FBC – 101 – How To Make A Difference In People’s Lives

How To Make A Difference In People's Lives.

Today, I am going to tell you about a beautiful transformation I saw in 2 people's lives and what you can take away from this.

So I spent the evening together with some friends, who are absolutely awesome. A lot of people will complain about their situation and say “I don't like my job and stuff. You know we all complain about something, but there is a difference between people who are actually going to do something about it and people are just going to moan.

And you have people saying “well if it was that easy everybody would do it”. But some people just like to moan. When it comes to putting in the effort to change their circumstances they're not going to do it OK. So you meet a lot of people like this with ambitions and stuff but it's just talk. They don't go to the next step.

So my friends and I met on the on a boat a year and a half ago in the Philippines. And when I told them what I do, they were really interested. And one of them keeps telling me that “dude you're my inspiration”, that I'm actually their role model. I haven’t seen the guy in like a year and a half.

And you know when he came here he was able to see in full effect and in practice, how I live and all the free time that this allows me to have, being able to spend time with them if I want to spend time with them and you know just to be able to do stuff. And he got really inspired.

So they told me that they were thinking about starting this business. And man then they did some research. Michael has a physical business in Spain, called performancebodies.com. So if you're in Spain and you need to buy cosmetics and perfumes and stuff, that's the best place to go.

So he has the warehouse, the distribution, the transport and everything. And they thought maybe we can start a business from here with some really cool stuff. So they're looking into this. And I was amazed to see how much they did in half a day because they started like yesterday you know.

How To Make A Difference In People's Lives

So that's one of those things that I admire when I see this.  I'm like wow you know because it's easy. That's the thing. Moaning and complaining about your situation is the easy path right. It's very easy to sit and just moan right. But changing your circumstance, at least trying is the key. Because you don't always succeed in changing your circumstances financially or whatever. OK.

You might try and you know it doesn't work or doesn't give you the income you were expecting. But at least you're trying this. But one thing that will always work is that psychologically and intellectually for you that work that you put in is definitely going to change your circumstances in terms of mind-set always. So I could see that their mind-set changed when we had the Spanish fiesta a few days ago.

You know if you think it's impossible then it's not going to happen. And he said “my mind-set is has gone from why, to why not?” And that was the subject of my podcast two days ago you know. And I give him a high five. I was like Dude this is awesome. Yeah but it came straight from him doesn't come from me. You know why would it be someone else? It could be me right? I mean nothing can stop you right. If you have obstacles to stuff you're just going to jump over them.

And your ability to circumvent these problems, go run them and fix them is what will give you the longevity and we'll keep you in business because some things don't change too much. And these guys are taking the challenge heads on. And it's beautiful to see.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

Related Reading

• FBC – 4 Part 1 – This is the story of my life: Success, Failure and The Hurdles.
• FBC – 3 – Escape your life of sacrifice! Don’t settle for less than your dream lifestyle.
• FBC – 8 – The Weirdest Challenge To Boost Your Confidence
• Other really cool tips that will give you an unfair advantage

Frequently Asked Questions

How does an entrepreneur make a real difference in customers' lives?

By solving a problem the customer cannot solve alone, in a way that compounds. Every transaction either takes time, money, or pain off the customer's plate or it does not. Businesses that consistently remove a real burden produce loyal customers. The rest produce one-time buyers and refund requests.

What is the difference between selling and serving in business?

Selling persuades the customer to act in your interest. Serving solves a problem in theirs. Both can be honest, but only serving compounds. Customers who feel served send referrals, write reviews, and forgive small mistakes. Customers who feel sold leave at the first competitor with a 10 percent better offer.

How do you measure whether your business is making a real difference?

Look at unsolicited feedback over 90 days. Are customers writing without being asked? Are they referring others? Are they coming back for second purchases? If those three signals are flat, the difference exists in your story but not in the customer's experience. Adjust the offer or the audience.

Can a small business make a meaningful difference at scale?

Yes. A 20-customer business that solves one expensive problem completely produces more measurable impact than a 20,000-customer business that solves a small problem partially. Concentration plus depth often beats reach plus shallowness. Most founders chase reach because it is easier to brag about than depth.

Further reading

• Freedom by Choice Podcast: background interviews and freedom-business case studies on the Freedom by Choice Podcast.
• Martin's Substack: long-form essays on building a business that runs without you on Martin's Substack.
• HubSpot Blog: sales and marketing benchmarks on the HubSpot Blog.
• Harvard Business Review: research on solo and founder-led operations from Harvard Business Review.