5. How Can I Help?

You’re reading an excerpt of Great Founders Write, by Ben Putano, writer, entrepreneur, and book publisher. He’s the founder of Damn Gravity Media, a publishing house that inspires and educates tomorrow’s great founders. Purchase now for lifetime access to the book and on-demand video course.

The first four questions you just answered were research. Now it’s time to turn those insights into action.

Your reader is facing down villains and mountains on the way to achieving their wildest dreams. What can you do to help? Remember the lesson from Tata Motors: you are not a savior. Instead, think of yourself as a guide. You provide maps to scale mountains and swords to slay villains.

The Airbnb founders had dozens of mountains and villains to address (twice as many as a typical business, since they were building a two-sided marketplace). They had to help guests overcome the mountain of uncertainty when choosing an Airbnb. They provided professional photography as a map for each listing. Airbnb’s hosts had to face villainous guests stealing or destroying their homes. Chesky and Gebbia gave them a weapon to defend themselves in the form of damage protection.

Sandy’s villains include her own self-doubt and her mother, who guilts her into staying at her current job. As a career coach, how can you arm Sandy to take on these villains? Your weapons probably include positive self-talk exercises, scripts for having difficult conversations, and a journal for tracking her progress. Sandy’s mountains require a different form of assistance. You can help her create a map—a timeline or plan—to build new skills and reach her goal.

Go back to your list of mountains and villains from the previous step. Brainstorm different maps and swords you can provide to help your reader succeed.