So you want to start a business, but you're struggling to come up with a winning idea, right? Sometimes we think we can make a business out of a hobby or something we enjoy doing. This approach works sometimes, but how can you be sure right? You probably know someone who started their own gig and failed and you're thinking to yourself, "I sure don't want that to be me".

How do some of the most successful people in the world come up with winning ideas? You're about to learn the secret and it deceptively simple. Are you ready? Here it is in a word "Problems". That's right, problems. I know, you're thinking to yourself "I have enough problems" right? Well when we get done here, hopefully you'll start looking at problems in a whole new light.

So how can problems lead to great business ideas? Well, for one thing, everyone has them. People are willing to reward you for solving their problems. Think I'm crazy? Well let's look at some recent business ideas that have solved problems for people and have been wildly successful.

Let's take a look at Uber. Problem = cab's are expensive, the drivers are sometimes rude, the cabs stink and calling a cab in the world of smart phones seems so antiquated. Also, how do you know when or if your cab is going to show up?

Let's take a look at it from the point of view of someone who would like to provide transportation for people, but can't afford or figure out how to get through all of the red tape that entangles most new, fledgling would-be business owners. (Side note, hereafter and throughout all of my blogs the government will be referred to as "The Department of Making You Sad". A term I didn't come up with; I think it was Paul Wheaton or Jack Spirko who coined it. But whoever came up with it, it is painfully accurate)

What Uber did was brilliant. They recognized most people now have smart phones. What if you could come up with an app that by-passed the gatekeepers and just simply put people who wanted a ride in touch with people who could provide a ride? What if the driver was guaranteed to get paid, everyone knew the price in advance, the passenger could see where their ride was and best of all, could rate the drivers in a peer to peer system?

Well Uber figured that out and all scandals aside (of which there have been many, I know) the idea was brilliant and everyone loves the solution.

Let me give you another example. Problem: Dog Poop. No one likes to clean up dog poop out of their back yard. It's an unpleasant job. Solution: Someone who doesn't mind picking up dog poop and actually looks at those land mines as gold nuggets.

So I used to manage rental properties and I came across this guy who had got out of prison a few years prior. His job prospects were slim, because who wants to hire a felon, right? So this guy finally figured out the only way he was going to get ahead was to start his own gig and that's when everything changed.

That's when Doug started a company called "Pooh God's" and he started going door to door with business cards letting people know he'd come by and clean all the dog pooh from their yards. Slowly, but surely he built a solid block of clients who used his services. Soon they began to refer him to their friends. When I met Doug, he was making about $50,000 a year cleaning up dog poop.

Here's the conclusion. If Doug can do it, so can you - not the dog poop - but recognizing a problem and finding the solution.

If you remember nothing else from this post, remember this equation:

PROBLEM + SOLUTION = OPPORTUNITY

At this very moment you have no idea how powerful what I gave you really is. Ok, here's your homework. Oh, you didn't know there would be homework?

LOL Seriously though. From here on out I want you to do this mental exercise everyday. Look for problems. Seek them, invite them into your life and write them down. Then start engaging your brain on ways you can solve them.

Soon you'll begin to see dozens of winning ideas - they'll be all around you. You'll begin to wonder why you didn't see them before and then you'll encounter another challenge - You'll have so many ideas, you won't know which one's to pursue, but that's another post for another day.

Go forth and be a problem solver my Steemit friends :)