looks for that need and caters to it.

Something a friend recently read and sent across was this story about a social entrepreneur in the Philippines who has lit up the lives of so many poor who cannot afford electricity. A simple yet invaluable innovation that he came up with”¦ light bulbs from plastic has helped people move from darkness to light. To know more click here…

The thing is all of us see the same thing but we perceive it very differently hence few end up seeing the opportunity to make a difference where others see only problems.

Using Your Expertise to Solve a Problem

I am currently reading “A Place of Yes: 10 Rules to Get Everything You Want in Life” by Bethenny Frankel all over again. Bethenny and her Skinny Girls Margaritas are raking in a whole lot of money and the Skinny Girl Margaritas have become a much sought after brand.

Bethenny has always been interested in food and her businesses today revolve around her interest. She wanted to create a margarita that women could drink without worrying about weight so she came up with a solution. Her fame and success today far outshines rejection by almost every liquor company just because they didn’t believe her Skinny Girl Margaritas were a solution in the first place.

Bethenny believed and went after her dream alone”¦women today are buying her solution!

The thing about enterprise creation is that entrepreneurs tend to focus on a number of things instead of first creating a product that offers a solution. If you can solve a problem, people will buy your product or service. So are you a problem solver? If you are then you could be well on your way to launching a successful business!