Pain Points. They are those areas of every business where a problem or challenge exists that is preventing or slowing down that business from getting where it wants to be. Yes pain points are in effect the very genesis of every good entrepreneurial idea. If there is a pain point, there is always a better way. If you can find that point, and come up with a solution that solves it, you’re well on your way to a successful enterprise. Finding that point can be a challenge. Learning how can be the greatest tool any entrepreneur could ever ask for.

You can come up with a great idea on your own that you may believe is the most fantastic thing since sliced bread, but if it’s solving a problem that the customer isn’t concerned about, it’s likely going nowhere, and you may well have wasted many hours and dollars coming up with a solution that no one really wants. On the flip side, if you go to your customer first and ask them what their biggest challenge is, and then go and solve it for them, you’ve got a customer ready and waiting to buy your product the moment your it comes off the shelf.

Mike Hambalek of Cranbrook, BC has figured out and mastered this art. With a host of patents and products under his belt already, his most recent venture solves a problem with a huge market, that also happens to be environmentally friendly, cost saving, and headache reducing. I connected with Mike to learn just what he’s up to, how he figured out and uses this process, and what he’s up to next.