Some businesses have two problems they are trying to solve, rather than one.  Solving one problem can be hard enough; solving two is crazy hard…particularly for entrepreneurs trying to get their idea off the ground.

Whether you are starting a new company, leading a new initiative or just planning an event, it is critical to consider the problem(s) you are solving for each of your stakeholders.

Bystander Problems
Consider your idea: list out who benefits from your concept and why. It won’t surprise me if you realize you are addressing a lot of issues for a lot of people.  Businesses also fulfill a lot of needs that bystanders have.  For instance—a new coffee shop may revitalize a corner or provide people with jobs.  Certainly these are valuable bystander effects of the coffee shop’s core reason for existence: selling coffee.

The coffee shop’s core reason for existence is pretty clear, but other businesses and organizations don’t often benefit from that level of clarity.

Chicken-Or-The-Egg Problems
A number of organizations start out trying to feed the chickens before the eggs hatch.  It’s hard to piece apart which is the chicken and which is the egg, but if you the chicken-or-the-egg problem, you need to refocus.

Examine the two problems you face, figure out which is more likely to be the egg & then solve that problem very well and very efficiently.

If you find that even after you break your problem down a layer, you are faced with another new chicken-or-the-egg problem, continue to repeat until you’ve narrowed your business/activity/event’s focus to one problem that you can solve in an incredibly efficient and effective manner.

Find your core problem, and focus.

-          Bryan