When you manage a business, you need to be prepared for all eventualities. Even if everything seems to be running smoothly, you never really know when disaster could strike. The best way of doing this is first to implement a disaster prevention plan, and second a business continuity plan should the worst end up happening. But before you do this, you need to know what are the potential threats that you are facing. Well, this article is here to help, giving you six common misfortunes which could affect your company. Once you know more about them, you will be better equipped to deal with them in the most effective way possible.
Cashflow Interruptions
Cash is the lifeblood of every company, and when it stops flowing into your business at the rate you require, this is when problems could quickly arise. You need money to cover all of the basics in your business including paying employees, your bills, and suppliers. A potential interruption could be the loss of a big client. Cashflow is a very different concept to profitability; if you don’t keep a close eye on the amount of money coming into and going out of your company on a day to day basis, you will struggle to achieve the success that you are looking for. So, to combat any problems, you should make a reserve fund that allows you to buy some time in the event that your business cashflow is interrupted for any reason.
Personal Injury Lawsuits
Personal injuries in the workplace are obviously going to happen when you least expect them. And there are numerous different causes of them which you need to try to address before they happen. Make sure that you have completed a detailed risk assessment of your business, and also implement a strong day-to-day health and safety policy. Encourage your employees to come to you if they see any dangerous practices occurring around the workplace. Remember, just a single personal injury lawsuit could cost your company huge sums of cash. If you are in a product-based business, you need to ensure that everything is fully tested to meet all appropriate standards.
Intellectual Property Lawsuits
While the first two that we have discussed are quite common points to consider, intellectual property lawsuits may end up going under the radar. This is because most business owners would never even consider purposely plagiarising the work of another company or individual. However, even if you end up accidentally violating intellectual property rights, this could easily land your business in legal hot water. Perhaps it is something as seemingly small as using an image on your website when you didn’t have the appropriate permission or falling foul of advertising standards. This kind of lawsuit can cost a company big – especially if you find yourself up against a big corporation. So, make sure that your work is verified several times by different sets of eyes to give yourself the best chance of avoiding any legal drama.
Natural Disasters
And now we come to the types of disasters which don’t happen in the business world, but rather the natural world. Obviously, all this depends on the physical location of your business, but there are a range of possibilities including floods, earthquakes, tornadoes and ice storms. Fire is the most common of the lot and the kind of disaster which can impact all sorts of companies, so take a look at smoke alarm testing services to make sure that everything is running correctly. You should also look to implement a disaster-recovery plan which includes getting appropriate insurance cover, choosing a secondary working environment if your office is out of commission, and storing your data offsite so that it can be accessed from anywhere. Also, you need to ensure that your employees are well-briefed and know exactly what to do in the event of a disaster striking to protect their own safety.
Fraud
Fraud comes in so many ever-evolving forms that it is very difficult to see it coming. And many of the threats that exist these days come in the digital world, so you should start by making sure that all of your firewalls and internet security systems are kept fully updated. Also, you should keep all your data properly backed up so that it can’t be held to ransom. Other types of fraud include those which are perpetrated by employees. As your firm gets bigger, the number of threats will start to multiply, so the measures that you take to prevent against them need to be more complex as well. Employing a professional IT support team may be the most prudent measure of protecting yourself.
Scandals
Scandals tend to spread so much quicker than ever before due to the invention of social media. The bigger and more well-known your business becomes, the more likely it is that a scandal will be around the corner. Financial scandals tend to get a great deal of attention – particularly when there are consumers are directly involved. If you are found to be dishonest or there is some major issue with the services that you are providing, the bad news could end up spreading quickly. While it is difficult to recover quickly from a PR disaster, you need to be careful with all future statements and interactions issued by your company. You may also need to enlist the help of an expert PR department to get you through the crisis.
Even if you feel like you are as prepared as you can be for unexpected business disasters, they can still end up striking your business hard. After all, you can’t control all circumstances. All you can do is to put contingency plans in place to tackle as wide a range of eventualities as you can think of. Beyond this, take advice from associates and friends who have been in your shoes before and they may be able to help steer you through to the other side of the crisis.
