What are your most significant small business risks?

Using an Attorney/Lawyer can be expensive but not using one proactively can be more costly. You are good at your craft but do you know everything about starting and running a business? Do you have several hours available to Google answers... assuming you even knew the right questions to ask? You don't know what you don't know and legal missteps can cost you time, money, and possibly your business. You need a good Business Attorney/Lawyer, or legal service, sooner versus later. Trust me, no matter what it costs (and there are affordable options), the peace of mind that comes with having an Attorney/ Lawyer in your back pocket is priceless!

Sarah, a young entrepreneur, was enticed by an unproven business model. Ignoring warnings, she invested her savings, fueled by enthusiasm and ambition. When initial challenges arose, she acted hastily, driven by desperation rather than understanding. Her friends' advice for patience and caution fell on deaf ears, as she continued making impulsive decisions. Eventually, her business failed, and Sarah was left burdened with debt. The town saw her venture as a lesson in the importance of strategy, patience, and careful investment. Sarah's failure underscored that excitement must be balanced with wisdom and that strategic thinking often prevails over haste. Her story became a cautionary tale.

By far and away the biggest risk to a small business is managing cashflow. "Cash IS king" and I can't bang on enough about it... I see too many people try to manage their business by just looking at their bank balance. A good financial software package (e.g., Xero - others are available etc) gives you a rudimentary cashflow function. But, there's no substitute to looking at least 3-6 months ahead on what's coming in and what's expected to go out...

One of the biggest risks for small businesses is lack of documentation of internal processes early on. Typically, the founder handles everything and may not anticipate when they will need assistance. As the workload increases, it becomes challenging to delegate tasks without proper documentation or training. This can make it difficult for new hires to understand their roles and responsibilities.

As an experienced emergency manager and entrepreneur operational risk is a real concern for small businesses - bricks and mortar and digital alike. What I have found is most people think that insurance will cover everything and if your business is all online all you need is a laptop. All businesses should do at minimal, annually a risk assessment and business impact analysis. Review your insurance policy, does it include business disruption? In addition to natural hazards, evacuations, there is cybersecurity, health emergencies, and many other factors. Know your risks, evaluate the likelihood of occurrence, make a plan, test it and adjust as needed. If an unforeseen event occurs the impact to your business and finances will be protected.

A decent strategic plan should be lived and breathed (is that a word?) every day. Don't confuse a strategy plan with a business plan, they're completely different animals. You're strategy plan should describe what (you want to achieve), when (you want it by) and how (you're going do it). A business plan just does what and when - it's the "how" that's generally missing.

Before a decision to take on a new project is made you should consider completing a risk matrix. Rank the risks for severity and create a mitigation plan to lessen impact. Reputational risk is a real concern and can destroy a business if mitigation efforts are not in place. Having a crisis communication plan ready in advance of anything occurring will allow you to focus on the crisis and respond in a timely manner. Silence is not golden when something goes wrong. Don’t avoid a problem or try to delete it (social media). Honest, transparency, and accepting responsibility (if warranted) will silence rumours. There are many great examples of businesses who had the potential to be ruined but took the right action. e.g. The Tylenol Crisis