Hi Reisen55...Out of the blue adminstrators walked in without warning and shattered my world...A big company went under but alot of small business people worked for them loyally and for a number of years and they didnt pay up money owed for the work..So many of us right at Christmas nearly lost homes because we were ordinary working people...Also I was so gutted to have lost the people who I worked with...Its been a struggle and many tears shed..This happened last Christmas Ive not much advice on what to do Im doing totally different work on hardly the money I was on before but its shown me that keep going you can do it...

I am in the same boat. I've worked as a sole proprietor for 10 years with great success and it *really* suited my life very well and my family too. And last month my main vendor chose to work with an "automated" firm in India to escape bankruptcy.

It was all I could do to keep up with their requests and manage life so I admit I did put all my eggs in one basket willingly. Now I am not sure what to do. I sort of have the feeling that these days most people don't want to hire consultants b/c they think they are experts in many fields, so maybe I am just being negative.

What kind of work do you do? Have you thought about cross-training/ed? I'm wondering about that. Our country is sure in a fine mess!

I am so sorry. As a small business owner, this is tough. I would suggest reading the book "Who moved the Cheese?". That is such a great book for times like this.

Once I did almost lose my business. I thought I did. I let go of every single employee. I took the summer off, but I didn't give up my lease space. I imagine it was like a month and a half break and I hardly went into my building.

What I did do was get depressed, literally hold my head in my hands and cry and worry. When I was off, I allowed myself the break I needed. And then I read some great advice, mostly written by others, to do more of what WAS paying the bills. I realized what was paying the bills was these tiny accounts that I had all but forgotten about. I hadn't yet told them I was out of business b/c they were closed for the summer anyway.

After my sebatical, I went back to work and got me some more of those little accounts and rebuilt my business. Never again did I put all my eggs in one or few baskets. Today I have 26 accounts and so if I lose one I'm okay.

But if they are sending all your work to India, time to look for new cheese.....pick a business that builds on your previous experience - but something that has to be done here.

Best wishes to you. I've been there, almost. It is not fun. But you are more resilient than you think.

For me, I felt God led the way to get my company back on track. Later I sort of looked at it as a way to get my company back on the path we were intended to stay on.

Thanks, God. He is there for you too. Build a business that truly blesses people and you will be blessed.