So, you’ve decided to branch out and set up your own business? These days, people like you are taking this step straight out of college. After all, if you have the ambition, the drive, and the business idea that you want to pursue, then there’s really no reason not to do this. You can find your footing on the market and quickly make the right impression with your company. At least, that’s what you hope, but there’s always the potential here that things don’t go according to plan. If that happens, it will usually be because you have run into a pitfall of starting up your own business. Let’s look at the potential disasters here and how to make sure that you completely avoid them.
Personal Injuries
Every year, businesses are inundated with personal injury claims. These are based on the fact that employees are injured at work. That could be due to an unsafe environment, human error or a problem with the equipment being used. It could be anything with some industries obviously being more of a risk than others. Make no mistake though, it’s quite possible that an injury does occur in a busy office rather than somewhere like a construction site.
So, how do you avoid the issue in your small business? Well, a good starting point would be to hire a health and safety officer. Their role is going to be looking around your business on a daily basis and making sure that any and every potential hazard is dealt with head-on. It’s a crucial role that must be filled in any company and it can be a side task of an existing member of staff. You may even want to complete this position yourself but it must be handled by the book.
Unfair Hiring Practices
Alternatively, it’s equally possible that there’s an issue with unfair hiring practices in your business. There are certain lines you can’t cross when you’re hiring team members for your company. For instance, you can’t discriminate based on religion, age, gender, and various other factors. Employers are so wary of issues here that they hire the top law firms like Ogletree Deakins who themselves recruit the top legal professionals. You need to take this issue as seriously as other companies on the market. One slip up here and you could be facing a nasty lawsuit. That’s not even mentioning the damage that it might cause to your business reputation.
Now, if you are worried that you’re not conducting recruitment for your business the right way, you may wish to consider passing the job to professionals who will be able to. There are plenty of teams on the market who know exactly how to handle this role and will complete most of the legwork for you. That way, you won’t have to worry about being on the wrong side of the line here. You can also pass over a lot of responsibility as well.
RSI
We’ve already talked about injuries in the office. Well, RSI is one of the most common issues here and it’s particularly relevant to the typical startup. Particularly if you are engaging in a crunch where employees work long hours to kickstart the company. RSI is any type of pain in the upper limbs caused by a repetitive strain such as typing on a keyboard. This isn’t going to just leave you open to a lawsuit. It will obliterate levels of productivity in your business and that alone makes it worth avoiding completely.
To do this, you need to make sure that employees are taking regular breaks throughout the day. About five minutes every hour should do it and you should also make sure you invest in ergonomic chairs. That way, you can guarantee that you won’t have to worry about the environment causing the problem.
No Protection
Finally, do make sure that you are investing in the right level of security and protection for your business. This includes both physical and digital systems. For instance, antivirus software is one of the most crucial elements. This will guarantee that any client data is safely under lock and key. You should also make sure that you are investing in a cloud server. Research shows that storing data on the cloud is far safer and more secure compared to the typical or traditional hard drive.
In terms of physical security, consider anything from personal ID scanning systems to CCTV. Be aware that running a business from your home does not make you exempt from this. You could still find yourself targeted by criminals.