The Solution is in the Problem

One of my clients came to me with the goal of trying to get into the craft business. For now, let’s call him Dale. Like many entrepreneurial artists, Dale had a day job, and he was trying to build his craft business during his spare time. One of the first questions I asked him was whether he wanted to turn this craft business into his main form of income. Dale said that he couldn’t figure out how to turn his craft into a full time business. I tried to point out to Kevin that my question was not whether he knew how to turn his craft into his main form of income. My question was did he want to turn his craft into a business.

For some reason, Dale couldn’t commit to the idea of turning his craft business into his main form of income unless he knows how to do it first. He would have excuses like how he couldn’t make the time, or that he was afraid that he couldn’t sell enough units, or how he didn’t like marketing himself. These statements were simply signs that Dale was afraid to commit.

I pointed out to Dale that in order for solutions to present themselves, he must first commit to wanting to solve the problem. As long as Dale’s commitment is up in the air, so too are the solutions. As soon as I got Dale to commit to at least making a monthly goal, we started finding solutions like outsourcing some of his grunt work so he can spend more time on his craft. We also got him to focus on the product lines where he could maximize his output, and product that had the highest profit margin. By committing to the idea of succeeding in his business, the solutions simply presented themselves.