Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Consultant · Author
The 100 Fires: Common Small Business Problems Checklist
Grab a pencil. Check every problem you recognize, count the checks in each group, and the group with the most checks shows you where to start. It takes about five minutes.
Last Updated: 10/29/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
The Short Answer
What Are the Most Common Small Business Problems?
The most common small business problems fall into a handful of themes: the owner doing everything, unclear roles, inconsistent quality, knowledge stuck in one head, slipping priorities, prices behind costs, tight cash, marketing that stops and starts, and growth with no plan. Most owners have problems in three or four themes at once.
The back of Dr. Paul's book lists one hundred fires that burn in small businesses. Ranked by cost, the list is useful. Sorted by theme, it is far more useful, because an owner does not feel a ranking. An owner feels a theme.
Below is a representative checklist from each theme. The full list of 100 lives in the back of the book.
An eager assistant named Aphrie counts every fire in the forest's small businesses and ranks all one hundred to four decimal places. She is very pleased with herself. Doctor Owl thanks her, then sorts the list again by theme, and that is the version the owners actually use.
Found Your Fires? Get Help Putting Them Out.
The Checklist
Which Small Business Problems Do I Have?
Check every line that sounds like your business. Be honest. Nobody is grading this.
Owner Overload
- Every employee question comes back to you
- The business falls apart when you leave
- You keep taking back work you already handed off
People and Roles
- You remind people about the same tasks every day
- Important tasks slip because everyone assumed someone else did them
- Two people keep doing the same work
Quality and Consistency
- Everyone does the same task a different way
- You find errors only after a customer complains
- Finished work has to be redone too often
Everything in Your Head
- Only one employee knows a critical task
- Every new hire gets trained differently
- Opening and closing tasks get missed
Time and Priorities
- Deadlines slip on jobs that looked manageable
- Last-minute changes wreck everyone's schedule
- Too many jobs start and too few finish
Pricing and Profit
- You price jobs by guessing or copying competitors
- Sales grow but profit does not
- Customers keep asking for extras without paying more
Cash and Money
- Payroll week is always a scramble
- Yearly bills keep surprising you
- Business and personal spending are mixed together
Sales and Marketing
- Marketing stops the moment you get busy
- You lean too hard on one customer or referral source
- You attract customers who are a poor fit
Planning and Growth
- You have goals, but nobody knows what to do this week
- New projects launch before old ones finish
- Problems get solved, then slide back
Scoring
How Do I Know Which Problem to Fix First?
- 1
Count your checks by group
The group with the most checks is your hottest theme.
- 2
Look for serious problems first
Anything that can do serious harm in the next 30 days jumps the line: payroll you cannot meet, a safety or legal problem, a key person about to leave, or your own health.
- 3
Tag your top three fires
Rate each one low, medium, or high on hours, cash, crew, and customers. The one with the most highs goes first.
- 4
Start with one fix
Follow the link on that group's card to its fire on the pillar page.
Worked Example
What Does a Scored Checklist Look Like?
A small landscaping company works through the checklist. Here is how the owner's checks land:
| Theme | Checks | Result |
|---|---|---|
| Owner Overload | 3 of 3 | Hottest theme |
| Cash and Money | 2 of 3 | Second |
| Time and Priorities | 2 of 3 | Tie for second |
| Pricing and Profit | 1 of 3 | Watch it |
| All other themes | 0 or 1 each | Leave for now |
Total checks: 3 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 8 across the top four themes. Owner Overload wins with 3. But before acting, the owner checks for serious problems and finds one: payroll is due Friday and the account is short. That jumps the line. Cash goes first this week, and Owner Overload goes first next week.
That is the whole method. Count, check for serious problems, tag the top three, start with one.
"It is just a busy season." Dr. Paul hears that sentence from worn-out owners more than any other, and it rarely is. A busy season ends. A system problem does not. If you checked boxes in several themes, that is not bad luck. It is a signal to stop fighting fires one at a time and build the foundation underneath them.
For Managers
What Are the Most Common Team Management Problems?
For managers, the People and Roles and Quality and Consistency groups usually light up first: repeated reminders, tasks nobody owns, everyone doing the same job a different way. Run the checklist with your crew leads and compare answers. Where you disagree with the owner is where the real problem hides.
The fix for most team problems starts with clear ownership. See what organizational structure is and how to write standard operating procedures.
Kentucky requires most entities other than sole proprietorships to file an annual report with the Secretary of State or risk administrative dissolution. Put that deadline on your checklist and see planning a business for Kentucky.
For Business Students
What Are the Biggest Challenges in Small Business Management?
Studied as a list, the 100 fires map neatly onto the classic functions of management: organizing (roles, ownership, written procedures), planning (priorities, pricing, cash, growth), leading (delegation and training), and controlling (quality checks, scorecards, monthly reviews). Most small firm problems are not mysterious. They are the same handful of gaps showing up in different clothes.
Some business problems signal real trouble. Dr. Paul sorts the warning signs in is your Spring Hill business in trouble.
Owners are not alone in feeling them. In the Federal Reserve's survey of more than 7,600 small employer firms, 75 percent named rising costs as a financial challenge and 51 percent named uneven cash flow.
Source: Federal Reserve Banks, 2025 Report on Employer Firms.
South Carolina routes Secretary of State registration and many local and professional license applications through a single state business portal. Dr. Paul covers the rest on Dr. Paul's South Carolina page.
Next Step
What Should I Do After I Finish the Checklist?
Take the free 60-second fire or foundation self-check, tag your top three, and start with the one that costs the most. Then read the matching fire on the guide to the 14 most common small business problems.
Terms like Fire Cost Tag and Red Flag are defined in the glossary.
Questions
What Else Do Owners Ask About Common Business Problems?
Is it normal to check a lot of boxes?
Should I try to fix every problem I checked?
Where is the full list of 100 problems?
What if several themes are burning at once?
Check your fires. Fix the one that costs you most.
Get the Book →Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA, business consultant, strategic planner, and business plan writer with 14+ years and 1,000+ businesses served.
This page is for general educational purposes only. It is not legal, financial, or other professional advice.