How to Be a Problem Solver and Turn Problems into Opportunities

As entrepreneurs, one of the biggest things that we've looked at in the last few days is that we need to be able to use our abilities to look at problems and turn them into opportunities.

And the reason for us to be able to do this is very simple. Because, by being able to do this we create ourselves and unlimited opportunities, right, we are able to find very good opportunities in places where otherwise we would not have been able to look.

Join me on this episode of the virtual intrapreneur.

If you're new to this podcast. You are very welcome.

In the past few episodes, we had been reading the book The Science of Getting Rich. By WD wattles, and we read the book with a very simple goal in mind and the goal was that we wanted to take all that knowledge, all that know-how and apply to modern businesses, because, as we have established in the past is that build a business so it can shape our community and have a positive impact.

We need tools we need resources.

So we read that book with a lens and mindset that we are going to use that knowledge to be able to help ourselves, get the resources we need.

And on our last episode specifically, we looked at the notes and the key takeaway from the book as a whole. Now, it was a very short summary and the notes were very much packed and dense, and what we are doing on this episode of today is we are taking each piece and expanding it, giving us very basic steps that we can take forward in applying that knowledge.

So for example, what we are discussing today is the concept of gratitude.

Now, the way we are looking at gratitude is from the entrepreneurial and business owners point of view, which is it has nothing to do with being thankful all the time for us, but it has to do with being able to see that there really is abundant opportunities, unlimited opportunities as long as we are willing to look and work forward in the direction that we want to find those opportunities.

And so what we are going to do here is we are going to look at, gratitude, and from the books of the key takeaways that we looked at with that was the idea of positive outlook, right.

And then there was this idea that we need to have the can-do attitude, right, and having the can-do attitude is, basically, I think one of the biggest things that entrepreneurs intrapreneurs we have because not believing that we can do it means we immediately shut down any willingness to try and find those opportunities, or try and find success because we have really just told us we can't do it, so why to try if you can't do.

So, and then the other thing was, this looks at the idea of turning problems into opportunities. Right.

And in the world of today, if you look around, you'll notice new business pop up whenever there's a small opportunity whenever there's a disaster, new businesses are created, you know, to respond to those disasters and to prevent any future disasters, and this is a very common thing in business so if you're new to the world business.

This is the way things work. Right. You know when you're sick, you go to the doctor that's his business opportunity. So, this idea of balancing this scale. And today what you're going to focus on here is you will dive deep into the types of problems that we as intrapreneurs we can look at. And the reason why when I look at that more specifically is very simple.

If we want to find new opportunities if we want to look at problems and find new opportunities, maybe we would think in terms of how quickly can we take this problem and tension to interpret reality, and being able to understand the different types of problems. Maybe in from a perspective of a business or an entrepreneur, then this really allows you to think quickly and act fast. Upon a problem.

With that said, from what I've come across is that there is three types of problem, and the first one is access type of problem, right. People need access to things, access to tools, access to education, access to raw materials, access. It is this need access. And from what I can recall, in general, access type of problem tend to be problems that someone has something very unique. Right. And so, we need that thing, so it can either be knowledge can be whatever it is but it is packaged as something that they have, and only, they have. That makes sense.

So, the first check is example here. Either you have created something using raw materials, and in this case you have that. So for someone to use it, they have to pay you to get it.

So this would be the product, then. Now, in another case could be. We're gonna jump into detail in terms of exactly how all of these work but in a nutshell. The first type is the access type of problem. Right, access-type problems. And then the next type of problem is the inconvenience type of problem. Right. So it's not that the person wanting to solve the problem can't do it, that they would rather pay someone to do it for them. And so the key buying point is that they want it done for them.

And the solutions right there right and done for you. And then the next type.

The third type of problem is skill type of problem, right, and this is essentially you need a very specialized type of skill. And really, these can fit right into the access type, but the reason why I put it here as a separate is because if you look at skill. Usually, there's a difference right when it comes to skill type of problem.

You can't really go very, very big, with it, if that makes sense.

So for example, skill tends to be a one-man kind of problem right you want to watch someone or some organization with a very specific skill to solve that problem.

It's not some, it's not like access, because when you look at access the difference given access is that with access. There really is no limit to how big it can get. So you can have a lot of multiple products from the same entity, but in skill is always this idea of limit, and it's limited because it must be applied by human, if that makes sense.

Without getting too much into the technical of the words and how things work. Let's just jump down and look into what exactly do we mean, and why are we categorizing problems, as these different types.

So the first type is the access type of problem.

And when someone has access to the type of solution, but usually they're doing is they're presenting with a new opportunity. That is from what I've seen.

So, this could be that it's a new product in the market in comes the new opportunity, or it's a new tool, or it's a new online course, or it's a new way of doing something, or it's a new community, or social media platform, but the idea here is to a new type of opportunity. Right.

And with that said, there is advantages and disadvantages in terms of problems that are access time, right, and sometimes the solution may not necessarily say it will give you access, but in some cases, some business will say we'll give you access to this.

Right. And what we mean here is some bins will actually sell you access that specific solution, and then you only pay for the access, but not for the actual physical thing, so if it's a platform, pay for the access to the platform that will be the transactions based on access and there's advantages and disadvantages with this type and usually some of the advantages that I can think of.

Usually you have that thing it's yours, but it's almost like as if it's a it's a very specific asset and it's separate from person, right, who has it.

So for example, usually it can be multiplied. so, if you have a platform you've built, you know it's a physical thing, and it's away from you. And another thing is, usually it's become a very valuable tool, but it can quickly be reduced into a commodity.

It can be very quickly with the reduced into a commodity.

That makes sense.

And then, one of the biggest disadvantages that I can think about this access type of problem is that it takes a lot to build one and have it because it has to be unique or it has to have something that distinguishes it from other solution.

So, for example in this case if you were to build a laptop that you're going to sell, how is that any different from other laptops already in the market.

That's one way of thinking about it.

And then the next step from that we discussed was inconvenienced type of problem, and to be more specifically what we mean by inconvenience is basically save money, save time and avoid effort.

Those are the best way to describe this type of problem. Right. So someone may have bought something like a loan more.

Right, but they may not necessarily want to do their own loans, right, and so they may want to save the time, or they may just want to save the effort to avoid that effort, right, or they may have bought something and they just want to save money.

So it really goes down to those things and you can see these type of problems clouds will tell you do this type of solution potential you do this faster, do this quicker, do this faster, easier and cheaper.

Right.

And that's the type of problem that you're looking at there.

And the beautiful thing about this type of problem is you don't need a specific, unique skill, or you don't need to create something extraordinary, to start something unique, you need to start doing this, because really what you're doing here is you're looking at the solution that the customer already is using, and you're wondering how can you make them get the most out of that solution, how can you increase the value out of that solution, right.

So if you remember back from the book one of the things that we talked about was increasing life.

Right.

How can increase the life experience out of the solution they already using the best way to do that is to solve any inconvenient and convenient problems that the solution creates and for online entrepreneurs.

This is the biggest place that a lot of entrepreneurs are in the online space because not only do you not need any specific training. You can also create the solution once, and just duplicate it and give it to any new customer, after they've purchased, that becomes the next thing that they purchase. So not only do you increase the value of the product, you're also increasing customer experience and also helping them get the result faster.

So that will be an inconvenience type of problem.

And really, the advantages and disadvantages of this one is.

It's very difficult to sell it as a standalone. I mean it's not difficult but in most cases you wouldn't see very few people will go, and if you understand this as an alone thing you need to be very niched out which is really good, but it can also be not very good if you don't select the right niche.

An example of inconvenience type of problem is apps. If you look at the apps in both Android and iOS devices, those apps were created to solve inconveniences and create opportunities within the mobile phone device, right. And so, you'll notice that all these apps are very specific narrowed down in helping you solve a very specific problem, it's watching videos with a YouTube video up.

Oh, either it's making. I don't know downloading very specific calendar that connects your email and everything else. Whatever it is that you're downloading but they solve a very specific incumbent problem. Right.

And the other thing to notice is they are only available for mobile phone devices, or for specific computers, but they're not available in every single electronic device, right. So that's one thing to notice here is that you're solving a problem for very specific customer on a very specific problem, and a very narrow, people who have actually bought the problem already, so into a very good finding with is, you're solving the problem for.

And the good thing is once you know where the customers are, that's it you're done, don't go look any further. For example, if you just go to a page, website, or a company that is selling a specific product, and then you create a product that answers the questions of the first product that the customer is already buying, then all you have to do is just target those customers. And that is it for you.

Okay. Now, the next type of resale problem here is skill-based problem, and with this one here I usually use a specific type of education, or a specific type of training or a specific type of certification. That gives you the right and authority to, you know, to be considered in some areas, for example, if you're a lawyer or a doctor, or if you're pursuing any of those a financial advisor, In this specific type of credibility.

Right, so you have a specific know-how.

And then you become the trusted expert, and the good thing about this is usually the customer is buying a done for you service. Right. And, and so these are the types of problems that can emerge from either before the product is created or after the product is created, or with the skill type.

One of the disadvantages of this skill type problem. problem is that you need to have time because you're trading time for money, right, for example in the inconvenience of problem can really automate the whole thing by creating a simple solution, it could be a guide, it could be a video tutorial, it could be whatever it is. In this case, most companies would create apps.

But the idea here is apps can be online, offline it's created once, and then you're selling it over and over, so you're not selling time there, right, whereas in the skill type, you have to sell time because they're buying, you're a trustworthy expert in experts, right, your credibility and use very specific know-how, when they own a very specific subject matter.

So, the disadvantage of this is, it may take a lot of time to acquire.

But once you acquire it. It also means you have very limited growth space because, you know, in the industry these standards for specific skills and how much people are paying for specific skills.

So if you're going to solve this problem, you need to be aware of that.

Now we've talked about a lot of things there. But the goal for us entrepreneurs and looking at these is asking yourself, well, how can I apply, how can I solve a problem either using.

First of all is identifying is a problem, an access type problem. Is it a convenience type, or is it a skill base. And here's the funny thing and a very very good thing for us entrepreneurs doesn't matter what the problem is, we can solve it as skill access or inconvenience, right, for example, if a problem requires a very specific type of solution or a specific type of skill, and we don't have the skill in one way may be to recommend someone who has a skill. However, to also have many follow-up solutions that will reduce any inconveniences.

And that's what a lot of companies do these days. Right. So someone may hire a technical person to go and fix and update their databases maybe on their office, right, but then they may decide you know what databases have been updated, but they need to be updated and softer and everything has to be kept up and running, and looked after. As we keep going.

How about we just give you subscription services where we will do this for you in the background to medical and you do not have to worry about anything else. Right. And that will be one way you're taking a skill-based type of problem, and you're solving anybody as packaging it with an inconvenient solution that addresses the inconvenience types follow up problems.

So, as entrepreneurs, we do not need to have very specific skills.

If we do too valuable, but if we don't, we can just find someone who do, and partner with them, so that we are helping their customer get the most their services. And that is the basis of affiliate marketing when done right. So, in this example here, I've made it simple I mean so that we can try and look at it. And, essentially, the key takeaway for you as an entrepreneur on this one here is

you need to be very good at looking at a problem and how you can convert it into an opportunity. and being able to break down that problem, takes us a very long way. And this is the best way I found that you can bring in a problem, and answer it.

Right.

And when you answer the problem by breaking it down like this, you find that you do not need to compete because you can create a lot of unique value propositions, because you can also add, you know, solutions based on access and convenience and skill, and everything in by combining everything as a package, essentially reduce the necessity for competing on price, if that makes sense.

So, that is me on this episode.

And the call to action. What I want you to do today is I want you to start asking yourself how can you take the problem to a very specific opportunity. And if you can't ask yourself, then how can you help them, so that you can both benefit from turning their problems and opportunity.