Don't Let These Risk Factors Grind Your Small Business To A Halt In 2018
We’re roughly a third of a way into the new year
and for many entrepreneurs this is a time of sober reflection tinged with
cautious optimism. While the fiscal new year is technically the turning point
for all businesses, it’s hard not to treat the calendar year as a time to look
to the future. While the coming year will likely brings tremendous
amount of new opportunity for you and your business, it will likely
also bring with it some challenges. Challenges can be like viruses, they must
be mitigated as soon as the symptoms show, otherwise they can become
problematic to the point of being debilitating. As with viruses, businesses can
insulate themselves from risk by being cognizant of various risk factors. Just
as we know to wash our hands and the food we eat to reduce our risk of illness,
so too should we keep an eye on the various risk factors that can stifle,
impede or even upend our carefully maintained businesses.
Over cautiousness
Entrepreneurs
are conditioned to be risk averse. After all, they know that the deck is
stacked against them and in an age where 90% of
startup businesses fail, any amount of risk can seem like too much.
While this makes absolute sense, cautiousness should not be so absolute that it
stifles innovation. Innovation is one of the most important aspects of business
and without it businesses can stagnate and even become obsolete (look what
happened to Blockbuster
Video). A big part of success as an SME is the ability
to balance risk management with the inherent risks needed to maintain an
innovative business model.
Poor liquidity
When the
opportunity of a lifetime comes along for your business, will you be able to
move on it? It may come in the form of a capital investment; a piece of
hardware or software that could drastically improve your productivity. It could
be a new employee whose ideas could take your business to the next level. It
might even be a better workspace which is more conducive to productivity.
Whatever the opportunity, it could pass you by and end up in the hands of your
competitors if you don’t maintain a healthy cash flow. Of course, this is
easier said than done, which is why we’ve compiled this list of delay
tactics when your cash flow gets a little tight.
Security threats
With each
passing year, thieves and saboteurs come up with new and innovative ways to
line their nests at the expense of hard working business persons. The new year
might be the perfect time for a security audit. As well as hiring a physical
security consultant to ensure that your premises and everything in it
is as safe as it can be, you should also look to your security software. Don’t
let data theft be your downfall in 2018!
Poor productivity / morale
As
brimming with anticipation as you may be for the challenges of the new year, it
amounts to little if your employees are not galvanized alongside you. If your
business culture is not conducive to productivity and employee satisfaction it
may be time to ask your employees what measures you can implement to move
towards a perfect working environment where everyone gets what they want.
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