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We all know to “stop, drop and roll” when it comes to protecting yourself
from flames, and we all remember the advice to never take candy from strangers.
But what about protecting small business owners from common danger zones, and
taking the needed safety precautions?
We don’t learn as a small child how to run a business, or how to manage it
properly. In this series we’ll take a look at some of the common areas of
trouble for small business owners, along with things you can do to avoid getting
into danger areas in the first place:
Having all your eggs in one basket. It’s common as a small
business owner to have started up your entire operation by having one or two
main clients. And you may still rely heavily on those same clients as the bread
and butter of your business. But often, when focusing so much on your main
collection of clients, you aren’t expanding your new client list. And then,
guess what? If something happens to your one big client, your whole business
could collapse.
No matter how busy you are in managing your main clients, continue to search
for new customers. If you have to, hire someone part-time to focus on new
business. One rule of thumb is to avoid letting any customer make up more than
25 percent of your revenue.
Losing your employees to the other team. You might employ
only a hand full of workers, so it can be devastating if you lose just one or
two if they quit to join forces with your competitor. You not only see your
rival company strengthen its position, but now you’re picking up the slack and
doing all the work yourself. Not to mention the time and money you’ll have to
spend in finding, hiring and training new employees.
In order to avoid this
scenario, do everything you can to keep your employees happy. Recognize their
efforts with words and acts of appreciation. Keep your morale high, keep your
environment enjoyable and reward your people with competitive salaries.
In the next part of this series we’ll talk about more areas of trouble for
small businesses, and what you can do to avoid them. | 
