The many facets of business protection
Photo by Nicholas Githiri
Many businesses look at protection as a form of self-preservation. The reality is that protecting your business from the unexpected is not just about putting a force field around it. The pandemic has shown many businesses that they cannot predict every threat. However, the lesson is obvious, if you want to look after your business properly, you should always be prepared. What does it take to future-proof your business?
Identify common threats first
Disaster can strike at any time, but in order for you to have faith that your business is doing everything it can to protect itself and its assets, you must look at the most common threats. For example, your business data is critical here. Ensuring that you back it up with cloud storage or a managed cyber security service will make a massive difference. Protecting your data is not just about the technical components, but about the cultural perspective of what protection actually is. Training is critical, and ensuring your employees have an inherent understanding of not just how to protect a business, but why, is vital.
Protecting your employees
Your employees are the fundamental foundation, and ensuring that your employees are protected in the round is a big ask. In one respect, you will need to protect your employees from disaster by having a disaster plan in place, but you also need to make sure that your employees are able to continue their work, regardless of what is happening to them. Health and well-being in the workplace are vital, but you also need to make sure your employees have well-being at the forefront of their minds. This is why we’ve got to have a holistic approach to protecting our employees.
The legalities and the finances
A business attorney may not be something you need on speed dial, but when you need one, it will be invaluable. The problem many organisations have is not necessarily external threats, but internal ones. An employee that has been slowly committing fraudulent activities can be a major headache for a business leader. An attorney is going to help you understand how you can tread carefully with these problems, while also ensuring you are looking after your business and maintaining morale. Likewise, financial support is critical. Financial support can help you with the legalities, for example, changes in tax laws. An accountant is someone that can help you understand your business structure better. Additionally, they will help you gain insight into what your business is truly worth. Rather than viewing our business as finances that move in and out or assets, an accountant can provide a far more clear picture.
The importance of accurate and organised records
Being organised in your organisation may sound simple, but you need to recognise the importance of a trusted bookkeeper or backing up your files with a very specific system is going to help you during tough times. If you are threatened with lawsuits or need extra assistance during a crisis, accurate records mean you can access things quickly.
Business insurance
You should have the right level of insurance based on your business operation. Public liability insurance is critical, but it depends on what is essential for you. Rather than getting by with the bare minimum of policies, you must look to support your business at every turn. Much like when someone claims on a policy that has numerous exclusions, it can be heartbreaking to find that your business did not have sufficient cover.
Cutting unnecessary expenses
You need to get into the mindset of a lean operation. To do this properly, you’ve got to understand what you really need. It’s not just about operating with the basic equipment, but how your business is streamlining its operations. You could work more effectively by working smarter rather than harder or relying on free marketing tactics. You could also ask yourself if you need to rent an office or have everybody work remotely. It’s vital to ask yourself if you need something or if it would be nice to have this component.
When we start a business, there are many significant oversights. We can chalk it down to experience, or lack thereof. To be an effective organisation, we don’t just consider what we can do to earn more profit, but what we can do to invest in our business. Self-preservation is a fine balance. There are many facets of business protection, it’s about ensuring that you understand the most important, but also the ones that will give you greater insight into your business failures. Knowing where we are going wrong is the most important lesson because this means we are in a better position to ask for help.
