PROPERLY DEFINING YOUR PROBLEM Gets You Halfway to Your Solution

Ever jumped straight into a solution, only to realize you solved the wrong problem?

It happens more often than you think.

Starting a business or solving a big challenge can feel overwhelming. You might be tempted to rush to the solution, jumping straight into building a product or offering a service. But here’s something important: the clearer you are about the problem you’re trying to solve, the easier the solution becomes.

Let me tell you a story.

A friend of mine launched a delivery app, thinking people needed faster food delivery. After months of work and hundreds of calls, the app barely picked up users. It turned out the real problem was not speed, but the lack of affordable and reliable payment options within the app. Once she identified that, fixing payments became her focus, and users started flocking.

It’s a mistake many founders make; solving for what they think the problem is, instead of what the real problem feels like for the customer.

Another entrepreneur I know spent years trying to improve a product feature no one used. Only after talking to customers did he realize they were struggling not with his feature but with the complicated onboarding. Addressing the real pain point saved his startup.

When you take the time to really understand the problem, you save yourself a lot of trouble. You avoid building things that are not needed or missing the mark entirely.

Defining your problem properly means looking beyond what you first thought and digging deeper. It means asking questions like, “Why does this problem occur?” and “Who does it affect the most?”

Think of it like this: if you’re trying to fix a leak in a pipe but only look at the water dripping, you might keep patching the wrong spots. But if you trace the leak back to the source, you can fix it once and for all.

Many entrepreneurs rush to pitch ideas or start building things before they have their problem clearly mapped out. This often leads to wasted time and money. But if you spend time upfront understanding your customer’s true pain points, their frustrations, and what they really want, you’re already more than halfway to a great solution.

Your problem should be specific, real, and easy to explain.

When someone hears your problem and immediately says, “Yes, that’s a pain I know,” you’re on the right path.

The solution then becomes a natural next step, designed to solve that clear pain.

So, whenever you think about your business or startup idea, pause and ask yourself:

“What problem am I solving?”

“Is it the right problem?”

“Is it urgent and important to the people I want to help?”

By following these steps, you can clearly define your problem, and you’ll find that the path to the solution becomes much clearer and more manageable.

This focus will help you make smarter moves and strengthen your business.

Remember, great businesses don’t start with big ideas; they start with well-defined problems.

Defining your problem well is how you get halfway to your success.

The rest is just making that solution work.