Running a Small Business Can Be Lonely. Who Helps You Make the Difficult Decisions?
You may have customers, suppliers, colleagues and family around you. Yet when an important business decision has to be made, the responsibility often rests with you alone.
Let’s explore why this happens, how to think through difficult decisions and when an independent perspective can help.
The Lonely Side of Running a Business
Starting a small business often begins with excitement. You have an idea, a product or service and the determination to build something of your own.
But running a business means making decisions. Some are straightforward. Others affect your income, customers, employees, family and future.
You may need to decide whether to raise prices, employ someone, enter a new market, invest in equipment or stop offering an unprofitable service.
The difficulty is not always that you lack information. Often, you lack an independent person who understands your situation and with whom you can examine the options.
A useful distinction:
Being responsible for a decision does not mean you have to work through that decision without talking to anyone.
Of course, not every business owner feels isolated. Many have supportive partners, capable employees, advisers or professional networks.
But for someone operating alone or managing a very small team, those independent conversations may be harder to find.
More Information Does Not Always Lead to Better Decisions
We have extraordinary access to information today.
Google can help us research almost any business topic. YouTube provides tutorials and explanations. Books and online courses offer structured guidance. Artificial intelligence can help us explore alternatives and organise ideas.
These tools can be extremely useful. I use research and technology in my own work at How To Books ZA.
But general information doesn’t automatically account for your business’s cash flow, customer relationships, resources, obligations or appetite for risk.
Consider a small-business owner who is struggling to make a profit.
An online search might produce recommendations to increase prices, reduce costs, advertise more or introduce new products.
Each suggestion might be reasonable under the right circumstances. But which one addresses the real problem in this particular business?
Information gives you possibilities. Clear thinking helps you decide which possibilities deserve attention.
This is where asking better questions becomes valuable.
Five Questions to Ask Before Making a Difficult Business Decision
Before committing money, time or resources to an important decision, work through the following questions.
What Is the Actual Problem?
Describe the problem without immediately jumping to a solution. Distinguish symptoms from possible underlying causes.
Example: Low sales may be a symptom. The real issue could be weak demand, poor visibility, unsuitable pricing or another factor.
What Do I Know for Certain?
Separate facts from assumptions. Look at available figures, customer feedback and direct evidence.
Example: Do customers actually consider your prices too high, or is that something you have assumed?
What Realistic Options Do I Have?
Consider at least two or three possible approaches, including making a small adjustment or postponing a commitment.
Example: Before opening another branch, could you test demand through deliveries, temporary premises or online sales?
What Could Go Wrong?
Examine the financial, operational and personal consequences if the decision doesn’t produce the result you expect.
Example: If an investment takes longer to recover its costs, can your business still meet its obligations?
What Is the Smallest Useful Next Step?
Not every business decision requires an immediate, permanent commitment. Sometimes the best next step is to gather evidence, speak to customers, test an alternative or obtain appropriate professional advice.
Example: Before investing R50,000 in an untested service, could you run a modest trial to find out whether customers are prepared to pay for it?
A Simple Rule for Difficult Decisions
When uncertainty is high and the consequences of a mistake are significant, gather more evidence before committing.
When the downside is manageable and the decision is reversible, a small controlled test may be a sensible way to learn.
Neither approach guarantees success, but both encourage deliberate rather than impulsive action.
Your One-Page Business Decision Check
Use this simple worksheet before making your next important decision. Write brief answers, not lengthy reports.
Business Decision Worksheet
Start Small. Build What Works.
This worksheet is intended to help organise your thinking. It is not a substitute for specialist advice where financial, legal, tax or other professional considerations arise.
When Is It Worth Talking to Someone?
A sounding board isn’t necessarily someone who tells you what to do.
It may be somebody who helps you examine your reasoning, identify missing information and see an alternative you haven’t considered.
Having another perspective may be particularly helpful when:
- You keep returning to the same problem without making progress.
- You’re considering spending a substantial amount of money.
- You find it difficult to separate emotions from business considerations.
- Several options appear attractive but you cannot prioritise them.
- You need to turn a broad idea into a manageable action plan.
- You’re unsure whether you’re addressing the cause of a problem or merely its symptoms.
That independent person could be an experienced business owner, a trusted adviser, a knowledgeable peer or a mentor.
For decisions involving contracts, tax, accounting, finance or regulatory obligations, seek the appropriate qualified professional.
Good mentoring should improve your ability to make decisions — not make you dependent on somebody else to make them.
Why I’m Making Mentoring More Personal
I’m Douw Steyn, founder of How To Books ZA, organisational development practitioner, entrepreneur and business author.
Through H2BZA, I develop practical business guides and resources for South Africans who want to start, manage and grow businesses.
But I’ve become increasingly interested in the role of personal interaction.
Books, websites and videos can explain ideas. Sometimes, however, people benefit from discussing those ideas in the context of their own situation.
That’s why I’ve started sharing personal mentoring videos and offering focused business discussions.
Meet Me Before You Decide
In my first personal mentoring video, I explain why I started this channel and the kind of practical conversations I hope to develop with viewers.
Need Someone to Talk Business With?
If you’re working through an important business question and would value an independent perspective, I offer focused, one-to-one online mentoring.
We begin with your particular challenge, discuss the facts and alternatives, and work towards identifying practical next steps.
The session includes a brief written summary of the main discussion points and agreed actions.
Book Your 30-Minute Mentoring Session — R349 →Prefer to understand the service first? Explore how personal mentoring works →
Questions About Business Decisions and Mentoring
Is it normal to feel alone when running a small business?
It can be, particularly for solo entrepreneurs and owners of very small businesses. Responsibilities and difficult decisions may rest largely with one person. However, experiences differ, and not every business owner feels isolated.
Can AI help me make better business decisions?
AI can help you organise ideas, compare possibilities, draft questions and explore scenarios. But its outputs can contain errors or overlook important circumstances. Verify material facts independently and seek appropriate professional advice for high-stakes decisions. Avoid sharing confidential business information unnecessarily.
Do I need a business mentor?
Not necessarily. Many decisions can be handled independently or with support from peers and existing advisers. Mentoring may be useful when you would benefit from structured discussion and an independent perspective.
Will a mentor make the decision for me?
No. The purpose is to help you examine information, clarify options and decide what action is appropriate for you. Responsibility for the final business decision remains yours.
What can I achieve in a 30-minute mentoring session?
A focused session can help clarify one issue, identify questions that need answers, examine alternatives and agree on a few practical next steps. Some complex problems require further research or specialist work.
You Still Make the Decision. But You Don’t Always Have to Think It Through Alone.
Running a small business requires judgement, resilience and the willingness to learn from experience.
There will always be uncertainty. Not every decision will work out as you hoped.
But you can improve the way you approach difficult choices.
Start by defining the problem. Separate facts from assumptions. Examine realistic alternatives. Understand the risks. Then identify your next sensible step.
And when it would help to hear another perspective, don’t hesitate to find someone you can discuss the issue with.
Start Small. Build What Works.
Better business decisions often begin with better questions.
I’d like to hear from you: What’s the most difficult business decision you’re facing at the moment?
You’re welcome to share a general question through my Practical Mentoring YouTube channel . Please avoid posting confidential business or personal information publicly.