It’s time for the October issue of Good Small Business Reads, our monthly compendium of articles from around the web that will help you run your small business better. Let’s get right to it!

First up is an article from Staples that offers solid advice on what to do when a client isn’t paying up. More small business owners should heed one particular piece of advice the experts interviewed offer — cut your losses sooner rather than later. Someone who routinely pays late is either running their business poorly and is in danger of failing and leaving your hanging or they don’t value your service/products. Either way, your small loss is in danger of growing into a big loss so don’t hang around thinking things will get better. They rarely do (and I speak from personal experience on this.)

Many small business owners overlook the importance of goal setting. With the end of the year quickly approaching, I thought you’d find these “Golden Rules for Goal Setting” valuable. Following the five simple rules the article offers could make 2014 your best year yet!

This American Express Open Forum article caught my attention not because it’s written by my friend Rieva Lesonsky but because it’s about ways in which you could be stifling creativity in the workplace. Rieva reports that a recent survey found that 80% of Americans say there is an increasing demand for them to be more productive rather than creative in the workplace. If you’re obsessed with productivity, you may be missing out on great ideas from your employees that will make your business better. Rieva offers five tips on how to make sure you’re not discouraging creativity among your staff.

Finally, I often include something from Richard Branson in this monthly grouping of good reads and this month is no exception. I think you will enjoy and find inspiration in “Richard Branson’s 21 Survival Strategies for Small Business Success.”