Why are so many businesses having problems? The “R” word – recession – keeps popping up, but my local Mastermind Members’ businesses are thriving! Why is that?

The answer is no secret but many business owners forget it.  You cannot just do one thing. As The Beatles said, “One is the loneliest number.”  “Why?” you ask.

Having one way to obtain a new customer, using only one vendor, having one assistant – if you are doing this in your business, it can be disaster. And I would even suggest that the reason why your business might be struggling is due to one the above reasons.

Your one vendor raised prices limiting your profit. Your one newspaper ad is not working. Your one networking meeting that you go to is no longer full and people are not referring. Your one big client is not paying on time. Your one assistant is fighting with her husband and cannot focus to stay on track.

Do you understand the problem with having just one?

Diversity leads to stability! At FreshStart Telephone, when Sprint kept raising our rates, I looked for other products to sell to my clients, such as cellular and calling cards using multiple vendors. When my biggest competitor advertised on the same radio station offering more services for less money, I relied on my other 83 ways to bring in a new customer. I made sure that only 10 percent of my business came from customers who spent more than $1,000 per month so that if they did not pay, I still had the other 90 percent paying for my cash flow. I always had two assistants – Rose and Lisa – so that if one was sick, I had a backup.

Check your business today to make sure that you are not relying on just ONE of anything!

written for w2wlink.com by Richelle Shaw

The Small BusinessToolkit is a complimentary, online resource with an array of new features providing expert advice for starting, growing or maintaining a business.  The tools include daily expert advice by Jim Blasingame, the #1 ranked small business expert on the Internet.  A blog called Deborah’s Biz Basics sponsored by BuzGate.org provides a forum for women to discuss business issues and get advice.  A small business video learning series is available covering topics such as incorporating, bookkeeping, managing credit and avoiding burnout.   The toolkit was introduced in 2007 in the U.S. for Asian, Black, Hispanic, Native American and Women-owned businesses, and contains thousands of how-to articles, free Web software, press release distribution offerings and directory listing, financial calculators, business readiness quizzes, HR and more.  Most of the toolkit is now available in Spanish.  The new SME Toolkit was developed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank and IBM, along with other partners.