Answer a few honest questions about the business. In about five 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, about five 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?
Calculated from actual costs plus a target profit margin
Based on what competitors or the market charges
By feel. What seems reasonable or what clients will pay
Inherited rates that haven't been formally reviewed
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 track it monthly and it holds steady
I track it, and it's been slipping the last year or two
It's always run tight; a cost increase hurts fast
I don't track gross margin separately
3. How does the business collect payment?
Upfront or at point of sale. Payment before or when work is done
Net-30 or similar terms. Invoiced after delivery, paid later
Slow. Invoices go out but payment often takes longer than it should
Always chasing. Significant time spent following up on unpaid invoices
4. In a normal month, how does cash line up against what you owe?
Cash is there when the bills and payroll come due
It's often a timing squeeze; money's coming, just not always when I need it
It's tight most months; I'm often on credit or scrambling to cover payroll
Profitable on paper, but the cash never seems to actually be there
Section 3 of 7
Customers
How well the business attracts, converts, and keeps customers.
5. If you needed three new customers next month, what would you actually do?
Run the acquisition process I already have; it reliably produces them
Ask for referrals and put the word out; it works, but it's word of mouth
Push harder and hope; some months it lands, some it doesn't
Honestly, I'm not sure I could reliably get three
6. When a customer doesn't come back, what usually happens?
It's rare; most stick around, renew, or refer someone
Some come back, but nothing's in place to make sure they do
It happens a lot; I'm constantly replacing customers who leave
It's one-and-done by nature; the offer isn't built for repeat business
7. When a prospect asks "why you over the competition?", what's the honest answer?
There's a clear reason they pick us, and demand outstrips what we can take
Mostly that we're cheaper
Nothing that really separates us; we blend in with everyone else
Fewer people are even looking for what we do lately
The people we chase often don't have the budget or urgency to buy
8. How concentrated is the customer base?
Healthy spread. No single customer accounts for more than 20% of revenue
Some concentration. One or two clients are larger than ideal but manageable
High concentration. One client makes up 30% or more of total revenue
Dangerously concentrated. One client could end the business if they left
Section 4 of 7
Operations & delivery
How the business actually delivers its product or service, and whether that's working.
9. If demand doubled next month, what would happen?
We could take most of it on without adding much
We couldn't; we're already at or near full capacity
One step or person would jam up and hold everything back
Hard to say; we already swing between too busy and too slow
10. How does the actual work move through the business day to day?
Smoothly; clear processes, things don't get stuck
Mostly fine, with a few spots that regularly slow down
The same bottlenecks keep coming back and creating rework
It's ad hoc; no consistent process, we improvise
11. How consistent is what you deliver, no matter who does the work?
Consistent; it matches or beats what was promised, every time
It depends who's doing it; quality swings person to person
Rework, complaints, or refunds come up regularly
I don't really have a way to measure it
12. How does the business keep track of scheduling, billing, and customer info?
Real systems handle it: scheduling, billing, CRM, operations
Some tools, but gaps that still need manual work
Mostly memory, spreadsheets, or paper
The tools exist, but the team doesn't actually use them
Section 5 of 7
People & leadership
Staffing, team health, and whether leadership is helping or hindering growth.
13. Where does the team stand against what the work actually needs?
Right people, right skills, enough capacity for now
Not enough hands to meet demand or hold quality
Enough people, but not the skills the business needs
People keep leaving; I'm always hiring and retraining
14. In a normal week, how many decisions wait on the owner?
Few; the team owns their calls and things keep moving without me
Most things are delegated, but the big decisions still route through me
Most things need my sign-off or involvement before they move
Just about everything; nothing really happens without me
15. What happens to the business if the owner steps away for 30 days?
It runs fine. The team handles operations, sales, and client relationships without issue
It slows down but survives. Some things get delayed but the business stays intact
Major problems. Key relationships, decisions, or delivery depend on the owner personally
It effectively stops. Revenue and operations depend entirely on the owner being present
16. When something goes wrong, how does the team handle it?
They own it, fix it, and hold each other accountable
Decent, but accountability is hit or miss
It tends to slide; the team isn't really bought into the vision
There's conflict, blame, or politics that drags on performance
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.
17. What numbers do you actually look at to know if the business is healthy?
A clear set of KPIs I check weekly or monthly, and I act on them
A few numbers, but with gaps, or only after the fact
Not really; I mostly go on gut feel
Plenty of numbers, but it's activity, not the outcomes that matter
18. Does it cost less to get a customer than they are worth?
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. What customers pay over time clearly outweighs what it costs to win and serve them
Tight. Customers are profitable but it takes a long time to break even on each one
No. The cost of winning and serving customers often eats into or exceeds what they pay
Not sure. Never calculated what it actually costs to acquire or serve a customer
Section 7 of 7
Sales process
The last section. How the business converts leads into paying customers.
19. After someone shows interest, what happens next?
A consistent follow-up process with a solid close rate
It gets closed sometimes, but it depends who's handling it
Follow-up is spotty; leads slip through the cracks
There's no real process; sales happen by accident
Your diagnosis is ready
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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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