The Problems You Solved - Your Business Seed

Every business solves a problem. The best businesses solve problems that the founder understands deeply — not from reading about them, not from studying them in a classroom, but from living with them day after day, year after year.

That's you. You've been living problems for your entire career. And right now, in this moment where everything feels uncertain, that experience is your most valuable asset.

Why Problems Are the Foundation of Every Business

Let's start with something that might seem obvious but is worth really sitting with: every successful business exists because it solves a problem that people are willing to pay to have solved. That's it. Strip away the branding, the marketing, the fancy websites — and what you're left with is a solution to a problem.

Amazon solved the problem of having to drive to a store to buy something. Uber solved the problem of trying to hail a cab in the rain. Slack solved the problem of email threads that made collaboration painful. Every single one of those companies started because someone understood a problem deeply enough to build a better solution.

Now here's the thing most people miss: you don't need to build the next Amazon. You don't need a revolutionary idea. You need to find a problem that a specific group of people has, that you understand better than most, and that you can solve in a way that's worth paying for. That's it.

And you've been collecting those problems — without even realizing it — for your entire career.

The Problem-Finder's Mindset

Think back over your last few years at work. Think about the things that frustrated you, the things that took too long, the things that felt unnecessarily complicated. Think about the workarounds you created, the processes you fixed, the fires you put out.

Every single one of those was a problem. And every problem you solved is a potential business seed.

Here's what makes you different from someone who just graduated with an MBA and wants to start a company: you didn't read about these problems in a case study. You lived them. You felt the frustration. You saw the consequences of not solving them. You know who has these problems, how bad the problems are, and what happens when they go unsolved.

That lived experience is worth more than any market research report. It's authentic, it's detailed, and it gives you a massive head start.

Your Problem Inventory: The Core Exercise

This is the most important exercise in this entire chapter. Don't skim it. Get a pen and paper — or open a blank document — and actually work through this. Give yourself at least 30 minutes.

Step 1: List Every Problem You Solved Repeatedly

Start by making a list of every problem you solved at your last job — and I mean every problem, not just the big ones. Think about:

• Process problems: Things that took too long, involved too many steps, or broke down regularly. Maybe you streamlined an approval workflow that used to take two weeks. Maybe you figured out how to get reports generated in half the time.

• People problems: Communication breakdowns, training gaps, team conflicts, onboarding challenges. Maybe you were the person who trained every new hire because nobody else could explain the systems clearly.

• Technology problems: Tools that didn't work right, systems that didn't talk to each other, manual data entry that should have been automated. Maybe you built a spreadsheet that connected information from three different systems.

• Knowledge problems: Information that was hard to find, expertise that was locked in one person's head, decisions that were made without good data. Maybe you created documentation that finally made sense of a confusing process.

• Compliance and risk problems: Regulations that were hard to follow, audits that created chaos, security gaps that kept people up at night. Maybe you developed a checklist system that made compliance almost automatic.

Don't filter yourself during this step. Write down everything. You should end up with at least 10 problems, and probably more like 20 or 30 if you really think about it.

Step 2: Evaluate Each Problem on Five Dimensions

Now take each problem and run it through these five questions. This is where you separate the interesting problems from the business-worthy ones.

1. How many people have this problem?

• Was this just your organization's problem? If so, the market might be too small.
• Is this a problem across your entire industry? Now you're talking about a medium-to-large market.
• Does this problem cross industries? That's a very large market.

Be honest here. A problem that only existed because your specific boss had a specific preference is not a business. But a problem that every mid-size company in your industry faces? That's worth exploring.

2. How much does this problem cost them?

This is critical because the cost of the problem determines what people will pay for a solution. Think about:

• Time costs: How many hours per week or month were spent dealing with this problem? Multiply that by the hourly cost of the people involved. If a compliance reporting process takes a $75/hour manager 8 hours per month, that's $600/month just in labor — and that doesn't count the opportunity cost of what else they could be doing.

• Money costs: Are there direct financial costs? Fines, penalties, wasted materials, duplicate purchases, missed revenue?

• Stress and burnout costs: These are harder to quantify but very real. If a problem is causing people to lose sleep, consider quitting, or make mistakes because they're overwhelmed, that's a real cost. Companies lose an average of $15,000 to replace a single employee who burns out and leaves.

• Missed opportunity costs: What could the company be doing if this problem didn't exist? Could they grow faster? Serve more customers? Enter new markets? Sometimes the biggest cost isn't what the problem takes away — it's what it prevents.

3. What did they do before you solved it?

This question tells you about the competitive landscape. Every problem already has a "solution" — even if that solution is terrible. Understanding the current alternatives helps you position yourself:

• They accepted it and did nothing. This means you'll need to educate potential customers that the problem is worth solving. Harder to sell, but if the cost is real, there's opportunity.

• They hired someone. Great — this means they're already willing to spend money on this problem. You just need to be a better option.

• They used a tool or software. Also great for the same reason. If the tool is clunky or expensive or incomplete, you can offer something better.

• They tried to solve it themselves (and it didn't fully work). This is often the best scenario. They know the problem exists, they've invested in trying to fix it, and they're dissatisfied with the result. These people are ready for a real solution.

4. What would they pay to have it solved?

Now we're getting to the business case. Think about what your organization paid — directly or indirectly — to deal with this problem. Think about what competitors or similar companies would pay. Think about what a smaller company or a startup would pay.

A useful rule of thumb: most businesses will pay up to 10-20% of the cost of a problem to solve it. So if a problem costs a company $50,000 per year, they'd likely pay $5,000 to $10,000 per year for a solution. If the problem costs $5,000 per month, a $500 to $1,000 monthly solution is reasonable.

Don't guess about pricing in a vacuum. Think about what you know from being on the inside. What did your organization budget for services, consultants, and tools? What did they consider "expensive" versus "reasonable"? Your insider knowledge of pricing psychology is an unfair advantage.

5. Could you solve it better than your organization did?

This is where you get honest with yourself. Could you:

• Solve it faster? Maybe your organization had layers of bureaucracy that slowed things down. On your own, you can move quickly.

• Solve it cheaper? Maybe your organization overpaid for a bloated solution. You could offer something leaner.

• Solve it more personally? Maybe your organization used a one-size-fits-all approach. You could customize.

• Solve it with better results? Maybe you always thought "if they'd just let me do it my way, this would work so much better." Now you can do it your way.

If you can answer "yes" to at least two of these, you've got the makings of a viable business.

A Worked Example: From Problem to Business Seed

Let's walk through this with a real example so you can see how the thinking works.

Sarah, former Operations Manager at a mid-size manufacturing company:

Sarah spent 8 years managing inventory and supply chain processes. One of the problems she solved repeatedly was supplier quality tracking — keeping records of which suppliers delivered on time, which had quality issues, and which needed to be replaced.

She runs it through the five questions:

1. How many people have this problem? Every manufacturing company with more than 10 suppliers. That's thousands of companies in the U.S. alone. Large market.

2. How much does it cost? One bad shipment from an unreliable supplier can cost $10,000-$50,000 in production delays. Most mid-size manufacturers deal with supplier quality issues 3-4 times per year. That's $30,000-$200,000 annually.

3. What did they do before? Most used spreadsheets. Some used expensive enterprise software that was built for Fortune 500 companies and was overkill. Others just relied on their operations manager's memory — which meant the knowledge walked out the door when that person left (sound familiar?).

4. What would they pay? Given the cost of the problem, $500-$2,000/month for a solution is very reasonable. That's $6,000-$24,000/year to prevent $30,000-$200,000 in losses.

5. Could she solve it better? Absolutely. She knows exactly what data matters and what doesn't. She can build a simpler system that focuses on the 20% of information that drives 80% of the decisions. She can offer setup help and ongoing support that generic software can't.

Sarah has a viable business seed. She doesn't need to build a massive software platform. She could start with a consulting service where she helps manufacturers set up supplier tracking systems, combined with a simple template or tool. She could charge $2,000 to set up the system and $500/month for ongoing support and updates.

Another example: James, former Government Program Analyst:

Problem: "Managing compliance across multiple government contracts."

1. How many people have this problem? Thousands of government contractors of all sizes. Any company that does business with the federal government has compliance headaches. Massive market.

2. How much does it cost? Non-compliance fines range from $10,000 to $500,000+. But the hidden costs are even bigger — failed audits mean you can be barred from future contracts. For a company that depends on government work, that's an existential threat.

3. What did they do before? Hired expensive compliance consultants ($200-$400/hour), tried to figure it out internally with people who didn't have the expertise, or just hoped for the best and dealt with problems when audits happened.

4. What would they pay? $3,000-$5,000/month for ongoing compliance support is a bargain compared to the alternative. A full-time compliance officer costs $80,000-$120,000/year. A part-time expert who keeps them on track? That's a great deal.

5. Could he solve it better? Yes, because he understands government from the inside. He knows what auditors actually look for. He knows which requirements are strictly enforced and which are more about documentation. He can cut through the complexity and tell companies exactly what they need to do — and what they can stop worrying about.

This is a viable business. James has insider knowledge that commands premium pricing.

Common Mistakes When Identifying Problems

As you work through your Problem Inventory, watch out for these traps:

Mistake 1: Choosing a problem that's too vague. "Helping companies be more efficient" is not a problem — it's a category. Get specific. What process? What type of company? What kind of efficiency? The more specific the problem, the easier it is to build a business around it.

Mistake 2: Choosing a problem that only you had. If the problem was specific to your organization's unique quirks — a system that only your company used, a process that only existed because of your specific boss's preferences — it may not translate to a broader market. Make sure the problem exists outside your former workplace.

Mistake 3: Choosing a problem that's not painful enough. Some problems are real but not urgent. People don't pay to solve mild inconveniences. They pay to solve things that cost them significant time, money, or stress. If the problem is a 3 out of 10 on the pain scale, it's probably not a business.

Mistake 4: Choosing a problem based on what you enjoy rather than what the market needs. You might love building dashboards, but if nobody's willing to pay for the kind of dashboards you'd build, it's a hobby, not a business. Start with the problem and the market — then figure out if you enjoy the solution.

Mistake 5: Dismissing a problem because it seems "too simple." Some of the best businesses are built on problems that seem simple from the outside. "Helping restaurants manage their online reviews" might sound basic, but it's a billion-dollar industry. Don't overthink it. If people have the problem, it costs them real money, and you can solve it — that's enough.

From Problem to Possibility

Here's what I want you to take away from this chapter: you are not starting from zero. You are starting from years of accumulated problem-solving experience. Every frustration you felt at work, every process you improved, every fire you put out — those are your raw materials.

The exercise in this chapter isn't theoretical. It's the foundation of everything that follows in this playbook. Your positioning, your customer avatar, your unfair advantages — they all flow from the problems you understand deeply.

So do the work. Fill out your Problem Inventory. Run each problem through the five questions. Be honest about which ones have real market potential and which ones don't.

When you're done, you should have at least 2-3 problems that score well across all five dimensions. Those are your business seeds. In the next chapter, we'll explore the competitive advantages you bring to solving them — and why those advantages are far more powerful than you might think.

Key Takeaways:

• Every business starts with a problem the founder understands deeply — and you've been living those problems for years
• Evaluate each problem on five dimensions: how many people have it, what it costs, what they've tried, what they'd pay, and whether you could solve it better
• A specific, well-defined problem with clear cost and willing buyers is a viable business seed
• Don't guess — use the Problem Inventory exercise to identify your best opportunities