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SOLVING THE PROBLEM CLOSEST TO YOU, PART 1

In this three-part blog series, I share short, personal stories of how I solved a problem close to me to move my business forward. If you are a life coach, empowerment teacher, or personal development coach, my goal is to help you solve a problem close to you to help you attract clients. For Part 1, I discuss a problem-solving approach I used as a freelance writing entrepreneur to discover my writing specialty. 

Why do I say, “A problem close to you”? 
When looking at the larger picture of life around us, many of us are surrounded by problems that are competing for our attention. However, there is often one problem that is close to you that requires immediate attention. Because this problem is directly connected to your goal to move forward or accomplish a goal, finding a solution is high priority.  After solving the problem closest to you, it becomes much easier to tackle the other competing problems because oftentimes solutions start to appear. In the next section I illustrate how this works.

Among the problems I had to tackle in launching my freelance writing business included creating a blog, compiling a writer’s portfolio, and setting up a website. These problems varied in terms of my ability to solve them, meaning that some were relatively easy to solve while others required a steep learning curve on my part. Nevertheless, while these problems circulated around me, I discovered that the problem of how to market myself as a freelance writer would be the one that required high priority. Because this problem was directly connected to my goal to move forward with my business, it became the problem closest to me. By figuring out what value I offer to clients, many of the other problems-my blog, my writer’s portfolio, and my website- would eventually be solved as the answers fall into place. In the entrepreneurial world, this “figuring out” process is often called developing a value proposition. Here is how I tackled this problem closest to me. 

First, I want to introduce a definition for what a problem is from a business context.  Business Dictionary defines a problem as: 

“A perceived gap between the existing state and a desired state, or a deviation from a norm, standard, or status quo.”

Applying this definition, I perceived a gap between my existing state- my unspecialized freelance writing self- and my desired state-a freelance writer with a specialty. Next, I devised a method to solve my problem. First, I did some soul-searching to explore what I love to write about. Next, I reflected on my most enjoyable writing experiences with past clients. Here are two things I discovered:

While participating in a life coaching program, I discovered that I love writing to educate, inform, and inspire. I created a blog to encourage, educate, and inspire women 40 and over. I wrote about topics such as personal integrity, re-inventing oneself, and overcoming self-defeating fears. I saw these as topics not only as relatable to women in this age group but also as potential writing topics of interest to life coaches, empowerment teachers, and personal development coaches.

I met a female veteran who became an entrepreneur. She specializes in consulting services for female veterans transitioning from military service to entrepreneurship.  As my client, she wanted to write a blog article to convey to her clients the importance of managing their personal finances like a business as a foundation for their business success. When we reviewed the final draft, my client expressed she was thrilled with the writing because it sounded like she wrote it herself. Her compliment turned on a light bulb in my head! I had discovered my value proposition: I specialize in writing that allows the voice of my clients to be heard. 

After discovering my value proposition, the answers to my other problems started emerging. I now have the direction and material to further develop my blog, my writer’s portfolio, and my website. 
To see how my problem-solving approach can help you, stay tuned for Part 2! This is where you come in! Visit my website and follow me on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter for updates!

By Yvette Williams, Ph.D.

Freelance Writer for The Esteemed Scribe, LLC