When running a business, you might hope that your financial story is going to be one of steady success and growth.
However, in most cases, success is rarely uninterrupted. A poor handling of existing accounts, a crisis necessitating large expenses, operational errors. These can all be a great financial hit to the business.
The mark of a truly successful company is the ability to take those hits and keep going. How does a business owner make sure that they won’t be sunk by a single crisis?
Protect what you can
There are some risks that can’t be covered by existing protection packages. However, packages from services like One Sure Insurance can help you protect what you can.
In a business that deals with deliveries, for instance, you have to be fully aware that those vehicles come not just with running costs but breakdown and breakage risks.
All businesses operating in their own premises should also be fully aware of their liability in regards to any health and safety risks posed to the people visiting or working in the premises.
If your business is online, then your biggest financial liability may well be your data. Focus on data security, protecting your site and servers not just with barriers to unauthorised access, but security protocols that dictate who can access what as well as how and where they access it.
Update your understanding
Another risk both before and after a financial hit is a misunderstanding of the realities of the business’s finances. Some risky situations might be created, for instance, by accepting repeat business from customers who are regularly late with payments. If they pose that much of a threat, it’s worth considering turning them away next time.
Otherwise, consider chasing overdue payments more resolutely and using factoring solutions like Finance Quoted to make sure that your bank balance matches your understanding of how much you should have.
Keep updating your list of accounts payable and accounts receivable. Otherwise, you may be spending money that you don’t really have.
Adapting to loss
Protecting and updating your finances can help you prevent further risk, but how do you take care of the business that’s suffering due to loss?
In most cases, it’s about staying flexible and always having a strategy to scale down costs as soon you need to.
Every business should have a list of costs, formulate that in advance and prioritise them, finding where you’re most likely to have to cut costs if it comes down to it.
You should consider streamlining the business, whether it’s through updating software that allows for more efficient work or systemising certain processes to reduce lost time and money in your day-to-day operations.
Creating a more lean, money-saving machine now could save you from having to reduce your number of employees in future.
So long as you’re well aware of your risks, listening to customers and employees alike, and always looking for ways to cover your vulnerabilities, you might never face a financial crisis. However, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be prepared for the possibility.
