You never know what is going to happen – if we did, we would probably always make the best decision for our business.
Since we don’t know, it is our duty to make sure that we do everything in our power to make sure we protect our business as best we can.
There are occasions where you can’t be prepared, like with the recent pandemic. No one knew that was coming – and just how much it would impact businesses.
However, here are a few ways that you can be covered for as much as possible.
Contents
Legal Entity
Make sure that you have got your business registered in the best way. You might be a sole proprietor, a corporation, or an LTD.
You need to make sure that you have the business registered in the best legal entity for you. As a sole trader, all of the business debts will become yours, and that might put your car, home, and other assets at risk.
There are benefits to having your business as a corporation apart from yourself. While some additional forms to fill out and taxes can be a bit more complicated, it can often be best – as it is considered legally separate.
Another exciting feature is often LTD, and corporations are entitled to extra tax deductions or credits.
Record Keeping
If record-keeping isn’t your strong point, it is a good idea to get into the habit as quickly as possible. Having well-kept records can keep you out of financial trouble as well as legal trouble.
You should try to keep two sets of records whenever possible—one digital and one hard copy.
To help you keep your record-keeping in good order, it is a good idea to have a bookkeeper and accountant work on your financial file keeping.
When organizing your files and folders, use clear labels, and ensure dates on everything.
Use a hard disk drive as the backup for your digital files.
Here are a couple of the records and files you should be keeping:
- Invoices
- Bank statements
- Contracts and agreements
- Memberships
- Certificates
- Tax documents
- Receipts
Those are just a few that you will need to keep track of.
Insurance
Suppose you have the right insurance – the what if won’t be worrisome anymore. Each business will need a different kind of insurance, and insurance protects you from several things. You need to make sure that you have a policy that matches your business.
If you happen to have staff, you will need a policy that can help you and protect your business if somebody was to cause property damage, sustain an injury, have an accident on your premises, or while completing work for your business.
You must check out the general liability insurance. General liability insurance will cover the costs if a vendor or a customer gets injured at your business. It will also cover the costs if you accidentally damage a customer’s property while working for them.
Professional liability insurance will be specific to what you do. Quite often, professional liability insurance is ideal for those who sell services. If a client accuses you of something like negligence, for example, you will be covered while providing services.
Even if you are found not to have done anything wrong, you might be liable for legal fees. Insurance will help you cover those expensive legal costs.
Cyber security
Every time you have a transaction from a customer, you are gathering valuable information. If you were to suffer from a cybercriminal attack, the knowledge that your clients had provided you with would be at risk.
You should do your utmost to ensure that at all times, your client’s and customers’ details, including their payment details, are protected as well as the system that you use within the business.
Take your cyber business’s cyber security seriously, and hire a company that has multiple cyber security solutions.
Expenses
Sometimes we cannot be prepared for significant financial losses. One of the best ways that we can do that is to cut expenses in advance. The leaner you run your business, the bigger your profit margin, and the more cash you will have if anything goes wrong.
Most businesses often start out having the most expensive items. However, you can cut the costs pretty quickly.
Consider a rolling contract on software this way; if you need to cancel, you can do so at any time. Check thoroughly all of the subscriptions that your business has.
Are you paying monthly for something you’re not using? Is it possible for your company to work entirely remotely, cutting out the commute time? Do you need to pay for expensive marketing items for your marketing, or could you use a social media-heavy strategy and support a blog and blood content?
You must ask yourself do you need these items or are they just nice to have right now.
MVP
If you want to future-proof your business, you need to streamline and support the processes that create your best product or service. Your MVP is your most viable product/most valuable product and often brings in the most money.
When it comes to putting R&D money into a product, it’s often better to invest it back into your MVP.
Well, it is okay to offer a range of services; you want to make sure that your primary offering is the outstanding one, as this will be your workhorse.
Authenticity
When you talk about future proof in your small business, one of the main things that should come into the equation is authenticity.
You must run your business with a level of transparency and honesty. This will mean that your customers will become long-term customers because they know that they can trust you.
The same works with your workmen or your team; always treat them with integrity and kindness, which will ensure your company’s longevity.
After all, one of the fundamental ways to future-proof your business is to have an incredible reputation.
If you are gearing up to launch your new company, read this first: Launching A New Business: The Essentials.
