Rhonda Abrams The Passionate Entrepreneur

In my years of business consulting, I saw many companies die because they'd become overly dependent on one big customer or one major account for their success. Others suffered substantially when they lost their only distributor or major vendor.

As a result, I'm paranoid about not letting my own company become too dependent on one source of survival. I'm constantly looking for ways to diversify my business -- while still staying focused. By being strategically diversified, I mitigate some of the risks that I take.

How can you increase your chances of business survival and reduce your exposure to one catastrophic business occurrence? Here are some suggestions:

1. Never get too dependent on one customer.

When you have a very large, profitable customer, it's easy for that one customer to become virtually the entirety of your business.

Sure, you have to serve that one big customer. But while earning a good income from that one customer, you have two choices: Grow your business and diversify your customer base, or start putting away substantial sums of money in case that customer disappears.

2. Never get too dependent on one supplier.

When I was first starting in business, I met a man who'd been an importer of a brand of highly desirable optical equipment. Suddenly, the optical equipment manufacturer decided to stop exporting to the United States. His customers weren't interested in other brands, and his business disappeared overnight.

If your business depends on one supplier, diversify your supply chain.

3. Never get too dependent on one income line.

Does more than 70 percent of your revenue come from one product or service line? If so, it's time to start developing additional products or services.

Ideally, these should be complementary. I'm not advocating that you start a second business or second career. For instance, if you make organic dog food, you might want to start making organic cat food as well.

4. Never get too dependent on one distribution channel.

I'm in the publishing industry. A few years ago, I realized that 90 percent of my income came through my distributor. What if something happened to them?

I built a second sales channel -- to the academic market. Academic sales are now about one-third of my total sales.

Careful diversification is a strategy for business survival. Certainly, you need to build one business at a time and stay focused, but when you don't put all your eggs in one basket, you're better able to survive the unexpected, even the truly tragic, events your business may face.