The Problem-Solution framework
Open with the problem you address; the reader self-selects in or out by the end of the first sentence.
Problem-Solution is the most reader-respectful framework. By naming the problem first, the reader can leave immediately if they do not have it, or read on with full attention if they do. This is the framework for any biography whose primary purpose is qualification: turning the right reader into a client and the wrong one into someone else's problem.
When to use it
- Consultant, agency-owner, and specialist bios.
- Therapist, coach, and practitioner bios.
- Service-business landing-page bios.
- Product-market-fit-led founder bios.
- Expert-witness and expert-author bios in niche domains.
When to avoid it
- General-purpose bios where you do not want to narrow the audience.
- Memorial bios.
- Bios where you cannot describe a problem without sounding like you are selling.
The steps
The 4-step structure
- 1Define the problem in the reader's wordsUse the language the reader uses, not the language your industry uses. The first sentence must be a sentence the reader could have written about their own situation.
- 2Position yourself in the second sentenceState what you do about that specific problem. Use the verb that names the work.
- 3Add credibility in one sentenceOne sentence of proof — scale, years, named clients, or outcomes. One only.
- 4Close with the path forwardEnd with the action the qualified reader should take.
Worked example
The framework in action
Setup
Sample subject: a security consultant specializing in healthcare.
Bio · 73 words
If your hospital's electronic health records system was last meaningfully audited more than three years ago, you have a HIPAA exposure you cannot price. Asha Bhattacharya audits and remediates that exposure for hospital systems between three-hundred and three-thousand beds. Her practice has run audits for nineteen hospital systems since 2019, with average remediation completed in under fourteen weeks. Asha is based in Atlanta and accepts new audit engagements quarterly at asha@auditreach.co.
Pitfalls
Common ways this framework fails
- Naming a problem your reader does not feel is theirs.
- Using internal jargon that gates out qualified readers.
- Including more than one problem in the first sentence — the reader cannot self-qualify.
Variants
Useful variants
Open with a single diagnostic question the reader answers in their head.
Open with the symptom rather than the underlying problem, useful where readers are not yet self-aware.
Pairs well with