The Four Areas Of Your Business You Need To Protect

As a small business, one of your first goals is to protect your business. Any small hiccup in the early days can set you wildly off course. Both the time and money in rectifying problems can cripple a small business. Larger business can handle the big impacts, but as a small business, you need to be prepared. We’ve pulled together the four most vulnerable areas where your small business is at risk.

The areas range from physical risks like your property and offices to intellectual property. We’ll also take a quick look at any legal protection you should take. Finally we’ll discuss how to protect your secure data and information. Taking small steps to protect these areas early on will make a big difference in the future. Not only that but it will give you peace of mind that your business is securely protected.

1. Property

First of all, you need to protect your physical property. This could be an office, a factory or warehouse. Everywhere that you store important documents and valuable equipment could be at risk. The first step is to take out business insurance in case of theft or fire damage. That will help you replace any valuables and pay for damage. However, go one step further and protect the property before anything happens. Install wireless CCTV and motion sensors around the area.

Thanks to Mike_Fleming for the image

2. Ideas

Your intellectual property is your most valuable asset as a small business. When you’re starting out, your ideas are the most important thing you own. They are the foundation and potential of your future business. Not everyone is out to steal your ideas, but sometimes they can be stumbled upon accidentally. Don’t take any risk and make sure you trademark your business name. Apply for patents for any valuable ideas and concepts too.

3. Liability

As a business, you are liable for the health and safety of any clients and customers on your property. You are also liable for the safety of any employees while in your care. We talked about business insurance earlier. Good business insurance policies should cover liability in these areas. However, consult a lawyer to ensure that you are covered for every eventuality. A person injury claim or liability lawsuit can be incredibly expensive and time consuming. As a new business, you need to keep costs low.

4. Data

Finally, protecting your data is vital. There may be classified or secretive information within your documents and data. Use non-disclosure agreements to ensure that secret data isn’t leaked. More importantly, there is probably months worth of work stored on your computers. Ensure you have sufficient hard drives and cloud backups. Try to keep four copies of work. One on a computer, one on a hard drive, one on a cloud system and one physical copy. It can be devastating to a business to lose reports, accounts and pitches all in one go. Always backup!

There you have it, the four vital areas of business to protect yourself. In the first few years of business, you need constant momentum. An infraction on any of these areas could set you back months and cost you a fortune. Cover yourself early and guard yourself against risk.