Too many businesses focus on the solution they provide rather than the problem they solve.

Whilst coaching people, I’ve asked them: “What problem does your business solve?”

Often there is deafening silence…followed by an “umm, I’m not sure.” Worse still is the response: “I don’t think I do solve problems.”

The thing is that in a world where most people have what they need, and where businesses are popping up all over the place, you need to know how your business is going to stand out and why. Why does the world need your ‘thing’? What is your differentiator? What problem are you solving and for whom? It’s almost impossible to tell your story or market your business if you don’t know what problem you solve.

The One Sentence Pitch

It’s a really challenging – but worthwhile – exercise to articulate what you do in terms of solving ONE single problem. Understanding what this is, and using it to drive you, is at the root of doing meaningful work.  So how do you do it? Pretend you are pitching to an investor for a $1million injection….they don’t want to hear about all the solutions you provide, they only have 30 seconds to hear about what issue you can solve.

For example:

Dropbox: People have no reliable way to store, access, update and share all their data from one place – a USB or emailed file doesn’t cut it.

Uber: Why can’t I just push a button and get a ride?

So, in one sentence, tell me, yourself, your business partner, your mirror, what’s the key problem you solve in the world with your business?