The business is running you
Under 40 out of 100
35 owners, one in four (25%)
Low in all four areas at once. The problems come as a set.
White paper, Edition 1, October 2026
The Pulse of Macedonian Small Business 2026
What 141 owners told us about the problems inside their own businesses.
Between 23 July and 17 September 2026, 141 Macedonian business owners answered the 16 questions of the Pulse Check, from how far ahead they can see their cash to what happens if they are away for four weeks. Leave your email and the report comes to your inbox as a PDF, within a minute.
141
Macedonian business owners answered
16
questions, four answers each
4
areas: clarity, structure, growth, AI and digital
Inside the report
The executive summary, two pages as they are in the PDF. Click to enlarge.
What the 141 owners told us
The five findings from the executive summary, as they stand in the report. The 16 questions behind them are in the PDF.
- 1
Clarity scored highest of the four areas, AI and digital lowest.
Clarity averaged 62.4 out of 100 and AI and digital 46.0, with structure (55.8) and growth (54.9) between them. The average firm scored 54.7 overall, and half the firms scored 55 or less.
- 2
One firm in four landed under 40 out of 100.
The Pulse Check told these 35 of 141 owners (25%) "The business is running you". Nearly two in three (90, 64%) scored 40 to 79, "Solid core, hidden leaks", and about one in ten (16, 11%) scored 80 or more, "Strong foundations - time to compound". For every owner at the top, more than two were told the business is running them.
- 3
Four answers stand out, one from each area.
Nearly seven in ten owners (97, 69%) get new clients mainly from referrals. 50 (35%) say nobody in the company uses AI, and 5 have an AI plan that already brings value. 46 (33%) say everything would stop if they were away for four weeks, 55 (39%) manage cash month to month, and 6 more learn of a problem when the account runs low.
- 4
The four areas usually move together.
An owner low in one area is usually low in the other three, and the same holds for high scores. Grouped by their 16 answers, the 141 firms fall into three groups averaging 32, 56 and 76 out of 100, and all three have clarity at the top and AI and digital at the bottom.
- 5
The best area is also where owners contradict themselves.
18 of 141 answered "Gut feeling and the bank balance" and also "I know profitability per client and product, and we act on it". 15 say they know the profit on each client and product, yet see their cash only month to month.
Three kinds of owner answered
The Pulse Check gives every owner one of three results. This is how the 141 split, and what they have in common: the shape is the same at every height, clarity at the top, AI and digital at the bottom.
Solid core, hidden leaks
40 to 79 out of 100
90 owners, nearly two in three (64%)
The most common shape among the 141: strongest on clarity, weakest on AI and digital. The owner reads the business well and has done the least with technology.
Strong foundations - time to compound
80 or more out of 100
16 owners, about one in ten (11%)
High in all four areas. For every owner here, more than two were told the business is running them.
Counted by the weakest area alone, AI and digital is the weakest part for more than four in ten firms (44%), growth for more than one in four (27%), structure for fewer than one in five (18%) and clarity for about one in ten (11%).
Which one are you? The Pulse Check takes under five minutes and puts your score in each area next to the 141.
Who it is for
- Owners of firms with 1 to 10 people, three in four of the 141 who answered (106 of 141, 75%).
- Advisers, banks and support bodies that work with Macedonian SMEs and want the answers of 141 owners counted question by question.
- Owners who took the Pulse Check and want to put their own score next to the average firm's 54.7 out of 100.
Who wrote it
The report is written by Dancho Dimkov and Natasha Razmoska, the people behind the BusinessPulse diagnostic. The Pulse Check is the free self-assessment on businesspulseos.com: 16 questions with four answers each, under five minutes. Most of the 141 owners reached it through a paid Facebook ad, and every number in the report is a count of the answers they picked.
Frequently asked questions
See how your own business grades
The Pulse Check takes under five minutes and shows your overall score and your score in each of the four areas right away. For owners who want the diagnostic on their own numbers, not the self-test, we reply to applications within 48 hours.