Insights from 400+ Business Consultations
SBA Consultation Insights
Real problems. Real conversations. Patterns that repeat across hundreds of businesses.
What Business Owners Actually Ask
Since 2010, I have conducted over 400 individual consultations with business owners through the Small Business Administration and Small Business Development Centers across Texas. These are real conversations with real people facing real problems.
The business owners who come to me are not looking for textbook answers. They are stuck. Sales have stalled. Marketing isn't working. They hired someone who didn't deliver. They spent money on advertising and got nothing back. They know something is wrong but cannot pinpoint what.
What I have learned from these consultations is that the same patterns repeat. Different industries, different company sizes, different personalities. But the underlying problems show up again and again.
Why I Am Sharing This
Every consultation is confidential. I will never identify a client or share details that could reveal who they are. But the patterns themselves are too valuable to keep locked away. From those 400+ consultations, I have selected the conversations that surface the most common and most valuable patterns. Each summary below comes from a real consultation, anonymized to protect confidentiality but preserved to share what actually works.
How to Use This Section
Browse the titles below. If one sounds familiar, read it. These are not theoretical marketing frameworks. They are problems that walked into my office and the thinking I used to address them. If you see your situation reflected here, you are not alone. And there may be an approach you haven't considered.
