The first year of business is tough. You have lots of outgoings and upfront costs to get started, but you’re not turning a regular profit yet and don’t have your regular clients and customers to make you feel secure with money. While failure can happen any time in business, for many companies it tends to be within the first year which is such a shame, as it shows that things never really got off the ground in the first place. To keep any eye on things and try to avoid these pitfalls, here’s what you need to know.
Stick to good health and safety practices
Accidents can and do happen in business, but most can be avoided by following health and safety rules really closely. This involves making sure everyone has the right training, the right equipment and the right understanding of what they’re doing in their job roles.
Be wary of theft
Unfortunately whenever you have something worth taking, there will be criminals out there looking to get their hands on it. It could be stock from your shop, it could be online hackers trying to get your customers sensitive data, it could be gangs trying to steal money, company cars or anything else of value. Take proper security measures both online and in person, and make sure you’re properly insured. Did you know that as well as insuring possessions you can also insure people? Keyman insurance works by covering the most important people in your business who the company cannot continue without. This gives you excellent peace of mind.
Act fast when business slows down
Was business going well, but has now slowed down? There can be lots of reasons for this and it’s not always something to worry about. For example, if your business is in retail you’ll get a surge in orders around public holidays with a decline after. Other times can also be slower, for example April is tax month and both self employed individuals and companies often spend less during this time after paying a hefty tax bill. However if there’s no logical explanation and you’re worried that something has gone wrong is read your recent reviews, any complaints that keep cropping up show you you have areas that need to be addressed. Otherwise you may need to adjust your marketing techniques as it might just be a case of not reaching the right people.
Dealing with bankruptcy
Sometimes business fails and there’s nothing you could have done to stop it, take the credit crunch for example where a lack of money from consumers meant even well established huge businesses went into administration. However, many times financial issues and poorly managed business is what leads to newer companies failing. Make sure you do your research to stay on top of the field you’re in, use an accountant to manage your money and keep productivity high so that you’re not wasting time. If you do go bankrupt, be sure to take the lessons with you so that if you start another venture in the future, you can avoid the same mistakes.
