The Moat
Never Depend on a Single Doorway.
One customer, one supplier, one channel - that's not a business, that's a hostage situation.
Concentration feels efficient and it's secretly lethal. If one client is most of your income, they own you. If one supplier does most of your work, they can hold you to ransom. If one channel brings most of your leads, it can starve you on a whim. Every single point of dependence is a knife someone else is holding.
Spread your doorways. Many customers, many suppliers, many ways in. It feels less tidy and it's far stronger, because no single party can end you. The middleman who survives the long game is the one who made sure that losing any one relationship is a bad week, never a fatal blow.
Diversify customers, suppliers and channels so no single loss can kill you.
This is one of 48 laws from MIDDLEMAN - The 48 Laws of the Money in the Middle. Read it in full to climb the whole building, floor by floor.