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Small Business Problems and Solutions: Which to Fix First

October 3, 2026

Watch: Small business problems and solutions, which to fix first

This is the video behind the post. It walks one plumbing shop through all 3 steps, so you can see why the problem that bugs you most isn’t always the one to fix first.

The answer to small business problems and solutions is simple: fix the problem that costs you the most, not the one that annoys you the most. Fix 1, finish it, and park the rest on a list.

For most trades, the big ones are missed calls, messy invoicing, lead follow-up, and job details getting lost. The rest of this post is how to pick which one goes first.

Small business problems: why fixing them all fails

Monday, you start fixing your missed calls. Tuesday, you switch to the invoices. By Friday, you’ve started 4 fixes and finished none. And all those problems are still costing you.

You’d think the answer is to fix it all at once. But that’s the fastest way to get nowhere.

So the rule is: pick the 1 problem that costs you most, and finish it. It takes 3 steps, and they go in order.

Step 1: list your top 3

This step gets your problems out of your head and onto paper.

Think of a run to the supplier. You don’t drive there without a list.

So ask yourself 1 question: “What’s costing me the most right now?” Then write down your top 3.

If you’re stuck, start with the usual suspects. For most trades, it’s 1 of these 4:

If you did lesson 1.1 in the community, put your one thing from it on the list too. That lesson is also a post: small business systems in 3 steps.

Here’s why the list matters. You can’t compare problems that stay in your head. On paper, you can.

In the video, say Dale runs a small plumbing shop. He’s made up, but his list will sound familiar: missed calls, messy invoicing, and lead follow-up. That’s his top 3. (Step 1 in the video)

Step 2: score them by cost

This step finds the problem that’s costing you the most.

A squeaky door annoys you. A slow leak costs you. The squeak is louder, but the leak is the one draining money.

So look at your top 3, and ask 1 question about each: “What does this cost me in a month?” Count it in money, lost jobs, or hours. Then score them from 1 to 5, lowest cost to highest.

Back to Dale. Messy invoicing is the one he hates most. It bugs him every week, but it scores a 3.

Now, say missed calls cost him about $2,000 a month in jobs. That’s Dale’s example, not a rule for every shop. For Dale, it’s a 5 on his list. So missed calls come first.

Pick the one that costs you most, not the one that annoys you most.

Can’t name an exact number? A rough guess is enough. If you want a plain place to start counting the money side, the Business Development Bank of Canada has a short explainer on what cash flow is and why it matters.

That’s your first win: the problem and its number. Hold onto it. (Step 2 in the video)

Step 3: park the rest

This step stops your second problem pulling you off the first.

You don’t gut the kitchen while the bathroom’s half done.

So write your second problem on a list called Later. Dale puts messy invoicing on his Later list.

Here’s why. Parking it is part of finishing the first one. The mistake is starting another problem when the first one gets hard. The right move is finishing the first, then opening your Later list.

Parking isn’t dropping. It waits until you finish the first. And when messy invoicing does come off the list, the Canada Revenue Agency’s page on keeping records is a good check on what your invoices and receipts need to hold. (Step 3 in the video)

Why the order matters

List your top 3. Score them by cost. Park the rest.

Skip step 1, and you may miss the problem costing you the most. Skip step 2, and you fix the most annoying problem first. Skip step 3, and your second problem pulls you off the first.

Write your first win as 1 sentence

Now look at your first win and its number. Write it as 1 sentence, like Dale’s:

“Missed calls cost me about $2,000 a month. That’s what I’m fixing first.”

Use your own problem and your own number. The number gives you a reason to actually do it.

Once you have your sentence, write it up as a business problem statement in 5 lines, so someone else can help. Then the next question is how to fix it: rent a tool, or build your own way of doing it. Build vs buy software runs 2 questions on that. And if messy invoicing is your win, the quotes to invoices walkthrough shows one job going from quote to paid with no retyping.

Try it on your own business

Here’s your move for this week: write your first win as 1 sentence, with your own number in it.

If you want help with it, the full lesson and a prompt that walks you through all 3 steps on your own business, one question at a time, are free in my Skool community. It’s lesson 1.3 in Start Here.

More at thevlway.com.