Your biggest risk might be one supplier

One Vendor That Could Shut You Down Tomorrow

        ?If one vendor disappears for 72 hours, what breaks first? Here’s the one step to reduce that risk fast.

Most businesses don’t get thrown off by one dramatic event. They get knocked sideways by one quiet dependency, one vendor delay that turns into reschedules, customer frustration, and a week that starts slipping. In the next 30 seconds, I’ll give you a simple 72-hour test and one step to reduce that risk fast.

In my experience I've seen many business owners who don’t realize they have a single point of failure until it happens. The vendor you’ve relied on for years has a delay, a stock-out, a driver issue, or a billing dispute—and suddenly your whole week starts slipping.

So before you do anything else, run this quick test.

One Number: 72 hours. Ask yourself one blunt question: If this vendor went unavailable for the next 72 hours, could we still serve customers the way we promise? If the honest answer is “no,” you’ve identified a real operational risk.

Why it matters: Vendor disruption rarely shows up as a clean “problem.” It shows up as rescheduling, scrambling, paying rush fees, and spending your time explaining delays. That is how a normal week quietly turns into lost time, lost revenue, and lost trust.

One Action (do this week): Build a "Vendor Backup Card" for your #1 critical vendor. Keep it to one page and make it usable under stress. Include: an alternate vendor name, who to call, typical lead time, what you can substitute, and what you’ll tell customers if there’s a delay. The goal is not perfection; the goal is stability.

I’ve spent decades stabilizing operations in high-consequence environments, and the same principle applies in local business: single points of failure always show up at the worst possible time.

If you want help identifying your top “shutdown vendors” and creating a simple backup plan you can actually use, book a 15-minute stability check-in
 

Next up: “The ‘Lost Week’ Number You Should Know by Memory.”

Follow us on YouTube: Everyday Business Resilience

Thank You,
Warren