A question popped up on Twitter that asked “How do I make my business seem irresistible?” . My answer was “BE irresistible (not seem), find their problem, solve it, with as little friction to the customer as possible”.  I can understand the confusion out there in internet marketing/small business world as to how this works. 99% of people are attempting to shove a product down your throat rather than addressing any real need you have for it.  The very worst try to convince us there is a problem where there is none, just to sell a crappy product to cover a hole that doesn’t exist.

Time to put the brakes on that behaviour guys!

Starting a business? Forget having a “great idea”; the whole concept of coming up with a one in a million business using a pot luck approach is a fairy tale. Do not bank your future on a fairy tale (and boy that has applied to my personal life at times too!). As un-sexy as it seems, if your business is solving a single problem, just one, then you have the foundations for something great. Something you can become a market leader in and something that will be sustainable for as long as people have that problem.

There are no successful businesses that do not solve an issue (even if that issue is as trivial as making someone feel prettier or cooler).

If you currently have a business, can you break it down to a single line that describes a problem that you are solving?

My business solves the problem of ………….

Or are you in the dreaded business of “making money”? Problem solving naturally brings money with it.  If enough people have that problem, then you will make a lot of money.  If you run your business well then you will keep that money and expand.

I have seen some awesome ideas come out of the web2.0 world. Sites that were funky, did a cool thing, and failed. No one really engaged with them because they did not solve a real problem. If I was investing in those types of start-ups I would be asking, what is the problem you are solving and how easily does it solve that problem?

That brings us to the “ok so how do I find out who has a problem?” Are you kidding? People LOVE talking about their problems. Just ask them! For this blog post I sent out a Twitter message inviting people to tell me their problems. I got replies about time management, difficulties setting up a WordPress blog, a car engine problem…and some we won’t go into

My old favourite is to have a running search on Twitter “How do I” and look at what people are asking for help with, and of course there are sites like Yahoo Answers (but beware, asking dumb questions for comedic purposes has become an art form there).

Finally, don’t kid yourself that you are solving a problem with your great idea if you make it so complicated to engage with you that people will give up. Last night I went to my daughter’s graduation dinner and there was a professional photography service doing the rounds. At every setting was a flier explaining that all pictures could be viewed and ordered online (just how I like it!). Great! Problem solved, I didn’t pull my camera out all night.

This morning I go to the site to do just that and what-do-you-know, you need a special invitation number to be able to log in, a number that was not on the flier, nor mentioned as a requirement on the flier blurb. Now I have to solve the problem of getting a login.

Swapping one problem for another has put me right off. Even if the photos are fantastic, the friction in getting them has soured the experience altogether.

If you are reading along with my current business start-up newsletter you may be wondering what problem I am solving. Here it is in a nutshell

My business solves the problem of how to start an internet business