by Ayodotun Rotimi-Akinfenwa

 

Yes, I know you’re reading this because of the headline. You’re not alone. People ask this question a lot: How do I make money? The answer is very simple. Problems. It’s as simple as that. It’s universally accepted that this life is full of ups and downs, good times and bad times. And even more interesting, is the fact that both good and bad times pose respective challenges or problems. In other words, there are good problems and there are bad ones. At any rate, those problems need solutions and providing those solutions is the only way to make money.

 

I’ll start with good problems, which include….

Where to get the best meals in town?

Where to park my expensive car when I go to an event?

What’s the best school for my child?

Where do I invest my millions to ensure I don’t lose them?

How do I get the best vacation/travel deals?

How do I handle my publics as a celebrity?

How do I secure my mansion?

 

‘Bad’ Problems  (actual problems) are

My car broke down

I lost all my investments

Where do I treat this infection?

I can’t afford to buy what I need

I don’t know how to do this but I need to

I’m dying

 

People want their problems to go away or their good problems to be solved and things to run smoothly in their lives. If you are going to make money, whether a little or a lot, you must learn to solve problems. People may not like you, they may not want to talk to you, they may not know you, but if you can solve their problems, you will be the most important person in the world to them. If you want proof, just ask the lady whose car breaks down late at night in the middle of nowhere…the sight of her mechanic would be the sweetest she has seen in years. On a regular day, she would not spare this guy a thought. Do you stop by your insurance company just to say ‘hi’ to them? My guess is, you only call them when you’ve got trouble with your assets because they solve your problems. With the spate of crimes recorded among domestic staff these days, many of us would have absolutely nothing to do with them if we could help it. We, however, surround ourselves with them because we need people to handle our truckloads of housework, errands and child care duties.

 

The reason most of us have jobs, at all, is because there is a myriad of problems in our environment which need solutions and we have been employed or engaged in the business of solving them. Look at any successful business around you, their business in involves solving problems on a large scale profitably.

 

It, really, is a simple matter…

People get hungry every few hours… food solves the problem.

People need to travel from place to pace…transportation solves the problem.

People need a play to stay … livable spaces solve that problem

People need offices to work from…. that’s a problem to solve.

Weddings and other occasions can be chaotic, someone’s got to handle and organise all the details.

People need to run errands from one end of town to the other in traffic…that poses a problem. The list is endless!

 

So if you are sitting down, complaining that there are no jobs and business is not moving, the answer is simple. Find a problem and solve it or find the right problems and solve them. I said it in my previous article titled “So you think you’re poor.”

If you’re solving someone’s problem, you have no reason to struggle financially.

 

The greater the magnitude or volume of problems you solve, the more successful you are at what you do. It’s that simple. Find a problem and solve it today.

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Ayodotun is a Conservative Rebel and a Brand Manager turned Music Business Manager, Writer, Blogger and Content Creator. She built almost a decade’s worth of experience in Brand Building, Strategy and Events across Nigeria and other parts of West Africa before her sojourn into the music business.

In addition to music, she blogs from www.lifestylehues.com which is a fun, lifestyle and inspirational  platform where she discusses today’s issues with a slightly eccentric  perspective.