This is just the painful reality of being in business.  You will run across all kinds of business owners on your entrepreneurial journey.  And finding that perfect client or vendor can be really exciting.  They bring promise to your business that can increase your profits and grow your capabilities.  But when you encounter that business owner that doesn't "handle" their business, the excitement can quickly die.

Behaviors that fall into this category can include but are not limited to the following: 

• Making late payments
• Being non-responsive
• Participating in inappropriate behavior
• Ignoring boundary violations
• Demonstrating questionable ethics
• Showing disrespect
• Etc.

So what do you do when this happens? What do you do when you can't afford to drop that main client?  What do you do when you don't have a replacement for that vendor you rely on so heavily?  

Good question. But there really is just one answer.  Address it head-on with the intention of resolution. This means you simultaneously begin moving your backup plan into play.  I've had to learn this the hard way.  

What's the backup plan?

•  A client retention model that never has you depending on just one client for the majority of your money. 
• An understanding of how to do the most significant tasks in your business. No matter how tiny.  No matter how clerical.

And THAT backup plan (or a version of it) is how you truly handle your business.