Entrepreneurship today has taken on a certain bravado that often comes dangerously close to recklessness. Some sectors, such as the tech industry, are notorious for their high-octane start-ups that end in some high-octane closures.
What gets lost in all the sensationalism, however, is that behind these failures fortunes are lost, reputations ruined, and lives dramatically altered- many times for the worse.
The saddest part to these stories is that often a lot of the damage could have been averted had certain precautions been taken by the owners.
Small Business Owners Don't Have the Luxury to Make Big Mistakes
The other day, I happened upon this infographic on defective medical device lawsuits, and it got me thinking. How many times do we hear about massive recalls on a company's defective or tainted products, or a big business' chronic lack of communication, support, and apparent concern towards its clientele, and yet more often than not, the company lives to tell the tale. Why? Because the bigger the business, the more resources its got, and the more influence it has to maintain the most profitable status quo. Whether you realize it or not, the powers that be have built in to their business model the cost of poor quality and customer service. It's a known expense that they are willing to eat. It's easier than ratifying the system.
But with small businesses, such things would lead to immediate closure, as well as a possible string of debilitating lawsuits. The bottom line is that just because your business is small, you have to be extra vigilant, and you have to take the right precautions.
Last week, I wrote a post about some of the benefits to incorporating your business, even if you are not planning on purchasing stock. But there have been many other posts on The Frugal Entrepreneur that focus on some of the fundamental best practices that cash-strapped small business owners in particular tend to ignore and then regret it afterwards. Here is a list of the top eleven topics:
- Setting Up an Emergency Fund in Your Small Business
- A Guide to Small Business Disaster Planning
- Are You Properly Insuring Your Home Business?
- Business Insurance: What Is It and Why You Need It
- 11 Tips for Buying Cheap, But Good Business Travel Insurance
- The Best Online Health and Safety Resources for Small Business Owners
- Why Your Small Business Needs a Substance Abuse Policy and How to Make One
- An Essentional Health and Safety Checklist for Home Business Owners
- Should You Consider Online Reputation Management Services for Your Business?
- Simple Low-Cost Solutions for Data Backup in Your Business
- Should You Get Loan Insurance Protection for Your Business?
If you are you thinking of starting or are currently running a small business, you owe it to yourself, your customers, and your community to do things responsibly. Should anything go wrong, you'll be very glad that you were prepared.