Business Owners Say These Are The Biggest Threats To A New Company

As a new business, you are already in a vulnerable position on the market. You have not yet found a footing or gained a group of loyal customers. That means that you can easily be pushed out of the market by other companies. As well as this, you won’t yet have started to reach a high level of profitability. Again, this makes you vulnerable because you won’t be able to pay up if things go wrong. It seems obvious to say that not every business startup will succeed. If they did the amount of possible profits for new small companies would be very low indeed. But it isn’t, and there are massive amounts of potential profits available for those who are ready to claim them. You just need to be brave enough to take the first step.

With that in mind, we’ve been asking around speaking to business owners. We’ve been trying to find out what the biggest threats to a new business are in 2015. You’ll be pleased to hear the owners have given us the facts that you need to make your company a success and to keep it that way.

Understanding Legal Dangers

A nasty lawsuit can put a business flat on its back. You won’t be able to recover if the cost of damages is too great to pay. A lawsuit can come from any number of sources. It might be a disgruntled employee looking to get even after they were treated unfairly. It might be a member of the public that was put in danger by a member of your staff. Or, it could be a business partner who claims that you broke a formed legal contract. There is no way of knowing which will hit you and ideally, you want to avoid all of them.

If you get small business employment law advice, you will be told how to avoid health and safety issues. Some advice they may give could be to keep your employees trained and aware of changes in health and safety law. As well as this, they should know that a hazard needs to be dealt with before they continue their work. Don’t forget that if anyone is injured on your work premises you will be held legally accountable. It doesn’t matter if you were unaware of the hazard. It may be found that you should have been aware and should have sorted it. This tricky scenario is why many business owners invest in legal protection. By doing this, they have coverage if something does go wrong. Indemnity insurance will cover a business owner for the costs of an employment tribunal.

As well as this, you should have legal representation whenever you sign a new contract with a business. You should understand the terms and conditions so that you do not break them.

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Protecting Your Business

The second factor that could lead to the end of your business is crime and criminal activity. Not every threat that you face will be legal. In fact, business owners are keen to point out that as soon as you enter the market you could be a target for theft. Businesses that are keeping customer data files are at risk in particular. We have seen many scandals in the past where businesses have lost customer security files. They have left them open as targets to identify theft and robbery. Bigger businesses recover, but smaller companies never do. They lose the respect and trust of the customer. If they cannot earn it back, then they soon perish. There are two forms of protection your business needs to ensure that this never happens to you.

The first is online security. You must make sure that firewalls and antivirus software is running on your computer systems. These days, it’s entirely possible for a criminal to steal files without ever being on the premises. All they need to do is access your computer system remotely. Once they have accomplished this, they can use a virus to wipe or copy the systems. Essentially, you could lose everything that you have built in a matter of minutes without realising.

You should be putting passwords and encryptions on all key files. But, you should also be aware this might not stop a skilled hacker. Instead, it is wise to invest in an IT support team. You can use an outsourcing service to save on the cost. Once you set this up, they will monitor your network and fix any issue before it becomes a problem.

As well as online security, we also suggest that you invest in some form physical security. This might include using hi-tech systems such as ID scanners as well as basic alarm systems. Don’t forget that the best way to protect your business is setting it up as a deterrent. You must make it look as though it is not worth the trouble of breaking in.

Cutting Costs

The final threat to a business owner is a cheaper competition. Do not be naive enough to think that your business will be the only one selling your product on the market. There will always be a competition, no matter how original you think your product is. You should also not think that your customers will stand by you out of loyalty in the wake of a cheaper competition. Some might but you will lose a good majority of your demand to a new business offering a better price.

That’s why it is so important to cut costs in your company where you can. You need to think about where you are overspending and how to reduce it. For instance, it’s possible that you”re wasting a lot of money marketing your business. You should consider that there are completely free ways to market your business. As an example, you can use online social media. By marketing your business through social media, you can create a big impact, interacting with new customers. You’ll boost the interest in your business and best of all, you’ll do it for free.

We hope you have found this advice beneficial. Avoid these mistakes and we guarantee your business will have future success.