Is Your Small-Business Job at Risk?

Small businesses are supposed to be the life's blood of the American economy, and many people enjoy the atmosphere. You have more access to the company's owners and executives, there atmosphere may be more casual, and there's plenty of opportunity for taking on new projects or responsibilities.

At the same time, the failure rate for SMBs is alarmingly high. Eric Rudolf of The Small Company Blog details the warning signs that your job may be in jeopardy.

Is the year-end revenue push more intense than usual? Has the chief financial officer been replaced? If so, the whole company may be up for sale (the best-case scenario) or, worse-case, about to go under.

Some of Rudolf's warning signs seem tongue-in-cheek. For example, when management becomes extra-encouraging, he writes, "Unless your company is going completely out of business, a significant number of people will be retained . . . so they can be ridden like rented mules until the economy turns around." But his cynicism is unfortunately valid. Just take a look at Warning Sign #9:

9. You Receive at Least One Copy of a Book on Organizational Change – A true story: between 1999 and 2004 I receive not one, but two (2) copies of the book Who Moved My Cheese?.  Three weeks after receiving my first copy, I was laid off. Less than four months after receiving my second, the company I worked for was sold.  I believe no further elaboration is required.

While some of the danger signs might be evident at larger companies, as well, in a smaller business, you're more likely to be able to pick up early on the signs that you're about to become one of the 2.1 million over-55-year-olds who are out of work.

If you identify with some of Rudolf's warning signs, what's the best thing to do? Keeping your eye on job opportunities elsewhere has become many people's night-shift job. An article in Parade suggests taking courses at a technical school or community college to get new skills or update your current ones.