Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
Business Consultant · Author
Which Business Problem Should I Fix First?
Fix anything that can do serious harm in the next 30 days first. Then rate every other problem on four costs: your hours, your cash, your crew, and your customers. The one with the most high ratings goes next. The loudest problem is rarely the costliest one.
Last Updated: 10/29/2026 · Written by Dr. Paul Borosky, DBA, MBA
The Short Answer
Too Many Problems in My Business: Where Do I Start?
Start with any Red Flag. Then tag your three biggest remaining problems on hours, cash, crew, and customers. The problem with the most "high" ratings goes first. If two tie, pick the one that costs more cash.
Every owner Dr. Paul works with has more than one fire. That is normal. The mistake is fighting them all at once, or fighting whichever one is loudest today. The ringing phone feels urgent. The quiet leak in your margin costs more. You need a way to see the real cost of a problem in two minutes, standing at the counter, with the phone still ringing.
Doctor Owl sorts the week's mail into three piles: reply, file, and later. He does not answer every letter. He reads each envelope, decides its pile, and moves on. Then he writes four words across a blank index card: Hours. Cash. Crew. Customers. That card becomes the Fire Cost Tag.
Need Help Deciding Which Fire Goes First?
Step 1
What Business Problems Should I Fix Immediately?
A Red Flag is any problem that can do serious harm in the next 30 days. Red Flags go first, no matter how anything else scores.
- Payroll or a critical bill you cannot meet
- A safety problem
- A legal problem
- A key employee or key customer about to leave
- Your own health giving out
If one of these is on your list, stop reading and handle it. Everything else can wait a week. If cash is the Red Flag, a 13-week cash flow forecast shows how much time you have.
Step 2
How Do I Rank the Rest of My Business Problems?
Write down your three biggest remaining problems. Rate each one low, medium, or high in four places. This is the Fire Cost Tag.
| Where it costs you | Low | Medium | High |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hours (your time) | Under an hour a week | A few hours a week | A day or more a week |
| Cash (the money) | An annoyance | Shows up in the monthly numbers | Seriously squeezing profit |
| Crew (your team) | Some grumbling | Mistakes and low morale | Morale breaking down |
| Customers | A rare complaint | Repeat complaints or bad reviews | Customers leaving |
- 1
Count the highs
The problem with the most high ratings goes first.
- 2
Break ties with cash
If two problems have the same number of highs, start with the one rated higher on cash.
- 3
Tag your own
A "typical" rating is a starting point. Your business is not typical. Rate what it costs you.
High cash does not mean you cannot pay the bills. If you cannot, that is a Red Flag, and it already went first.
Worked Example
What Does This Look Like in a Real Business?
Take a small plumbing company. The owner checks for Red Flags and finds none. Payroll is covered and nobody is about to quit. He tags his three biggest fires:
| Fire | Hours | Cash | Crew | Customers | Highs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Every question comes to the owner | High | Medium | Medium | Medium | 1 |
| Prices have not moved in three years | Low | High | Low | Low | 1 |
| Two techs do the same job two ways | Medium | Medium | High | High | 2 |
The loudest fire is the ringing phone: every question still comes to the owner. The costliest is the inconsistent work, because it hits the crew and the customers at the same time. Two highs beats one. That fire goes first.
If his best tech had given notice that morning, that would have been a Red Flag, and it would have jumped the line.
The loudest problem always feels like the most expensive. It almost never is. Owners who rank by noise spend years fixing the phone and never fix the leak. Two minutes with four words on a card changes the order, and the order changes everything.
For Managers
How Do I Prioritize Problems at Work?
Use the same tag with your team. Put the open problems on a whiteboard and rate each one together. Two things happen. First, the crew sees the real cost, so the fix gets buy-in before it starts. Second, the owner sees the ranking came from facts, not from whoever complained the loudest.
Then take the top problem off the owner's plate and own it start to finish. For a step by step method, see how to prioritize work.
Skipping a step can sink a New York LLC. New LLCs there must publish a formation notice in newspapers picked by the county clerk. Miss it and the LLC's authority to do business is suspended. Read the New York business plan writer page.
For Business Students
What Is a Problem Prioritization Matrix?
A prioritization matrix rates each problem against a few criteria and ranks them by score. The Fire Cost Tag is a simple version with four criteria (hours, cash, crew, customers) and three levels (low, medium, high). It adds two rules a textbook matrix often leaves out: a hard override for anything urgent and serious (the Red Flag), and a tiebreaker (cash).
Compare it with the urgent and important matrix, which sorts tasks by time pressure and value. The Fire Cost Tag sorts problems by where they cost the business. Terms like Red Flag and Fire Cost Tag are defined in the glossary.
Grants for your building may exist. Chicago's Small Business Improvement Fund gives grants for permanent building improvements in eligible TIF districts. That can help when your space is the problem to fix first. See the Illinois business plan writer page.
Next Step
Is My Problem a Fire or a Foundation?
Once you know which problem goes first, ask one more question: is this a fire, or a foundation? A fire needs to be out this month. A foundation problem keeps the fire coming back. If it is both, put out today's fire, then fix what is underneath it.
Take the free 60-second Fire or Foundation self-check, then find your fire among the 14 most common small business problems.
Questions
What Else Do Owners Ask About Fixing Problems First?
Should I fix the easiest problem first?
What if every problem feels urgent?
How often should I re-rank my business problems?
Can I work on two problems at once?
Find the fire that is really costing you. Fix that one first.
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.