Welcome to weekend episode of this series tagged Entrepreneurs Growth Plugs. Thank you for the Incredible feedback from episode 1 to 4.

I strongly believe that in the business environment, the ability to ask the right questions and find the right answers or even the wrong answers and fail before finally getting the right one is super imperative in business success. Today I will share some important questions that every Entrepreneur at any level should ask and seek answers as they strive to build sustainable businesses.

Ask yourself the following questions and possibly if you can get a pen and paper as you go through this it will be worth it.

Question 1: What pain am I really solving?
This question is critical because when you ascertain the exact pain that you want to solve through your business, you avoid the pain of building a product no one will buy or your family members and friends will buy from you out of pity. Here’s one fact, when the right pain point is not ascertain you will sell to people who can’t buy or won’t buy. You can’t design a product your customers love if you don’t understand what pain they want to relieve.

Question two: What am I building?
Whatever you decide to answer here is directly affected by the first question. You need to clearly and concisely answer this question. Now that I clearly understand the pain point, what do I build that will perfectly solve the customer’s pain. This will help you build a must have product and not a nice to have product for the pain. Build a product that position itself as an indispensable solution. Note this, building a startup is not about really building something innovative it is about building The Product that fit the market needs.

Question 3: Who will I serve?
By now, you should be having a clear understanding on who you will serve. The pain identified in question 1 is definitely linked to a target group of people in the society and the product you are building should have certain characteristics that reflect a particular group of people. If you do not clearly know whom you will serve through your business or product, you will sale to people who won’t need and who won’t buy. Identifying the target audience for your products or services is an exercise that will transform your business. The better you understand your target market, the faster your business will grow.

Question 4: What is the promise I am making to my customers/clients and to myself?
This particular question if answered right and practiced effectively can change the trajectory of your business growth. Business now is more than just exchanging products with money, is about having a mission, relationships, kindness, leadership, commitment to go above and beyond, is about the higher purpose of service to others and when you make this promise to clients and yourself, results are different. What is your promise to your customers? For us at COSDEF Group our promise to our clients is “We put you first place and serve you with class and excellence”. Every action we take towards a client is backed by this promise

Question 5: What are my objectives, strategies and action plans (steps) to achieve my goals?
Definitely, one of the most important questions but very few entrepreneurs get to intentionally seek the answers. Majority of Entrepreneurs operate as if they are on autopilot. Always have clearly defined objectives, executable strategies on how you will achieve the objectives and most importantly action plans with dates and who to hold responsible when objectives are not achieved and who to celebrate when the objectives are met. Entrepreneurs often are overwhelmed by the number of tasks they need to accomplish on daily basis. When you have a detailed objectives, strategies and detailed action plan, it becomes easier to evaluate the urgency of the tasks, to determine what tasks to focus on.

If you went through this just for reading sake it is time to practice. Get a pen and a book and do your best to provide answers to the above questions. You do not guesswork and build a great business.

See you in episode 6. Super interesting stuff coming.