For the past four decades, Patrick Anthony has been working with small business clients all over North America-witnessing certain minor issues that seem to crop up again and again.

He has come to describe these specific issues as a series of "pin pricks." By themselves, they're not big enough to cause a business to fail. But over time, an accumulation of them can cause serious harm, both to profitability and ease of operation.

And it's small business owners and entrepreneurs who are most likely to fall victim to these pin pricks-facing many of the same problems as larger...