Last Updated on Mar 26, 2020 by James W
If you have recently become your own boss and started a company, we have one question to ask. Is it all you thought it would be? Being your own boss sounds great in theory, but you are taking on a lot of responsibility that employees simply do not have. Your employees will be dependent on you for making a living. Your investors will look to you to keep the company profitable. Your business history will depend on your company being a success. Already there are problems with running your business and most of these are related to finances. When running a company, you’ll find you are always under threat of losing money.
The problem is that you need this money. Without it, you won’t be able to fund your business and keep it running smoothly. To deal with this, you are going to need to find the solutions to the big monetary problems businesses find they have. We can help you here. On this post, you’ll find all the big issues that cut into your funds when running a business. But, we’re also going to suggest some of the best solutions so let’s get started.
Accidental Injuries
Do you think that accidental injuries are not a problem for your business? Think again. AI lawsuits are currently crippling a number of businesses internationally, particularly in the UK. Is this the fault of the employee or the employer? The answer will vary from case to case. But, we know who will be blamed, and that’s the employer. An accidental injury lawsuit could cost you nearly half a million in settlement fees alone. That’s not including what you’ll have to pay for legal representation. There is big business for lawyers in this area, and you can’t escape that. You need to understand just how much you are at risk of losing.
So what are the solutions? The first thing we recommend is that you contact a lawyer, as soon as possible. You should have already had a lawyer on call as soon as you opened a business. But if you didn’t it isn’t too late. A lawyer will be able to offer you all the advice you need. They may even show you how to get workers compensation insurance and general accident coverage. By doing this, if an employee is injured they’ll get workers pay and won’t be able to make an AI claim. That’s incredibly beneficial to you. But it doesn’t cover everything so you should also be thinking about improving health and safety.
In an office, it’s a case of making sure that the environment isn’t dangerous. For instance, any wiring should not be loose. Instead, they should be beneath the floor, attached to the wall or tied up. You should also be certain that employees know exactly what to do when they see a hazard. They should know a hazard takes priority over work.
In a factory or warehouse, there is more that can go wrong. If you have workers that are dealing with heavy loads, you need to make sure they are using a quality moving dolly. That way, you’ll reduce the risk of workers suing you due to faulty equipment. This is just one example, and there are many ways you can make the work environment safer.
Theft
From the day that your business opens, it’s under the threat of theft. You immediately become a target for criminals who are looking to take advantage of your success. What happens if your business is stolen from? Well, they could target you directly and cost your business thousands or even millions. They could also instead target your customers, stealing their details that you will have on file. If they do, this could easily lose you the trust of once loyal customers and damage your profit potential. Essentially, whether they target you or your customers, your business will be hit and hit hard.
There are a few measures that you can take to prevent this. Firstly, your business should be set up with the latest in physical security. This includes the latest CCTV systems, alarms and scanners. There is no such thing as overkill here. If you have a chance to deter criminals from breaking into your premises, you should take the opportunity. Don’t forget that if a criminal does break in, premises liability is still a factor. If they are injured on your property, then you will be held responsible as the owner. This is something to think about if you own a factory that contains dangerous or harmful materials.
Secondly, you should be thinking about investing in online security. This can be as simple as buying the latest in anti-virus software. But, anti-virus software will not usually stop a skilled hacker. They will find back doors into your security systems and break through. That’s why you should instead invest in an IT support service. They’ll monitor your computer network and make sure that no one breaks through. The best IT support companies will offer a 24/7 service, monitoring your network for any breaches.
You may also wish to consider cloud software. A cloud server is a lot more secure than storing data on a hard drive because it is less accessible for anyone outside. The data is stored separately from the business premises and can only be accessed by people within the company. If someone within your business does attempt to steal files, it is easier to trace with cloud tech.
Cost Cutting
Theft and Lawsuits are two of the most serious financial problems that will cause a loss of money in a short period. But there are other issues that can make your business less financially secure more gradually. One issue is not knowing how or not bothering to cut business costs. By allowing business costs to run high, you are putting yourself in a marketing position that is less competitive. You will have to raise the prices of the services or products that you are selling to consumers. In short, you will be forced out of the market by lower prices. This is a danger that creeps up on business owners, but it is preventable.
Your first step should be to think about energy usage. You may not realise it, but your business is perhaps wasting an incredible fortune on power. The reason for this is that businesses often take high energy costs as an avoidable obstacle. When in fact, there are ways to reduce them. One of the simplest and biggest solutions is to see if you can switch to a cheaper energy provider for your company. You will usually be on a twelve-month contract. But once that starts to run out, shop around and see if there are better rates in your area. If there are, you will immediately have cut the costs of your business.
The next consideration is outsourcing. There will be areas of your business that you are currently completing in-house that could be outsourced. By doing this, you can easily cut costs further because these services are cheaper than hiring employees. We have already mentioned one. By hiring an IT support company, you won’t have to hire technicians for your business. But you can also think about marketing. You may have hired employees to staff an entire section of your business for marketing. As harsh as it may seem, you should let these employees go. Instead, hire a company to sort the problem of marketing for you at a much lower cost. We suggest you look into hiring a digital agency. They will be able to offer you everything you need from online marketing. This will include social profile building as well as common methods such as SEO.
You may wish to consider a more drastic solution to cutting costs. You can choose to completely remodel and shape your business to make it cheaper to run. A lot of start-up companies are now run entirely from home, and this is something that you would be wise to consider. By doing this, you won’t have to pay for office space and you’ll need fewer employees. If you can run your business online, there is no need for an office. Any job that does require an office could be outsourced to another business, again limiting the costs. The cloud server we have already mentioned will allow you to maintain contact with colleagues and clients. As well as this you will be able to share any and all information.
At certain points, you will need an office. For instance, you may want to meet and impress new clients. This is hard to do by inviting them to your private home study. Instead, you can rent a virtual office for the day. You will also be able to register this as the official address of your business. The professional appearance of your company will be maintained.
We hope you have found this advice beneficial. We think these are the main financial problems you will face running your business. These solutions should be more than enough to keep them at bay, and you should find great future success.
