Answer a few honest questions about the business. In about ten minutes, the pre-screen shows you where your structure is under pressure and what that is putting at risk, so you know what deserves a closer look before you spend on the fix.
Free, and about ten minutes. A few honest questions about how the business actually runs.
Honest in, honest out. Every question asks what really happens, not how you'd grade yourself.
Section 1 of 70%
Section 1 of 7
Business basics
Start with a quick snapshot of the business. This context shapes how the rest of the answers are interpreted.
Section 2 of 7
Money & margins
These questions cover how the business prices, collects, and whether the numbers actually work.
1. How does the business set its prices?
I could show you the cost breakdown behind my price right now
I priced off what others around me charge
It's what felt reasonable at the time
They're the rates I started with and haven't revisited
2. Off the top of your head, do you know your gross margin on your main service?
Gross margin = revenue minus direct costs of delivering the product or service.
I could tell you this month's number without looking it up
I know it, and it has been slipping
I know it, and it has always run tight
I would have to work it out
3. How does the business collect payment?
Paid before or as the work is done, every time
Invoiced after, on terms, and it mostly arrives when it should
It arrives later than the terms say more often than not
I spend real time most months chasing invoices
4. In a normal month, how does cash line up against what you owe?
The money has been there every time payroll and bills came due this year
It works out, but there are weeks I am watching the balance
I have used credit or moved money around to cover it more than once this year
The books say we made money and the account does not show it
5. Of the money you expect next month, how much is already committed? Signed, booked or on a retainer.
Most of it is already signed, booked or on a retainer
Around half; the rest I still have to go and win
A little; most months start close to empty
Nothing is committed; every month starts from zero
I would have to check
Section 3 of 7
Customers
How well the business attracts, converts, and keeps customers.
6. If you needed three new customers next month, what would you actually do?
Run the same process that brought in the last few, because it works
Ask around and hope word of mouth does it
Push harder and see; some months it lands
Honestly, I am not sure I could get three
7. When a customer doesn't come back, what usually happens?
Most of the customers I had a year ago are still here
Some come back, but nothing in the business makes sure they do
I am replacing customers about as fast as I win them
It is one and done by nature; there is nothing to come back for
8. When a prospect asks "why you over the competition?", what's the honest answer?
There is a specific reason they pick us and I can say it in one sentence
Mostly that we cost less
Nothing that really separates us
Fewer people seem to be looking for what we do
The people I chase often cannot afford it or are in no hurry
9. How concentrated is the customer base?
No single customer is more than about a tenth of the income
One or two are bigger than I would like
One customer is around a third or more
Losing one customer would end this
Section 4 of 7
Operations & delivery
How the business actually delivers its product or service, and whether that's working.
10. If demand doubled next month, what would happen?
We could take most of it on without adding people
We could not; we are full as it is
One person or one step would jam and hold up everything behind it
Hard to say; we already swing between flat out and too quiet
11. How does the actual work move through the business day to day?
The same way every time, and I could describe the steps to you now
Mostly settled, with a few places that always slow down
The same jams keep coming back and creating rework
We work it out as we go
12. How consistent is what you deliver, no matter who does the work?
The same whoever does it, and I could show you how we know that
It depends who is doing it
Rework or complaints come up regularly
I have no real way to tell
13. How does the business keep track of scheduling, billing, and customer info?
Real systems, and the team genuinely works out of them
Some tools, with gaps we still fill by hand
Mostly memory, spreadsheets or paper
We pay for tools the team does not really use
Section 5 of 7
People & leadership
Staffing, team health, and whether leadership is helping or hindering growth.
14. Where does the team stand against what the work actually needs?
The right people, and enough of them for the work in front of us
Not enough hands for the work coming in
Enough people, but not the skills the work needs
People keep leaving; I am always hiring
15. Besides you, how many people could do the most important part of the work to your standard?
Two or more could do it properly
One other person could
Nobody could, but it is written down well enough to follow
Nobody could, and it is all in my head
16. In a normal week, how many decisions wait on the owner?
None that I can think of from last week
Once or twice; the bigger ones still come to me
Most days something was waiting on me
Nothing really moves until I say so
17. If you had to step back for two months, what happens to the revenue?
It keeps running; someone else holds the customer relationships
It slows down but holds together; things wait for me
The relationships and the decisions are mine, so it would hurt badly
Revenue would stop, because what they are really buying is me
Section 6 of 7
Visibility & unit economics
Whether the business can see what's happening, and whether the numbers work at a per-customer level.
18. Could you open last month’s numbers right now and trust what you saw?
Yes, they are current and reconciled
Mostly, though they are a little behind
No, they would need catching up first
Business and personal money still run through the same account
19. What numbers do you actually look at to know if the business is healthy?
A short list I look at every week and actually act on
A few numbers, usually after the fact
I go on how it feels
Plenty of numbers, but they are activity rather than results
20. Is a customer worth more than it costs you to win them?
Think about what you spend in time, marketing, and sales effort to win one client, vs. what that client actually pays you over time.
Yes, and I could tell you roughly what one costs to win
Just about, though it takes a long time to get there
No, winning and serving them eats most of what they pay
I have never worked out what it costs to win one
Section 7 of 7
Sales process
The last section. How the business converts leads into paying customers.
21. After someone shows interest, what happens next?
The same follow-up happens every time, and I know roughly how many close
It gets closed sometimes; it depends who picks it up
Follow-up is patchy and leads go cold
There is no process; the ones that close mostly close themselves
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This tool provides a structural diagnostic read based on your answers. It is not financial, legal, or business consulting advice. Use it as a starting point for deeper conversation, not a final verdict.
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