2 Problems Every Business Must Solve

“I want to sell my business before I retire, so I can leave a legacy when I’m done.”

I was sitting in a client’s conference room discussing business and marketing goals.

“How much are you hoping to make when selling the company in 5-10 years?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he responded.

“Have you thought about what you need to do to get the business in shape to sell? What does the path ahead look like? What about the roadblocks?” I prodded.

“I haven’t thought about it,” he admitted.

This is a pretty common scenario with small business owners. You start a business and run it for years, but never really nail down the outcomes you want to achieve and how you’ll achieve them.

Of course, I was the hired marketer in the room, tasked with bringing in new clients and growing the business to an unspecified end goal.

Good luck to me!

Succeeding as a small business owner is hard

You have probably heard the statistics on the success rates of small businesses in the United States

• 1 Year – 25% of Small Businesses fail
• 5 Years – 50% of Small Businesses fail
• 10 Years – 65% of Small Businesses fail

The deck is stacked against all of us. It is extremely difficult to run a successful small business for a long time.

You probably started your business for one of two reasons.

1. You saw a problem in the marketplace and knew you could solve it, and make a living doing it.
2. You were tired of the 9-to-5 grind and had a vision for a better life for you and your family.

The reason many small businesses become statistics is that they fail to move beyond one of the two reasons for starting a business.

Identifying a problem isn’t quite enough, and wanting to work for yourself doesn’t make a successful business.

You need to solve two very specific problems to ensure you have the makings of a strong, lasting, and successful business.

Problem One: The Customer Problem

Your business exists to solve a specific problem for a particular set of people. This is the only reason a business exists and can be successful.

People pay to solve problems.

You need to not only identify that problem, but you need to know it inside and out.

What do your ideal customers want?

What is preventing them from getting what they want (problem)?

How does it make them feel that they can’t get what they want?

You need to identify the problem, have a clear solution, and be able to articulate it in ways that are compelling, extremely clear, and directly tied to the emotions felt around the problem.

This is brand messaging.

If you can do that, you’re in great shape!

Problem Two: The Strategy Problem

Like the story above, most small businesses have an idea of where they want to go.

Perhaps you are early in your business career and are simply trying to build a good life for yourself or your family.

You may have been around for a while and are considering an exit that will help fund your retirement.

Wherever you see your company going in the coming years, it’s not enough to just think about it.

You need to reverse engineer that goal to ensure you give yourself the best chance of achieving it.

1. Define the goal clearly with detail
2. Brainstorm ways you might get derailed
3. Create a plan for overcoming obstacles and achieving the goal
4. Get started.

Most small business owners just get started without a plan.

A business without a plan is running on luck, and luck eventually runs out.