I’ve taken a deep-dive into learning about start-ups, the services they’re providing, and the problems they’re solving. There are companies all over the globe that have hyper-focused their efforts in solving really small problems. These niches have become their specialty. Combining the services each of these companies provides makes life far easier in general, but each problem is so small you can never master them on your own.
Solving Problems
Problems aren’t easy to fix. We all have them in our own lives, and at our jobs. A lot of problems are really hard and would require years of dedication to research and process improvement to master. Take U.S. sales tax law for example. How many people have memorized all of the codes for Federal, State, County, Municipality, and City taxes? There are a lot of tax laws!
Luckily, we have start-ups who take that task out of our hands. Instead of having to struggle with knowing tax law, we can outsource our research to a company like TaxJar or Avalara. They will calculate sales tax and file sales tax returns for us, without exorbitant fees. There are all sorts of start-ups out there solving big problems like tax law. Specializing on a small topic creates a simpler life on a whole, but specializing isn’t possible by everyone.
Specializing Creates Advantages
Since a business owner doesn’t have to fuss with sales tax returns, they have more time to do what they do best. The time that would’ve been spent futzing with state law can be used to hone their special talent. Because the economy is built up of many specialties, the sum becomes greater than the parts.
Once all of the specializations can be combined, solving problems benefits everyone. Every incremental improvement in our lives leads to a greater output for each and every one of us. Solving problems, and specializing our abilities, becomes a collective advantage for all participants and leads to a better world.