The 11 pains that keep business owners stuck

How the book is organised

Each chapter takes one pain, explains why it happens, shows what it costs with a worked example, gives you a two-minute self-check, and points to the part of the framework that fixes it. The chapters run in order, because in most businesses each pain feeds the next. If one is shouting louder than the others, start there.

The chapters

1. Lost in accounting and admin

   Invoices, receipts, VAT, payroll, chasing payments.

   Fixed by: Weekly Dials, Weekly Table, Fit Check

2. No time for sales and operations

   Sales and operations are the two engines that grow a business.

   Fixed by: Quarter Commitments, Weekly Table, Weekly Dials

3. Can’t step away

   Two weeks off sounds simple.

   Fixed by: Weekly Dials, Fit Check, Weekly Table

4. Not knowing where you stand until year end

   The annual accounts tell you how last year went, usually several months after it ended.

   Fixed by: Weekly Dials, Year Map, Money Engine

5. Rising costs, flat prices

   Wages go up every year.

   Fixed by: Money Engine, Weekly Dials, Quarter Day, Year Map

6. Cash flow that keeps surprising you

   Profit is an opinion about the year.

   Fixed by: Weekly Dials, Money Engine, Year Map

7. Debtors that keep growing

   Every invoice paid late is an interest-free loan from you to your customer.

   Fixed by: Weekly Dials, Weekly Table, Money Engine

8. The bank says no

   You know the business is sound.

   Fixed by: Year Map, Weekly Dials, Money Engine

9. Finding and keeping good people

   Finding staff is the concern Maltese SMEs raise most, survey after survey.

   Fixed by: Fit Check, Weekly Dials, Quarter Commitments

10. No structure to run the business

    Most owners have a plan in January.

    Fixed by: Year Map, Quarter Commitments, Weekly Table, Quarter Day

11. Hitting a ceiling

    Revenue grew for years, then it stopped, or it kept growing while profit did not.

    Fixed by: Money Engine, Year Map, Fit Check, Quarter Day

The map: which tool fixes which pain

Read across to see which parts of the framework work on each pain. Read down to see how much one tool carries. The Weekly Dials appear almost everywhere, which is why they are usually where the work starts.