Seek Out Problems

I asked a friend of mine to meet me last night, as I wanted to pick his brain around setting up a new venture capital fund.

I’d been asked by a potential client to create the financial framework upon which to build a fund. It would solely invest in mobile technology companies in different countries in Africa.

Beau Seil is managing partner of Unitus Impact, one of the top social impact VC funds in the US… and he proved to me once again that he knows his stuff.

I then asked Beau’s opinion on the best way for a US based 501C3 to set up an entity in Nepal – another project I was working on.

After 10 minutes of conversation he turned to me and jokingly asked: “Do you enjoy what you do?”

Let’s pause for a moment…

His question was in response to the sheer number of problems and obstacles that we were discussing and that I needed to find a solution for.

Any time you end up doing business overseas and have to deal with complex financial and legal matters there are a slew of problems that pop up. Staying flexible in the sight of large obstacles is important when working internationally.

His question also pointed towards the hard truth that we really don’t like problems.

But in business, entrepreneurs LOVE problems…

In fact, if you’re growing your company they will accompany every level of success you aim to reach. And so problems should be embraced as a positive sign.

I’m telling you this because if you can solve other people’s problems and create value you will make a lot of money.

If you solely focus on the bottom line you may or may not become successful, but if you aim to add value to other business owners and to solve their problems over and over again, money will chase you down.

This thought process should be part of the DNA of the entrepreneur…it should be ingrained in a founder’s psychology.

What’s your immediate response to facing a new problem? Are you afraid of bad news? Or do you embrace problems as an opportunity to add value, make money and create more success?

My response to Beau’s question was a profound: YES…I love to create and grow companies and be challenged to find new ways for businesses to succeed. I guess I have the DNA of the entrepreneur inside of me.