Chapter 4
Problems + PAIN = Profit
Are your customers ready to spend money?
To answer that question, you might want to think about a brilliant little equation coined by Christine Comaford, author of Rules for Renegades: How to Make More Money, Rock Your Career, and Revel in Your Individuality (McGraw-Hill, 2007). It's so true . . .
There are two basic requirements for a successful business model. Many businesses meet only one requirement. Many more have neither! If you want to build your business, you need to make absolutely sure that you have both. First, you need a problem that you can solve. That's obvious. There needs to be something wrong, a lack or a need that's not being met. Take a look at your area of expertise and ask yourself where the problems are. What's missing? What doesn't work properly? What are people always struggling with? Write down your answers.
Second, people need to be in pain because of the problem. This is important. There are lots of problems that nobody cares about. Many problems don't result in pain. And because of that, people aren't willing to spend their hard-earned money to fix them. You need to find the people who are in pain. Who is suffering? That's your target market. That's your audience. That's your ideal customer. That's who is looking for you and is ready to spend money on your product or service.
This calculation may sound trivial, but ...
