There are all kinds of business models and ways that companies attempt to make money. Since no two businesses are exactly alike, it’s hard to come up with a master list of areas that companies frequently neglect.
However, there are certain universalities that all businesses share. With that in mind, we’ve come up with a few areas to which the average company doesn’t always pay as much attention as it should.
If you’re a company owner or operator, then think about your business as you look at this list. If you realize that you’re neglecting any of the areas that we mentioned, you should take steps to alleviate that problem.
Natural Disaster Preparedness
All types of natural disasters can occur. For instance, depending on where you are in the country or the world, you might have to worry about things like hurricanes, floods, typhoons, lightning strikes, heavy winds, extreme cold, and so forth.
You may feel like you have to think about some of these more than others, but climate change is making some areas that were previously safe from certain weather events feel less so now. Consider the extreme cold that crashed the Texas power grid recently and caused such catastrophic damage.
As a business owner, you need to think about natural disaster preparedness, whether you have company equipment, brick-and-mortar store locations, or both. What that will look like will probably vary depending on your business model, but you’ll undoubtedly want to prepare your company equipment for a disaster before it comes, rather than try to pick up the pieces afterward.
Background Checks
Most businesses will run a basic background check on their workers before they hire them. However, you might not go deep enough in all cases.
The internet is a vast network that can reveal virtually anything about your would-be employees. It’s often not a bad idea to dig into social media accounts and elsewhere to learn as much as you can about them before you go ahead and hire them.
You can often start by getting a police report when you want to find out about someone’s past, but that might not be sufficient. If you do learn that an individual has made some inappropriate comments at some point or has a criminal record, you might reconsider whether they are the best fit for your company’s needs.
Not Enough Insurance
You also know that your business needs insurance. You might not be sure what kinds you need or how robust your policies need to be, though.
For instance, you might need vehicle insurance if you have company trucks or cars that you use to transport your merchandise from place to place. You may require product liability insurance if you make physical products. You might want to get work stoppage insurance that can keep your company afloat if you run into some unexpected obstacles.
If you’re unsure which kinds of insurance you need, talking to an insurance broker is a smart idea. You’ll want one that knows about business insurance specifically and one that deals with your niche in particular.
Fire and Other Emergency Drills
If you do have brick-and-mortar locations, you might also want to implement periodic fire and other emergency safety drills. This way, if an emergency does occur, your workers will know what to do.
Companies often don’t bother training their employees, and when the unexpected happens, they’ll mill about, unsure of what their jobs are. You might set up an emergency action plan and designate various positions for your different workers.
You can have one individual lead your employees to a nearby shelter while someone else calls 911. If you run through training sessions at least every six months, you’ll be much better equipped if your workers encounter some unforeseen event.
Security Features
If you work in the digital world, you might not have enough security features to keep your sensitive data safe. Depending on whether you have an IT department or you use a cloud-based service, you might need such things as a network firewall, password protection, and antivirus software.
You might hire a company to do penetration testing to see how easily they can access your sensitive data. They can probe for weaknesses and recommend action if they find any glaring deficiencies.
The better you prepare your company for the unexpected, the better position you will be in when it happens. Don’t assume the worst will occur, but know that it can, and be ready for it.
