Customers need placating, bills need paying, employees need direction, and things just seem to pile up every once in a while. Here are some lessons that business owners have learnt the hard way (so that you don’t have to). Most business owners only become disciplined with their numbers after a moment of discomfort or a mini payment crisis. The business does not become easy, but it becomes familiar, and familiarity breeds composure. Detailed plans, elaborate tools and intricate systems built for a future version of the business that does not quite exist yet.