Every morning, as I stand in line (with way too many other people by the way) for a cup of coffee at Dunkin’ Donuts – I hear it over and over again: “Anything else?” asks the woman behind the counter in her somewhat broken English. Another customer, another “Anything else?” as she’s ringing them up. Finally, it’s my turn – “I’ll take a large French vanilla ice, skim milk, one sugar – extra light”, I shout over the 3 people in front of me. Even as she’s walking away, she’s asking me those wonderful two words – “Anything else?” She doesn’t care if I’ve purchased a bottled water, Coolatta, or a dozen bagels – even if I’ve said no a thousand times before, she keeps asking and I absolutely love it.

Ever ask yourself where your company stands when it is compared by a prospective customer to others? Well it is more than likely that even your customers are asking these same questions. And if you’re not savvy to what they learn and how you compare against the competition, you are laying yourself “open” for lost business – or – worse, a compromised market position.

There’s a breakneck pace that many new solo business owners assume. With an infinite number of things to do, and about a dozen hats to wear, it gets overwhelming, fast.

And, that’s nothing compared to what happens once the business actually has some momentum under it. That’s why one of my clients with a brand-new business was asking me: “Craig, how do you get it all done? Your business has about 100 times more going on in it than mine does, and I’m overwhelmed just with what I’m trying to get done.”

There is no entrepreneur or senior level executive I know of that hasn’t experienced serious stress during the course of their business career. Certainly there are times when the pressure builds and builds and builds – forcing executives and line personnel alike to struggle just to keep up!

Stress causes all kinds of problems – more often than not compromising the individual’s ability to concentrate and get work done. Certainly the costs of neglecting stress in your business can be very high. And, strangely, stress is sometimes overlooked as a health and safety issue by small businesses. Yet the unexpected absence of just one member of staff can affect productivity, and efforts to secure cover can be costly and time-consuming.

If you really want to kill the “golden goose” – a great client with a terrific project – make one or more of the following mistakes:

1. Not meeting the client’s expectations
2. Mishandling a client crisis
3. Taking on more than you can handle
4. Putting all your eggs in one basket
5. Up cash creek without a paddle