At our next Accelerator Club we will be looking at the risks a small business faces.
Any search on google will reveal a vast array of potential pitfalls. At our session we will look at some of these and consider what are the most important we need to be prepared for. To use an old expression, hope for the best but prepare for the worst is a good starting point.
So what types of risk are there?
External Risks
These are the ones we have little control over. Recently we lost a couple of hour’s production time as a result of an infrastructure failure within BT systems that stopped our broadband. There are ways to get round this, but if you have no backup, waiting for it to be fixed can be frustrating.
We have also experienced a whole day power cut, again something outside of our control.
Other factors can be changes in government policy, Brexit, natural disasters, major bad debts (financial risk) and a whole host of other things that can disrupt day to day business.
If we think back to changes in technology in our working lives, our products or services can face becoming obsolete.
Internal Risks
Internal risks are very much within the control of a small business. They tend to be people related, either our teams or how we deal with customers. Poor customer service is a threat, so is low employee engagement. Sudden serious illness to key employees, whilst not directly the fault of a business, can have a major disruptive effect and can be prepared for.
Security Risks
The recent tightening around data security reminds all businesses the importance of looking after data properly. Running your business depends very much on this data; security breaches are one factor but if your data is not up to date, or worse even wrong, it could be impeding your progress.
Reputation
Your status with customers is also critical; some businesses have failed when disaster around health issues have struck. Assessing these risks and having a plan to deal with them promptly could be very important.
Conclusions
The aim of our next session will be to consider the key risks we face and how we can put the required measures in place to make sure we continue to sleep at night. Book here or for more information contact us.