Limiting risk and protecting your business can often take the same activities. Many businesses were hard hit during the pandemic and it created a ripple effect that had some serious consequences within their communities. Every business is interconnected to others. There are support services and supply chain logistics that can have lasting negative effects on the well-being and sustainability of a company if there is a disruption. Even a slow down in service or a reduction in the number of products delivered can cause your business to be unable to provide the same service to your clients.
On top of all this, the buying public has become extremely sensitive. There is a lot of fear and misinformation out there and it can make people take a distinctly prejudiced view to any hurt, inconvenience, or perceived pain they may receive on the part of a business. This means that in addition to getting insurance for machinery, bolstering your employees’ health insurance, and re-building your supply chain, you now also have to worry about liability insurance.
You would probably gain a great deal of helpful knowledge from talking to an experienced personal injury lawyer. They can advise you on how to avoid and deter potential lawsuits as well as how to protect your workspace and employees from irate customers.
Even something as protected and individual as political opinions has to be hidden within the workplace nowadays as it can trigger customers. It might feel like you and your employees are being forced to adhere to a higher level of courtesy. Even in the face of people who want to push the boundaries and may not seem like they deserve the courtesy.
But this is where the business world is right now, and learning how to weather this storm is what will guarantee that you have a viable business still standing when the storm passes.
Disconnect Your Business From Your Person
Your business needs to be a legal entity that is disconnected from your personal finances. Even if it was your own money that you used to start and finance the company till it reached sustainability. If you are a sole owner, then you most likely have a sole proprietorship structure. But this leaves you vulnerable if your business is ever sued or under a lawsuit. In the event that the lawsuit goes badly for your business, your personal finances can be depleted or surrendered as part of the damages.
Look into the different ways that you can separate your finances from your business while maintaining a controlling interest in it. This will help you to keep your personal wealth safe no matter how things turn out with the company.
Your Image Affects Your Business
This is only necessary if you are very closely linked to your business and have an active social media presence. Unless you are comfortable using your business success as a platform for sharing your views and personal opinions, you need to consider the image you are sending out into the world.
People with unscrupulous intentions can use your personal opinions to launch character attacks against you and your business. Many people are wary of doing business with a company that attracts negative press. If you find yourself embroiled in such a situation you may lose customers and even have problems with investors.
In the event that you do not want to be silenced, then you can consider creating a clear divide between yourself and your business. Avoid using the company’s social media accounts to share personal opinions. Only send clear messaging from the company’s social media accounts regarding issues and holidays that you support. Use your own social media account to share personal views, opinions, and comments on other people’s posts.
This way, your lawyers can help you to stop someone from going after your business for an opinion held by you and shared via your personal account.
Get Your Finances Right
Your accountant can protect your business in many ways. A reliable accountant that you work with closely is going to be able to advise you on tax breaks, state and federal incentives, and highlight areas in which you should be spending less or more money.
In many ways, the person who understands how the company spends money can have the most detailed view on whether it is being utilized effectively. Combining this information with any gaps or issues that your business has faced during the pandemic makes your accountant your ally in strengthening your business.
There are several stimulus packages available right now and you should work with your accountant to find out which one would be most beneficial for where your company is at right now and where you want it to be in the near future.
Now is also the time to invest in the technology that has allowed your business to remain productive and adapt to the changes brought about by the pandemic. You need to add on to and upgrade your business server and bring in more cloud backups. Inquire if your IT providers can also institute a system where they can automatically update the software on work computers.
However diligent an employee is they may not always update their computers as speedily as they should. Gaps like this can be exploited by hackers. Information and data have always been important but the levels it has reached during this time have tripled. If customer information gets leaked from your company, even if it is out of your hands, you could lose a great deal of revenue. Regular workshops by the IT department on cybersecurity can also help your employees maintain the security of your computer systems.
