Keeping Your SME On Track

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic happened, running a successful business was far from easy. So, any success that you do achieve should be protected at all costs. Otherwise, you will be destined to join the one in two businesses that fail within the first five years.

Why Business Protection Is Important

Before investing extra time, effort, and money into any business concept or strategy, you must validate it. Protecting your business serves many purposes, including but not limited to;

• Satisfy human responsibilities to protect employees, clients, and visitors.
• Prevent the expense of replacing stolen items.
• Avoid fines for not managing sensitive and personal data.
• Escape the hassle of responding to threats.
• Keep productivity at the highest possible levels, escaping downtime.
• Inspire trust in the business and maintain a strong brand image.
• Establish peace of mind by knowing that your business is safe.
• Make it easier to create accurate growth projections.

It’s the oldest cliché in the book, but it really is better to be safe than sorry. For the sake of productivity, profitability, safety, and sanity, you must not get this wrong.

5 Ways To Successfully Protect The Future Of Your Business

The incentives for playing greater attention to business protection are clear. The next step is to build a strategy capable of providing the 360° coverage you deserve. Here are five key steps to consider.

Master Security

Suitable business protection should cover far more than just security. Nonetheless, you cannot ignore the importance of this feature. It is the foundation of building a safe business. All commercial premises should be supported by CCTV, alarm systems, and secure access points. Meanwhile, external lighting may help deter threats. Security staff are another wise investment.

In today’s climate, security isn’t all about physical assets. Digital security is an equally crucial matter as cyberattacks are on the rise. Worse still, many cybercriminals target SMEs. This is because their systems are often less robust than those implemented by major firms. A comprehensive, managed service with strong identification and response protocols is vital.

It’s important to understand that the type of security you need will depend on a variety of key factors. This could include the industry that you are part of as well as the assets that you are trying to protect. For instance, larger commercial assets will require more advanced forms of security such as network simulation software. With this form of protection, you can take preemptive strikes against dangerous cyber issues.

Protect Ideas

Stolen products will hit your finances on an immediate impact. However, the loss is probably quite small in the grand scheme of things. More importantly, you should be looking to protect your business ideas and intellectual property. Copyright agreements and patents can prevent other businesses from trying to capitalise.

While external threats require attention, you must not overlook internal ones. Ex-employees or contractors could easily try to benefit from your innovations or contacts list. You can find out how the use of non-disclosure agreements will protect you here. Suffice to say that they’ll save you a lot of time, money, and hassle.

You should also aim to stop counterfeit goods. Here are 5 ways to protect the intellectual property of your business

Focus On Productivity

Protecting a business isn’t all about keeping hold of the things you already possess. You also need to ensure that the company will keep moving in the right direction, which is why productivity is a priority. First and foremost, you must learn to manage your employees. This includes freelancers and remote-based workers. Their efficiency will deliver great results.

Bad workers aren’t the only ones that will blame inadequate tools and facilities. Therefore, it’s vital that all machinery, equipment, software, and systems are in great health. Regular updates should be used to ensure that your productivity levels are at optimal speeds. Likewise, staff training should play a central role in their continued development.

Prepare For The Worst 

Prevention is the best form of protection, but all SMEs should expect to encounter issues from time to time. Readying yourself for downtime or unforeseen circumstances is an essential part of the process. You can read more about disaster recovery solutions here to stop major disruptions. If nothing else, it prevents panic.

The coronavirus pandemic has shown that you must put contingencies in place too. Whether it’s allowing workers to work from home, contactless payments, delivery services, or something else is up to you. Either way, you need to analyse the business model to identify all potential issues. And then focus on how to solve them.

Stop Wasting Money 

Whatever way you look at things, the success of your business will rely on money. If the revenue isn’t greater than the overheads, nothing else you do matters. Therefore, you must look to find ways of keeping your costs down. From securing better business energy rates to using new delivery suppliers, every saving is a bonus.

Further steps can include going paperless in the office or using effective digital ad campaigns. Ultimately, if you can make your capital work harder, it will give you a far better shot at sustained success. The added flexibility in the selling arena can also make a big difference as you bid to stay ahead of the competition.