DAVE RAMSEY'S THOUGHTS ON SMALL BUSINESS "PAIN POINTS" IN THE STARTUP PHASE

 Dave Ramsey, in his excellent new book, "Build a Business You Love" did an excellent job of identifying the different stages in the life of a small business, along with frustrations ("pain points") found in each stage.

In Stage 1, or the Startup phase of a business, what Ramsey refers to as the "Treadmill Operator", he identifies:

      SIGNS OF BEING IN THE "TREADMILL OPERATOR" stage: 

*The business owner is working "in the business" way more than he is working           "on the business."

*The entrepreneur can't take time off because no business would get done and   because he would not make any money.

*The business owner is at risk of "burnout", physically and emotionally.

   "PAIN POINTS" IN THE TREADMILL OPERATOR stage are:

*The business owner doesn't have time to grow his/her business.

*A feeling of being "trapped" by the business.

*Business stops when the business owner stops so taking a vacation is difficult.

While I agree that these are common signs and "pain points" in the startup phase of a business, we at O'Hara Business Strategies, LLC. can help address these issues with savvy, strategically-based, and cost and time-effective business coaching, and other services.

*Used under the Fair Use Rules of the U.S. Copyright Law and also in accordance with the book's allowance for "...brief quotations in critical reviews or articles..."

COMMON SMALL BUSINESS "PAIN POINTS"

Common small business pain points include, per Grok AI:

1. Cash Flow Management: Difficulty maintaining consistent cash flow due to delayed payments, high expenses, or unpredictable revenue.
2. Customer Acquisition and Retention: Challenges in attracting new customers and keeping existing ones, often due to limited marketing budgets or competition.
3. Time Management: Owners juggling multiple roles, leading to inefficiencies and burnout.
4. Hiring and Retaining Talent: Finding skilled employees and keeping them, especially with limited budgets for salaries and benefits.
5. Marketing and Visibility: Struggling to stand out in crowded markets or effectively use digital marketing tools.
6. Technology Adoption: Keeping up with new tools or software, often due to cost or lack of expertise.
7. Compliance and Regulations: Navigating complex legal, tax, or industry-specific regulations.
8. Inventory Management: Balancing stock levels to avoid overstocking or shortages, especially for retail or product-based businesses.
9. Scaling Operations: Difficulty growing without compromising quality or overstretching resources.
10. Access to Funding: Securing loans or investment to start or expand, often due to strict lending criteria or lack of credit history.

These challenges vary by industry and location but are widely reported across small businesses.

Additionally, a sample of some other specific "pain points", I have observed, consistent with the above-noted "pain points" include:

• Bank CEO reports dealing with federal government regulators, especially in the former Biden Administration, that are not sympathetic to the need for profits and growth.
• Coin dealer reports that the POS (Point-of-Sale) system is glitchy, doesn't work as stated.
• Roof repair franchise reports having to pay excessive fees (up to $2000 a week) for franchise marketing and referral fees, including having to pay for referrals that are unreachable by phone, text, or email. Additionally, not being informed about former franchisees' failures and why they occurred.
• Roofers are reporting unpredictable weather that irritates customers, and customers are unwilling to provide references due to privacy concerns.
• Sometimes, customer acquisition becomes "selective" in the case of Wal-Mart, Target, and other large retailers (and most likely small retailers), choose to close inner-city stores due to theft and safety concerns. Or, liability concerns about reckless or criminal customers cause a "re-think" of store layouts. A convenience store on a Montana Indian reservation allows customers to enter only a small "foyer area," where they ring a bell, and the store owner or manager then selects the desired products. A small-town Montana tavern posts a list of "bad check" writers on its street "reader board," while another small-town grocer posts a list of "banned people" prominently at the front of the store, like a modern-day "scarlet letter."

MCKINSEY REPORT OFFERS INSIGHT INTO SMALL BUSINESS "PAIN POINTS"

 NOTE: O'Hara Business Strategies, LLC. does not necessarily agree entirely with McKinsey's recommendations or conclusions for small businesses or what they term, MSMEs. O'Hara Business Strategies, LLC. also asserts that developing systems and processes (as noted in the book, "The E-Myth") can help small businesses succeed, as well as using the expertise of strategy-focused consulting firms like O'Hara Business Strategies, LLC! Additionally, sometimes staying small is a choice for small business owners; productivity gains and growth can be achieved by using independent contractors instead of additional employees. In short, McKinsey is focused on large corporations and its perspective can be "out of touch" for MSMEs.! Statist instead of being entrepreneurial!

McKinsey research on small business pain points?

Major global consulting firm, McKinsey & Company offered the following findings on small business pain points:

McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) has conducted extensive research on micro-, small-, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs), highlighting their critical role in global economies while identifying persistent challenges that hinder their growth and productivity. A key 2024 report, America's Small Businesses: Time to Think Big, analyzes U.S. MSMEs (defined as firms with up to 500 employees), which comprise 99.9% of all American companies, employ nearly 60% of the workforce, and contribute about 40% to national value-added output.

Despite this, MSMEs face a significant "productivity gap," operating at roughly half the productivity level of large firms—a disparity more pronounced in the U.S. than in other advanced economies, where small firms achieve about 60% of large-firm productivity.

This gap stems from structural barriers that limit scale, innovation, and efficiency. A companion MGI analysis, A Microscope on Small Businesses: Spotting Opportunities to Boost Productivity (also 2024), uses granular data from 17 countries to examine nonfarm MSMEs globally, revealing similar issues. It notes that while MSMEs drive job creation and innovation, their productivity lags due to fragmented ecosystems and uneven access to resources.

Below, I summarize the primary pain points identified in these reports, drawing directly from McKinsey's findings, along with targeted recommendations. Key Pain Points for Small Businesses McKinsey's research emphasizes that challenges vary by subsector (e.g., retail vs. manufacturing) and geography, but common themes emerge. These are often interconnected, creating a cycle of low growth and vulnerability.

 

MCKINSEY-IDENTIFIED "PAIN POINTS"

A) Low Productivity and Scale Barriers - MSMEs struggle to grow beyond micro-size (under 10 employees).

B) Limited Access to Technology and Digital Tools - Small firms under-adopt automation, AI, and digital platforms, missing efficiency gains.

C) Talent and Human Capital Shortages - Difficulty attracting/retaining skilled workers, especially in specialized roles, hampers operations and growth.

D) Finance and Funding Constraints - McKinsey reports that, in Israel, SME credit grew 61% vs. 16% for large firms (2010s), yet gaps persist; U.S. MSMEs rely heavily on personal savings or debt.

E) Weak Market Access and Networks - Isolation from supply chains, customers, and ecosystems limit sales and knowledge sharing.

F) Regulatory and Policy Hurdles - Broad policies fail to address granular needs, like incentives for tech adoption or subsector support. U.S. MSMEs need tailored measures; Singapore's GoBusiness model shows how incentives can boost tech uptake.

Recommendations from McKinsey to address these, McKinsey advocates a "think big" mindset, urging MSMEs to leverage ecosystems and policy support: 

A) Build Networks: Foster ties between large firms (for mentorship/supply chains) and small ones (for innovation). Examples include Sacramento's ag-tech cluster, where nonprofits like AgStart provide labs and funding to over 20 startups.

B) Adopt Technology Strategically: Use incentives (e.g., grants) to integrate digital tools, focusing on high-impact subsectors like manufacturing. 

C) Enhance Human Capital: Invest in training and clusters to attract talent; policy makers should promote minority-owned business ecosystems. 

D) Tailor Policies: Shift from broad measures to subsector/geography-specific interventions, like India's focus on the "missing middle."

E) Scale via Acquisitions/Partnerships: Large firms can acquire MSMEs for mutual gains, as seen in U.S. clusters like High Point furniture.

These insights underscore that closing the productivity gap could add trillions to global GDP, with U.S. MSMEs alone potentially boosting output by 30-50% through targeted action.

SOURCE: MCKINSEY.COM

STRATEGIC TREND TO FOLLOW...THE THREAT TO FREE SPEECH!

POST UPDATE!!! More clear, troubling evidence, of the threats to free speech in the USA.........

On September 10, 2025, Charlie Kirk, American conservative icon, was fatally shot while addressing an audience on the campus of Utah Valley University (UVU) in Orem, Utah, United States. The alleged shooter, Tyler Robinson--reportedly in a homosexual relationship with another man who believed he was transitioning to be a woman-- reportedly disagreed strongly with Charlie Kirk's conservative views! 

Widespread despicable glee and happiness followed Kirk's assassination. Far-Left, Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omarr spewed her typical venomous hatred and was joined by neo-Marxist teachers and professors, as well as radical homosexuals and transgenders like former CNN personality, Don Lemon, and other extreme Leftist purveyors of hate and malice!

PRIOR TO THAT SAD EVENT:

 Jonathan Turley, distinguished Law professor and constitutional attorney, has authored a book, "Indispensable Right, Free Speech In An Age of Rage" that looks to be an intriguing, thought-provoking, and timely read! 

The Wall Street Journal says this about his book:

"Mr. Turley has written a learned and bracing book, rigorously detailed and unfailingly evenhanded.  For all his grim recounting of the assaults on free speech, his is ultimately a buoyant book."

Threats to free speech in Europe and elsewhere are growing, with some current examples:

Again, Turley in another recent X tweet, commented on threats against comedians:

"In the anti-free speech community, the most intolerable form of speech seems to be humor. Comedians have been charged in countries ranging from France to Germany to Brazil to Turkey to Canada for insulting jokes..."

In the United Kingdom, the recent arrest of TV writer Graham Linehan--not even a British citizen per Grok AI--after arriving at Heathrow airport in London, by five armed officers, from Phoenix, AZ, over transgender issues in female-only spaces, is another well-publicized example. (Source: nbcnews.com)

Also, recently in Germany, the conservative AfD (Alternative for Deutschland) Party, which has been monitored by the German government, has had seven candidates die within weeks (Source: Washington Examiner) in a lead-up to local elections. AfD co-leader Alice Wendel prompted reasonable speculation and hinted at foul play when she reposted economist Stefan HOmburg's comment that the number of candidate deaths was "statistically impossible," the BBC reported. (Source: New York Post). To be a bit more provocative and practicing free speech, this sounds like how Hitler dealt with Communists and opposition leaders in 1930s Germany, including the infamous Reichstag fire. Hmmm...who is the true threat to democracy in Germany today?

Meanwhile, back here in the USA, Health & Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., testified this week before a Senate Committee and was blasted by Democrats and even a few Republicans...Again, Jonathan Turley tweeted on X:

"Watching the Senate Finance Committee hearing with Secretary Kennedy borders on the bizarre. Senators are pummeling Kennedy with questions and not allowing him to give answers. There was a time when hearings had the quaint purpose of actually eliciting answers and information..."

Finally, in the wake of the mass shooting in Minneapolis carried out by a transgender person on August 27. 2025, who was born a male and named Robert Westman, it has been revealed that he had a tumultuous personal life (according to a Fox News article dated 9/3/25), significant mental health issues, and a malevolent mindset fixated on the notion of harming children. He also harbored animosity towards Christians, Jews, and President Trump, which may have been intensified by his delusional decision to identify as a woman. The dominant narrative from the mainstream media and Democratic Party leaders appears to focus on attacking gun rights (a constitutional privilege) rather than addressing the malevolent actions of the shooter and/or considering the prohibition of transgender grooming and pressure campaigns against parents in public schools. Westman's mother signed off on the name change to "Robin", with court documents indicating Westman "identifies as female and wishes her (actually his) name to reflect that identity." The whole transgender issue effectively requires society to join in with the lie that someone can "identify" as one sex while they were created by God as another, the ultimate attack on free speech.

These are just a few examples the past few weeks or so that illustrate the threats to free speech around the world are increasing! The source of the threats are groups that are at odds with the truth, like transgenders, homosexuals, Muslims, illegal immigrants, Leftist politicians, and their supporters, who label the truth dishonestly as hate since the truth exposes their evil!