(AP) – You’ve probably mulled the perceived pleasures of starting a business and being your own boss, as you sit chained to your desk, churning out paperwork. Fess up, you have, haven’t you?

However, more than half of small businesses fail their first year, and about 95 percent wither into oblivion within five years, according to the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Paul Casey, the author of a new book, “Is Self-Employment For You?” contends that you might be able to strike a blow against such entrepreneurial failure.

He has a few seemingly radical ideas to ponder. Among them:

n The customer is not always right. Casey says 80 percent of customers are average, while 10 percent will actually prove to be enormously helpful. But the remaining 10 percent will be “takers,” customers who will always complain but can never articulate what they consider to be the problem and can’t offer any solutions. These customers will always seek to negotiate when it comes time for them to pay, and could end up costing you your business.

n Competitors are your best friends. They validate your activity and will keep you sharp when it comes to operating your company. If you observe them closely, you’ll learn.

n Many businesses fail because they have too much cash. Building a successful enterprise requires baby steps. Too much money, and you’ll skip the building steps. Slow and steady wins the race.

TERROR RISK?: Despite all the talk in the news, terrorism is not the main threat to a company’s finances, according to a survey that highlights divergent views of risk between corporate officers and the analysts who cover their companies.

Only 1 percent of chief financial officers, treasurers and risk managers cited “terrorism/sabotage” as a significant danger for their businesses. Most said property-related hazards such as fires, explosions, natural disasters, supply-chain disruptions and production problems were their “top hazard.”

But only about a fifth of investment professionals saw these issues as potential problems. Most of the analysts – four out of five – said they thought the greatest risk to a company was in pricing fluctuations, governmental/regulatory hazards and misconduct by employees and managers.

The 2004 “Protecting Value” study involved 400 CFOs, treasurers and risk managers, and 200 investment professionals. It was conducted by FM Global, a property insurer based in Johnston, R.I.

AP-ES-09-07-04 1717EDT