Problem-Solvers
I am problem solver. I identify problems, break them down, and create solutions. Sometimes, that means helping a neighbor or connecting two friends. Other times, that problem solving translates to profits.
There are lots of problem solvers out there. They see a need and they come up with a solution. These solutions often manifest in the form of businesses. Consequently, we know many of these problem-solvers by the labels “entrepreneur” and “business owner.”
These people have a few qualities that make them stand out.
They aren’t afraid to break from the norm. They think differently and don’t just take the easy answer or the path of least hazard. They see how the puzzle pieces fit now, and how they could potentially fit if a little more effort and energy were applied.
Responsibility
I once took a personality test called “Strengths Finder 2.0” and it spat out my strengths after a lengthy survey. One was “Responsibility.”
This trait, “forces you to take psychological ownership for anything you commit to, and whether large or small, you feel emotionally bound to follow it through to completion.” The whole idea was summed up on a t-shirt I recently saw: “If not me, than who?”
Not everyone has “responsibility” as one of their top strengths. But, that doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. A personality test doesn’t determine whether or not someone should take responsibility if and when they see a problem that can be solved. We all have an inherit duty to help solve larger social issues.
Elon Musk is great. But one man isn’t going to end pollution from automobiles. That is going to require millions of people to solve that problem.
The same goes for other big problems like disease, hunger, homelessness, and even clean water.
Change Agents Wanted Needed
JaxCo Furniture takes a portion of profits and donates mattresses with those monies every month. We have cushion built into our business model to take care of our neighbors who are less fortunate than us by using the medium we’re most familiar with.
We aren’t going to end homelessness or poverty. However, we can enrich the lives of dozens (and eventually millions) of people right in our backyard who are in need of place to lay their head.
Imagine, though, what our cities would be like if every business owner, entrepreneur, and CEO did the same thing with their organization. Envision a charitable component to everyone’s balance sheet. What kind of change could we collectively make in our towns? In our cities? States? Country? All over the world?
Use the medium you’re familiar with. Your efforts will be even more impactful if there’s no waste. JaxCo uses mattresses because those are the resources we have at our disposal. We don’t have to buy them at a retail price, and then donate them. We buy them at wholesale prices so that our dollar goes farther than if we had to purchase them at full retail.
If you work at a supermarket, your medium could be food to donate to the homeless. If you work at a nursing home, you can donate your time to caregivers who need a break or simply send monies to a research foundation like the Alzheimer’s Association.
Your organization could donate the money to a non-profit who does cancer research or we could use it to help pets get adopted. The end beneficiary can be any organization or individual that you, as a business owner or entrepreneur, deem worthy of your hard-earned dollar. The point is that you give back part of what you earn. I personally think about this as my business’s monthly tithe.
I want our efforts at JaxCo to serve as a lightning rod for other business owners. I want entrepreneurs and business owners to go first. Be the social change that you wish to see around you and use the medium that fits your business.
I’d love to hear what you and your organization do for the community. Leave a comment or get in touch with me directly.
“Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.”
– Marcus Aurelius
