I had to think about it a few times over before writing this post because I don’t want to put a negative vibe your way but I have just been through an experience which rams home the whole “don’t put your eggs in one basket” caveat and I find myself wanting to emphasise its importance.

Let me make it clear; any business activity which relies on a status quo is a very vulnerable one!

The fact is many factors contribute to business success and the more you spread the risk the better off you will be. This might sound a bit counter-intuitive when you’re trying to concentrate on a single niche or single source of business but in reality you need a spread of risk to give you a little cushion against nasty surprises.

If you are entirely dependant on one supplier, one source of business referrals, one search engine, one type of customer or one anything really you are in a poor position. A change of circumstances outside your control can decimate your business.

The recent shifts in western economy for instance have seen a downturn in discretionary spending so if your business is dependant on non essential spending you’ll be feeling the pinch by now.

On the other hand if you have a mix of product types and customers you might well not have even noticed the change.

The lesson? Don’t put your eggs…