This book reveals the 25 most common reasons why companies get stuck and how to fix them. Case studies also illustrate success stories. There is no need to read this book sequentially. There may even be some repetition in the topics because small business owners tend to approach the same problems from slightly different angles. Pick the topic or particular symptom that most closely matches what you and your company are going through right now. That is always the best place to start.

1. You Treat Your Business like it’s a Job

You are so desperate to earn enough money to support your family this month that you don’t make any future investments that would result in building a stronger business. As a result, you say yes too quickly to what customers want you to do for them. Your business has drifted from your originally focused mission, and you are not sure where it is headed.

2. You Think Your Latest Successful Windfall Will Last Forever

Once financial success comes, you think you have found the magic formula and you have the “Midas Touch.” You feel you will never fail again, and you start to believe your own press. You begin to surround yourself with “yes” people who tell you how great you are no matter what happens.

3. You Think Someone Is Coming to Save You

You are desperate for that magic bullet. You keep thinking the next employee or big customer will turn around your business. You keep looking for the white knight to ride into town to make everything OK.

4. You Let Today’s “Emergencies” Dictate Your Plan

You start your day by checking Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter. Your daily plan falls apart 15 minutes after arriving at the office. You are addicted to multitasking and constantly let yourself be interrupted by people and electronic notifications. You think that by juggling multiple balls in the air, you will be more productive.

5. You Never Take a Break or a Vacation from Work

You have a fear of falling behind or missing an opportunity. You let technology invade every part of your life. You measure success by being busy, not productive.

6. You Take Dangerous Risks Instead of Calculated Actions

You think success is about taking gigantic risks, so you waste your resources by jumping in without first testing the water. You take courses of action that satisfy your ego but don’t help your business.

7. You Think the Only Alternative to Success Is Failure

You are afraid of being a failure, so you don’t know when to quit or admit it’s over. You stop taking risks. And as a result, you keep going, despite increasingly low chances of success.

8. Your Customers Can’t Find You

You are marketing where customers can’t find you when they are looking to buy. Your business never gets into the “maybe pile” and, therefore, never has a chance of getting chosen.

9. Your Fear of Rejection Stops You from Selling

You are afraid of the word “no.” You think that when they reject your product or service, they are rejecting you personally. This prevents you from spending the necessary time doing sales and marketing.

10. You Keep Calling People Who Don’t Respond

You keep calling or emailing big customer opportunities that never reply. You hold onto the idea that they may still be interested if you bug them enough. This prevents you from talking to other prospects that may be interested.

11. You Stop Marketing as Soon as Your Revenue Increases

That is, you only market when you have no revenue, but as soon as you get customers again, you stop marketing. This keeps the sales in your business flat.

12. You Are Always Selling Product Features

Your product is superior in every way to the competition, yet you only tout your product’s features instead of its benefits. With the internet, prospects can research your features on their own. You are not giving them what they really want—value.

13. You Are Selling a Product That Can be Purchased Cheaper Elsewhere

You think your product is unique and that if you build it, people will come because of how incredible it is. Unfortunately, your product has become a commodity without any real value, so customers buy it cheaper elsewhere. You cut your prices, but it is becoming difficult to stay profitable.

14. You Go On Social Media Sites without a Strategy

You think you don’t need a strategy, and besides, surfing social media is a lot of fun! You become more interested in gossip than helping business prospects. You think the sole purpose of social media is to sell your products.

15. You Hate Your Customers (and Maybe Even Your Employees or Vendors)

It’s hard to admit, but you really hate your customers. You think they are whiners and are always impossible to please. Come to think of it, this is exactly the way you feel about your employees and vendors.

16. You Only Hire Employees Who Are Weaker Than You

You are afraid of people knowing more than you or making you look bad to your peers, vendors, or customers. As an “A” Player, you only hire “B or C” players in supporting roles. You continue to use a hub-and spoke organization where all important decisions come through you.

17. You Allow Lousy Employees (and Customers) to Overstay Their Welcome

You don’t fire employees, even though everyone knows they are doing a bad job and hurting the company. You can’t admit you made a mistake, for fear of the repercussions if you actually let them go.

18. You Hire for Skills, not Attitude

You are in a rush to hire anyone to fill a job. You only ask questions about skills and past experience in the interview process. You never discuss their career goals or how they fit into the company.

19. You Are Always Telling Employees What to Do Because You’re the Boss

You think being the boss means ordering people around and threatening them if it does not get done. This is the way it was done at your last company, and it seemed to work well enough.

20. You Think Customer Service Is a Cost Center

You are so busy bringing customers in the front door, you leave the back door wide open for them to leave. You spend all your resources on attracting new customers and don’t focus on keeping the ones you have.

21. You Never Ask for Help

You believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness. You think that small business ownership is a solo sport. You are the biggest “I” in “team.”

 22. You Allow Personal Use of Smartphones on the Job

You do not have any rules in place, and you do not monitor their usage. You can’t help think that this activity keeps them distracted from effectively doing their jobs.

 23. You Don’t Know How to Read Your Financial Statements

You never review them or ask for help to understand what they mean for your business. You believe the numbers that are in your head, rather than the ones on paper. As a result, you make all business decisions blindly. This leads you to borrowing and spending money based on expected results, which gets you into debt.

24. You Think Business Is About Growing Sales

You are so focused on growth and the sales top line (and want to brag about it), that you forget all the other financial measurements. As a result, you never seem to have enough cash to run your company.

25. Your Fixed Overhead Costs Are Too High

You either didn’t forecast your sales and expenses correctly, or you let your ego control the checkbook. You don’t know the difference between fixed and variable costs.

Why are you stuck?

Fix One Today! Buy Now!