Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) can aptly be described as the economic heartbeat of Kenya. The Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) indicates that there are over 7.4 million MSMEs in the country, which employ approximately 14.9 million Kenyans in various sectors of the economy and contribute approximately 40% of the GDP. Sadly the very same MSMEs face myriad challenges; despite some favourable policies being passed by the government. From the outside looking in, the bustling activity of marketplaces can make it seem like the business people have it all together. While they surely seem to know how to hustle it out, the truth is there are many things that keep them up at night. Our on-going long term study of MSMEs is helping us uncover the informal barriers to MSME survival and growth. While there are private and public initiatives alike that support MSMEs in terms of business advisory services and various providers of financial products and services targeted at MSMEs, it is still an uphill struggle for many small businesses. There are informal barriers that no one really talks about or builds support services around. Digging a little deeper the issues start to come out of the woodwork. One example is the domestic burden on women that forces them to limit any ambitions to grow their businesses. While comparing job creation by male led versus female led MSMEs the result was that the male-led have three times the propensity to create jobs than female ones. Many women business owners interviewed in our study perceived hiring an employee as yet another burden they would be adding to their plate. The thought of having to oversee, supervise, or manage one more person was too much. As such they limited themselves (and unfortunately their business growth potential) to what they could manage themselves amidst all their other duties and responsibilities mostly on the domestic front.