2 Questions that you must Answer before starting your Business | Full Video | By Sawan Kumar #shorts

If you cannot answer the two questions before starting business, you will spend your evenings scrolling YouTube and Netflix while cursing your luck, the government, or digitization for taking your customers away. I have trained over 79,000 students across 74+ courses, and the founders who actually build something lasting are the ones who sit down and answer these two questions before they print a single business card.

Direct Answer: The Two Questions Every Founder Must Answer

Before you launch any product, service, or startup, you must be able to answer two specific questions: (1) Why should the customer buy what you are selling at all? and (2) Why should the customer buy it specifically from you instead of a competitor across the street selling the same thing cheaper? If you cannot answer both, you are stuck selling a commodity with no clear reason behind it, and the market will treat you like one.

Why Most Founders Skip These Questions

Most people start a business because they like the idea of being an entrepreneur. They register a company, build a logo, set up Instagram, and then sit back waiting for customers. When the customers do not show up, they blame technology, blame the economy, blame the government, or curse their luck.

The real reason is simpler. They never answered the two questions. They jumped straight into selling without defining demand. As a Chartered Accountant who has audited the numbers behind dozens of small businesses, I can tell you this is the single most common failure point I see.

Question 1: Why Should the Customer Buy at All?

Take a simple example from the transcript I want you to sit with: a pair of denim jeans. Why would anyone buy a new pair of denim? There is no single answer. A customer might buy because:

• The old pair is torn and unwearable.
• They just need a fresh pair to refresh their wardrobe.
• They are going on a holiday and need an extra pair.
• They are not feeling good and want to spend some money to feel better.

Four different reasons, four different customers, four different emotional triggers. Notice that price is not on the list for any of them. The customer who is sad and shopping to feel better is not comparing your jeans to the cheaper pair across the street. They are buying a mood lift. The customer going on holiday is buying convenience and timing.

If you do not know which of these four customers you are selling to, your marketing will be flat. Your messaging will try to please everyone and connect with no one. The first job is to identify the real reason someone in your category opens their wallet.

Question 2: Why Should They Buy It From You?

This is where most businesses collapse. You can have a real product solving a real problem and still lose, because the store across the road is selling the same thing at a cheaper price. So why should a customer pick you?

Your answer cannot be "because we have great quality" or "because we care about customers." Every business says that. Those answers are invisible. You need a specific, defensible reason. It could be:

• A unique fit, finish, or feature the competitor does not have.
• A specific person or expertise behind the brand the customer trusts.
• A service layer (delivery, returns, customisation, after-sales) the competitor cannot match.
• A community or identity the customer wants to belong to.
• A guarantee or risk reversal that removes the buyer's fear.

If you cannot list a specific, concrete reason in one sentence, you do not have a business yet. You have a hobby with a payment gateway.

How to Actually Sit Down and Answer These Questions

Here is the exercise I run with founders inside my coaching calls in Dubai. Take a blank page and split it into two columns.

• Left column: Write down five real human reasons someone in your category would buy a product like yours. Not market-research jargon. Real reasons. "His old one is torn." "She is going on holiday." "He just got a raise and wants to celebrate."
• Right column: For each of those five reasons, write one sentence on why your specific business is the best choice for that specific customer. Not in general, for that exact buyer.

If you cannot fill the right column for at least three of the five reasons, you have a positioning problem, not a marketing problem. No amount of ads will fix it. Go back and rework the offer until the right column writes itself.

What Happens When You Get These Two Questions Right

When you can answer both questions clearly, three things change immediately. Your sales copy gets sharper because you know who you are talking to. Your pricing gets stronger because you stop competing on price and start competing on reason. And your follow-up gets easier because every conversation has a clear hook back to the buyer's original motivation.

This is not theory. This is the same framework I have used to help students across 74+ courses build offers that actually convert, from AI consulting practices in Dubai to GoHighLevel agencies running in Kolkata. The founders who answer the two questions stop waiting for customers and start attracting them.

Closing: Your Next Step Today

The two questions before starting business are not philosophy. They are the foundation. Open a blank document right now, write down the two questions at the top, and give yourself thirty minutes to answer them in writing for your business. If your answers are vague, that is the work for this week. Fix the answers before you spend another dollar on ads, design, or inventory.