As a Small Business Owner, What’s Your Biggest Problem?

I take every possible opportunity to speak with owners of very small businesses, and even after thousands of such conversations, I almost always learn something new. Sure, there are recurring themes – problems with profitability, cash flow, and access to capital – but one thing always stands out: there’s always a new “biggest problem”.

Once you think about it, it makes sense. When you start a business, you have one set of problems. When you solve them, you find a new set of problems.

Let’s re-frame the question. What is your biggest problem today?

If you’re like the owners of most small businesses, your biggest problem today is part of a cycle: getting customers, fulfilling orders, managing cash flow, and then finding more new customers.
And, if you’re completing this cycle successfully, you move on to another level of “biggest problems” that are more strategic in nature: extending your marketing reach, expanding your customer base, growing your fulfillment capacity, or attracting new capital for growth.

Of course, you face tactical challenges as well; positioning yourself to best compete in your marketplace, refining your messaging, better leveraging your web site – or even just establishing your first web presence.

Whatever it is, you can’t fix it until you’ve identified it. What is your biggest problem today?