At its core, entrepreneurship is all about finding solutions to people’s problems. People want to live the life they dream of in their heads, but often there’s something in the way.
For instance, an individual may desire to feel more attractive and confident in their appearance but feel that their body shape hinders them from achieving this goal. In this case, a fitness class membership may provide a solution, as it can help them get in shape and feel more confident about their appearance. This person may be willing to pay a few hundred dollars and commit to a few months of classes in order to solve this problem and feel happier with themselves.
Here’s another example: someone who has recently had their third child may feel that their current car is no longer suitable for their needs, as it may be too small to comfortably transport their family on trips and outings. In this case, purchasing a larger vehicle such as a van or SUV may provide a solution, and the individual may be willing to pay tens of thousands of dollars or more to solve this problem and feel more comfortable and confident in their transportation.
I recently met a photographer, Joe Buchoff, who found a unique and innovative solution to a problem that he encountered while traveling. Joe had dropped out of college and pursued a life of freedom and entrepreneurship, and eventually found a mentor in Lithuania who hosted a retreat that Joe was eager to attend. After three months of solo travel, Joe arrived at a resort in Trakai, where he met his mentor – a millionaire in his early 20s who had made his fortune through internet marketing – and several other successful speakers.
Joe was broke and without a clear direction, but he was able to gain valuable business knowledge from these successful individuals over the course of five days of talks. However, he had no outlet to apply this knowledge, and felt that he needed to start a business in order to help others.
For the next two months, Joe stayed in hostels around the area, trying to figure out his next steps. During this time, he used dating apps such as Tinder and Bumble to try and find companionship but struggled to get noticed by potential partners. Girls would either not match with him, or they would ghost him or sometimes even attend a date or two but then make up some excuse about why they didn’t want to see him anymore.
The stress of barely being able to afford the hostel, combined with the loneliness of six months of solo travel, had taken a toll on Joe’s mental and emotional well-being. The rejections and feeling of invisibility only added to his distress.
One particular day was quite difficult. Joe went on a date that ended abruptly – the girl left right in the middle. It was one of the girls Joe thought was a sure thing – the date had gone so well. That night, Joe curled himself up in the bottom bunk of his stiff hostel mattress and cried himself to sleep. He knew that he needed to change his approach to online dating in order to turn things around.
The next day, he began taking more and better photos, and experimented with different poses and subjects. He even enlisted the help of other travelers from the hostel to take some of the pictures. Soon, he noticed that he was getting more matches, and eventually found a girl that he really liked and dated for the remainder of his trip in Latvia.
Upon returning to the United States, Joe worked with numerous friends and strangers to further develop his method. Over dozens of shoots, Joe created an easy-to-reproduce process that helped each of his clients get more matches and dates through their online dating profile photos.
He quickly turned this into a business and offered online dating profile photoshoot packages. Since then, Joe has helped over 100 guys get noticed by women through profile photoshoots in more than 20 cities.
When Joe and I spoke, this experience was vivid in his mind, and it seemed to guide him. Through his own journey, Joe was able to not just understand but to clearly see the message his mentor wanted him to know – that entrepreneurship is not about money or fame; it’s about helping people solve the problems that plague them. It’s about helping people build the life they’ve been wanting, getting them just a little – or a lot – closer to the perfect ideal they have in their mind.
If you’re curious about getting a photoshoot for yourself or just want to check out his work, check out Dating Unchained here: https://www.datingunchained.com
