Growing on a tight budget? Risk management tips to protect your revenue
Growing a small business takes a tremendous amount of fortitude. Unless you’re one of the fortunate ones, you aren’t operating with an unlimited source of capital. You’re also likely building while still working a full-time or part-time job.
Here’s the reality. Limited funds doesn’t mean you can ignore the actions and decisions that could squeeze your already limited funds. Here are a few risk mitigation opportunities that will ensure that the money your business earns can go to what really matters, not paying off liabilities that could have been avoided.
Carry insurance. It can be easy to skip this requirement, but your business needs insurance. You need a safety net in the event you make a mistake. Costly mistakes can tank a business without the proper insurance policies. Find a reliable broker and ensure you have coverage for the risks specific to your industry. And don’t forget to investigate cyber coverage. Even if you’re not in the tech industry, your business could be vulnerable to cyber attacks.
Don’t ignore compliance. Every industry has compliance obligations—rules and regulations that must be followed. Ignoring them can lead to costly fines, fees and penalties. Do you know the regulations that govern your business? Do you know what you need to do to comply?
Get organized. It can be difficult to get and stay organized when you are starting and likely very lean. Focus on one area of the business and purpose to stay organized in that space.
Establish processes. The leaner your business, the more you need to establish processes to maximize efficiency and save money and time. Focus on one process quarterly. Identify one area where you can create a standard way or working, Identify the steps necessary for performing the tasks in that area. Make sure anybody tasked with performing those activities can follow the documented steps to complete them effectively. Evaluate on a regular basis to make sure the process still works and is still efficient. Don’t feel like you have to create every business process at once. Build and improve over time.