bold;">Delays in receiving goods, stock or raw materials from your suppliers: If your suppliers are delaying in supplying items or placing items on back order, you should be very careful, since this could be a warning sign of your business may be in trouble. There could be a number of reasons behind this, may be the suppliers' bank has refused or reduced the availability of finance to them, or perhaps their suppliers have placed restrictions on them. Whatever the reason, when you start to notice regular delays, act immediately. Try to look for alternatives for your supplies. It would not good for you if one day you find that your supplier has gone out of business, leaving you with no immediate alternative.

Increased competition: Well, fine market is shrinking, but it does not necessarily mean that your competition will reduce. With lots of salaried workers are retrenched, many of them will look for opportunities in small business. For your business, this could be a threat. Thus, be on the lookout for new competitors, as well as what products or services are they providing and what effect they will have on your business.