Successful people ask better questions and as a result, they get better answers – Anthony Robbins
When we are running our own business, we make dozens of decisions every day to resolve issues and often we think these decisions need to be made quickly. While that approach may work for some problems, most others will take dedicated time. Oftentimes, we are too busy and too tired to dedicate time to thinking through a difficult problem or focusing on how to take our business in a new direction.
However, spending a bit of time to think through a complex issue, like starting a new line for our business, can provide a huge payback. Our minds are wonderful creations that are very good at answering questions for us especially complex issues. Legend has it that we only use 10% of our brain power. That may or may not be true, but we will assume it is so use this blog post to push it to 11%! 😊.
When we are trying to solve a problem, we don’t ask thought-provoking questions to stimulate our creative self. Most times, we don’t ask the right questions. And if we are tired, we may even ask the wrong questions on a problem such as,” why does this happen to me?” That is not the type of questions you want to ask yourself.
So, what is an effective way to use questions to stimulate your thinking to help you come up with solutions for your business?
First, having the right attitude is important. When you ask the question, be open to the answers; don’t quickly form an opinion on the idea, telling yourself “that won’t work”. Even if the answers you come up with don’t provide the answer. Don’t get frustrated and give up this process. Just tell yourself “There IS a way” to solve this.
The Magic of Thinking Big Don’t disregard the answer out of hand because it may seem too difficult; too many obstacles. Just write down the answer.
So how do you know the right questions to ask? The questioning process begins with defining the problem or challenge you are trying to solve.
Define Your Problem
A ‘Problem” is anything you are trying to solve. It can be a issue you are trying to resolve, a challenge to create additional revenue, or a goal you want to achieve, and everything in between.
To define your Problem, set aside time for asking questions and working on the answers. The first step is to define the challenge or issue. It is your defining question, also known as your Problem Statement. What are you trying to solve? Defining the right problem is the most important step in asking the right questions.
I have a friend (let’s call her Lisa) that after many years of working in corporate was let go. She looked for another job for a year to no avail. She decided to buy an existing retail business that sells fishing equipment. The owner of the fishing retail store wanted to retire and none of his children wanted to run the business, he decided to sell.
Lisa made a thorough examination of the financials to make sure the fishing business is a viable business; that it was making money. It was, so it seemed like a sound investment. However, the store is in a different state. In addition, Lisa also had no experience in retail and no expertise in fishing. Zilch. Nada.
Most people would say, “Don’t go into a business you don’t know.” And I agree with that. I think that makes good sense.
But what does the above illustration have to do with asking the right questions? While going over the books and asking financial questions was important for Lisa to do, there were even more important questions that Lisa should have asked before examining the books.
- Why do I want to be in this business? What is it about the fishing business that really excites me? Am I willing to dig in deep and learn everything I can about the retail fishing business? Put in long hours in the process? Or do I just want a replacement income for my salaried job and this store meets the financial need?
- Why do people come to this store? Is it because of the wide selection? Or is it location? Or is it the expert advice that is provided? If it is expert advice, is it provided by the owner (remember, he is retiring), or is it by the staff? Do I believe they will keep coming when it changes ownership?
- Why do I believe I can run the store as effectively as the present owner? What experience do I have that says I can? What experience do I have in retail?
There are many, many more questions to be asked, and the ones above just scratched the surface. But the answers to these questions will tell Lisa if she should go forward or not with this business. Once those questions had been asked and if there are good, solid answers in the positive, then the financials can be examined.
So, what was the problem that was trying to be solved by Lisa? She is looking for a supplementary income that will eventually replace her current full time annual salary. There are many ways for her to replace that income without buying a business she knows nothing about.
You may have noticed the main questions above began with “Why”. The why questions are paramount to getting to the core answers. So, in creating your questions, keep asking “why” until you get to the root issue.
Good Questions for Expanding your Business
Below are a few thought provoking questions that can get you started.
- What am I good at? What can I do that my customers’ really like and want more of? What are they willing to pay for that I’m not providing yet?
- What is my greatest weaknesses? What am I not doing or doing poorly that, if it were addressed, my business would take off?
- What is working in the business and why?
- What is not working and why? Associated question: Why am I losing customers?
Answers aren’t delivered on Demand
Often, we ask questions like the ones above and expect (dare I say, demand of ourselves) an answer, immediately. But as you know, it doesn’t work that way. It takes time for your mind (and especially your subconscious) to work on a problem and come back with good solutions. This process can’t be rushed. Your mind needs to relax and let the problem percolate.
Donny Deutsch, from The Big Idea says, “The big ideas have always been out there, but it takes a moment of clarity to actually realize the hidden potential. The moment of clarity is the launchpad for your idea, and it usually comes in the most mundane setting.”
Einstein, when he was trying to solve a particularly difficult mathematical problem, would put aside the math work and play his violin. Low and behold, often after a couple of hours of playing, the solution would come to him.
Below is the approach I recommend for coming up with good solutions.
The Approach
If you have a particularly difficult problem to solve, set aside 20-30 minutes each day, at a time when you can be free of distractions.
- Set aside a quiet time in morning before everyone gets up, to work on the problem. For night owls, it will be time when everyone has gone to bed.
- Define your problem. Make sure you have identified the root challenge. Create your problem statement. It may take a few days to really dig down and uncover the true problem to be solved. Often, we will mistake a symptom for the cause, so be patient with the process.
- Once you have clearly defined the problem you want to solve, write out the problem statement
- Determine questions for your problem statement. Let’s say you want to earn $10,000 from your part-time business this year. Your problem statement could me “Earn $10,000 in my part-time business by Dec. 31. You’ve defined what needs to be done. The questions you will be asking are your “What” and “How” questions”.
- Example questions are:
- What are the ways I can generate the $10,000 dollars by Dec. 31?
- Can the $10,000 be done through adding value through my current product or services? What is the additional value that I can add so that I can increase the price of my existing products? Why do I believe they would pay the additional money?
- Can I add a line extension to the existing product or service to create the $10,000? What form would the product or service take?
- Instead of the line extension is there a new area of business I want to go into? What is this area of new business and what is my expertise in it? Why do I think it I can create the $10,000 through this method?
- Is there someone I can partner with in a new segment of business? What value can I add to that partnership that would entice them to partner with me?
- Write out the applicable questions.
- The questions may take a few days and the answers may take even longer. Don’t worry about answering all the questions in one sitting. In fact, don’t expect it! Just take 30 minutes to go through the questions and write down possible answers.
- Take your list of questions and determine which 3 are the most thought provoking; the questions that your mind really needs to ponder.
- Then go about your day. When you are doing something else, totally unrelated, the answer could come to you. If a solution comes to you (and it will), then write it down.
- There could be other solutions that are even better so give our subconscious mind a chance to work on it overnight. Read over your problem statement and the 3 most pertinent questions before you go to bed and tell your mind to work on the answers.
- Keep something close by your bed to record any insights you get in the middle of the night.
- Spend the 30 minutes the next morning/evening (and several mornings/evenings if need be) working on the problem, expanding on any ideas that came to you during a moment of insight (Eureka!). If no insight came to you during the previous day or overnight, just go through the questions, create new questions and write down viable solutions. Add these solutions to your list to review at night so your subconscious can work on it.
- While you want your mind to relax so it can create promising ideas, you do want to set a timeframe by when you want a workable solution, (e.g. 10 days). This will create the impetus to find an answer.
Don’t do it by Yourself
What if you had spent several days working on the problem and came up with a few ideas, but no real solutions. Do you just give up? No, ask “Has anyone else studied or accomplished this or something like it.” The Internet can be a wealth of information – Researching the topic can help you to find the answers or what others had accomplished. Another way to find the needed expertise is to reach out to a group of entrepreneurs (an Inner Circle or Mastermind Group) who can help. They can help because:
- Your inner circle has had different life experience, different education and different expertise. They will come up with ideas and solutions you had not thought of.
- Your inner circle can provide valuable feedback on the solutions you have already formulated. They can point out pros and cons to the solution(s) and potentially how to implement one of the ideas.
- While they may not have the expertise to implement the solution, they may know of people who do.
- They can be a prod when we need a push to implement a bold idea and a governor when we are simply being too ambitious or failing to see a pitfall due to a blind spot.
Using these steps will definitely go a long way in helping you resolve your “Problems”.
Drop me a line at Alan@babyboomercashnow.com and let me know your method of resolving problems and creating new lines of business. I’d love to know what works for you.
Alan