Your problems are trying to make you rich [TMR #054]
Ever notice how we only fix things when it really hurts?
Like, REALLY hurts.
Nobody changes their diet when they're 20 pounds overweight.
But at 200 pounds overweight? Different story.
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. Especially when it comes to business innovation.
We all walk around with these "kinda annoying" problems:
That client onboarding process that wastes 2 hours
The team communication mess that causes delays
That pricing model that's "good enough"
But here's the thing: "Good enough" is killing you slowly.
Here's a few prime examples:
Stripe was created because processing payments online was a nightmare [1]
Airbnb started because the founders couldn't afford their rent [2]
Uber happened because Travis Kalanick couldn't get a taxi in Paris [3]
See the pattern?
Pain → Innovation → Billion-dollar solution
Most of us wait until the house is on fire before we grab the extinguisher.
I'm guilty of this too.
Two years ago, I ignored fixing a bottleneck in our client onboarding/billing process and one of our clients didn't get billed for the first 6 months while we worked away!
That pain? It got my attention real quick.
Listen, small pains are like early warning signals. They're trying to tell you something.
When you feel that slight discomfort:
In your processes
With your tools
In your team dynamics
That's your innovation radar beeping.
Don't ignore it.
Here's your new gameplan:
List your top 3 "annoying but not terrible" business problems
Pick the one that bugs you most
Solve it this week
Repeat
Because here's the brutal truth: If it's annoying now, it's going to be devastating later.
Your competition isn't waiting for their pain to become unbearable.
They're solving problems you haven't even admitted you have yet.
Time to get uncomfortable. On purpose.
Your move.
Sources:
[1] "The Untold Story of Stripe" - Forbes, 2023
https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbestechcouncil/stripe-origin/
[2] "The Growth of Airbnb" - Business Insider, 2023
https://www.businessinsider.com/airbnb-history
[3] "Uber's Origin Story" - Business Insider, 2022