Risk Management Tips for Business

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StrategyDriven Risk Management Article | Risk Management Tips for BusinessA certain amount of risk comes with the territory when you own a business. It is unavoidable, but that does not mean that the risk cannot be managed or effectively minimized. Here are some great risk management tips for business owners that will remain relevant regardless of how big or small your business may become.

Figure Out How to Weigh Business Risk

The mark of a successful entrepreneur is the ability to weigh risk and make tough decisions relating to that analysis. This is especially true when it comes to weighing risk in relation to potentially profitable opportunities. If a business owner is too cautious or fearful, there is a good chance that their company will stagnate and the level of growth that can be achieved over time will be drastically limited.

The reality is that learning how to weigh business risk is a skill. First, you need to create a frame of reference. The best way to do this is to categorize risks based on how severe you believe them to be. Once a decision is put into practice, weigh up the consequences based on your initial assessments and you will slowly start to develop a knack for calculating risk from there.

Embrace Powerful Technology

There is no reason why you should approach the process of managing and mitigating business risk on your own. There are so many options available to you in terms of technology that can assist in making better decisions and preventing risk from increasing.

A great example of this type of technology is KYC, or ‘Know Your Customer’. If you have yet to do so, it is important to start learning what KYC means now. Essentially, it refers to the process used by some organizations to verify the identity of an individual who wishes to make use of their services or purchase their products online. By accurately confirming identity, there is a much lower chance that anything untoward will take place in relation to your company’s dealings with a customer, such as credit card fraud or money laundering.

While predominantly used by banks and insurance agencies, KYC is a possible solution for risk mitigation for any type of business.

Formulate an Approach to Making Decisions

By approaching those difficult business decisions in the same way each time, you are likely to learn how to make better choices. Many business experts recommend formulating a list of important questions that enable you to adequately assess risk. Ask yourself the following:

  • What is likely to be the costliest consequence – the income loss associated with failure or the profit loss associated with neglecting to embrace the opportunity?
  • What is the worst possible outcome and am I adequately equipped to deal with it?
  • What is the most likely outcome?
  • What are my biggest concerns?
  • Is now the right time to proceed with this opportunity despite the risk? Or should I wait until a later time?
  • What does my gut tell me?

Keep the aforementioned tips in mind and you are sure to navigate your way around risk mitigation more successfully than in the past. Rest assured that it gets endlessly better and easier with practice!

4 Ways to Optimize Your Team for Success

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StrategyDriven Managing Your People Article | 4 Ways to Optimize Your Team for SuccessIn today’s modern world, words like “leadership” and “optimization” can feel a bit like cheap buzz words that are thrown around casually at business seminars.

Whilst there are definitely some companies that use these buzzwords to try to seem modern, being one of those companies and one of those managers that understands they don’t cut it anymore is a skill that will propel your business to the next level.

Working for Change

When we think of optimizing a team, invariably those team or personality questionnaires get thrown around, then glanced over by someone in HR only to be thrown in a drawer and never looked at again.

If you’re serious about being the change you want to see, it’s time to do some serious thinking about how you can lead your team to success by being the leader they need, not the manager they have.

Here are four things you can implement for optimizing your team for success

Lead With a Coaching Mindset

There has been a LOT of talk in the last few years about leadership coaching and the need for good leaders in organizations. Coaching in the workplace has become something that great organizations encourage as they know they can get more out of their leaders, and in turn, more out of the wider workforce.

Implement some of the coaching techniques into your day and see the difference it will make to your team.

Ensure Systems and Processes Are Up to Date

Nothing will frustrate a team more than having processes and systems that just don’t work. Take a transport management system as an example; teams need to ensure that everything is running smoothly and that they aren’t slowed down by a clog in the system or angry customers ringing up needing an update.

A good system allows clients to log in at any time, and employees to bring up information at the drop of a hat.

Give Them the Tools to Do the Job

Along with a system that doesn’t work, equipment that doesn’t work properly is a huge bane on team output. For example, if your video editor needs a high-performance laptop with a killer graphics card to do their job, listen to them and work to find a solution.

Employees will be happier when they can work to their full potential without technological hindrance.

Play to Strengths, Not Weaknesses

Employees from all sorts of backgrounds can be a huge benefit to your company. This is especially true for neurodiverse employees. Conditions such as ADHD, dyslexia, autism, and other forms of neurodiversity can be a huge benefit to your company, but only if you are willing to play to strengths and not weaknesses. GCHQ in England understand this and specifically recruit dyslexic employees for their ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking.

Richard Branson of Virgin is a hugely famous entrepreneur who is also severely dyslexic. He set up the charity Made By Dyslexia to showcase some incredible stories and share the strengths of this diverse way of thinking.

The Nitty-Gritty Aspects To Consider When Starting A Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Starting a Business|The Nitty-Gritty Aspects To Consider When Starting A BusinessThe world is business is simple and complicated in almost equal measure. The idea is fairly straightforward, and once you understand the fundamentals, you can be off and on your way to something special. The complicated parts are the initial understanding of those basics and having the drive to continue working hard in order to achieve what you can.

We all have different parts of life that we’re good at and that we’re comfortable with. The majority of us tend to enjoy the more colourful and creative sections of any project. With that said, the majority of us will then tend to struggle with the more tedious aspects. Those annoying nitty-gritty parts can bore us to death, but they do need to be done in order to get things up and running. If you don’t know what these kinds of things are, then here are a few examples for you – hopefully, they give you an idea of the other side of the grind:

Where/How Are You Going To Stump Up The Capital?

In order to make money in this game, you need to invariably spend it first. If you have no money to begin your venture, then you’re going to struggle to get everything moving. Saving up for a while is the easiest way to stump up the money, of course, but you could look for investment via start-up loans and angel investors, too. You could also take the bootstrapping approach if you feel as though you can organically make something out of precious little.

Do You Understand All The Necessary Formalities

As we mentioned before, there are many little nuggets of info that need to be sorted out and submitted before you can even begin your business. You also need to confirm things personally for the likes of tax reasons. Right now, you may not have much of an idea of what these formalities are, but a quick internet search will point you towards registration, data laws, and health & safety aspects.

What Insurance Do You Need?

Every business should have insurance if it wants to be a successful one. You never know what issue(s) might be around the corner, so having that financial safety net could (and probably would) prevent you from disaster. You do, however, need to make sure your business policy offers the proper coverage, so scanning through a bunch of different policies is imperative.

How Much Will You Spend On Marketing?

Marketing will always be important in terms of selling a product or offering a service. The amount you spend on it needs to be taken into account, though. Are you going to work with an agency, for instance, or will you build up hours of screen time yourself? This kind of thing matters as you’ll want the best possible return on investment regarding such a significant aspect of a business.

A Checklist for Entrepreneurs Considering Their First Business Premises

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Business Premises|A Checklist for Entrepreneurs Considering Their First Business PremisesAs a startup business, choosing your very first business premises is a crucial choice. Getting the right location and building for you can help jumpstart everything you have been working towards and put your key business plan into action.

While setting up your first business premises can be an exciting (albeit nerve-wracking) time, it’s important to plan ahead and be sure that you’re realistic about what you require.

Deciding to Buy or Rent

This is possibly the biggest question in terms of wants and needs and will primarily depend on your budget and position. As an entrepreneur, it may be that you don’t have the required funds to fall back on for making huge deposits in order to buy a property, so renting may be your only option. Or, it may be that you do have enough to either buy or rent, so you will need to weigh up the pros and cons fairly. Think about your long-term goal and the flexibility each option could afford you.

Stick to Your Budget

Always be very strict about what you can afford. If you’re viewing properties and find what you believe to be the perfect option but it’s far out of your budget, don’t try and stretch your funds and don’t risk getting into debt before you’ve even begun. You can always work up to a bigger or better property in the future, but for now, make sure you have a strict budget and stick to it.

Consider All Security Extras

When considering your business property, you should also factor extra necessities into your budget and planning, particularly in the realm of security measures. You will need to think about installing CCTV systems and relevant alarms, and professional suppliers and fitters like Jackson Fire can help you do that, as well as provide quotes ahead of time.

Think About Commutability

It’s naturally important to think about the building itself — and the interior of it. However, have you also considered its location regarding accessibility and commutability? Not only do you need to ensure that all employees can easily get to your business building, but if you’re planning on having a lot of visitors, whether consumers or otherwise, you need to ensure that your location is easy to get to.

Think about being close to transport links and in the thick of it where necessary. Or, if you do need to be a little more remote for the right building, at least provide car parking facilities and clear directions for visitors.

Think About the Company Growth

You should always be thinking about the future when developing your startup, and this includes the potential for growth. If your future plans see you growing your business in a way which won’t affect your physical premises, then you may be able to stick with your first choice long term. However, if your growth plans see you needing bigger premises to grow along with you, then factor that into your location plans.

3 Important Tips For Starting A Mining Business

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StrategyDriven Starting Your Business Article |Starting a Mining Business|3 Important Tips For Starting A Mining BusinessIf you are looking for new startup ideas, you will probably be looking at growth industries like tech. But sometimes, the best opportunities are in the industries that nobody is really talking about. The chances are, you haven’t considered starting a mining business, and it may not seem that exciting, but you should definitely think about it because there are some great opportunities in the industry.

You could start your own mining company and dig for resources or you could look into areas, like mining equipment or consultancy. Materials are always in demand, and there is a lot of money to be made in the mining industry if you get it right. However, there are a lot of hurdles that you have to get over. If you are interested in starting your own mining business, here are a few important tips to consider before you break ground.

Do Your Research

If you don’t have any prior experience in the mining industry, you need to make sure that you do your research. Now is the time to learn how to network and start connecting with notable figures in the industry. If you already know anybody that is working in the industry, get in touch with them and find out about their business and some of the challenges that they have faced. If you are planning to start a mining company in another country, it’s important that you research the logistics of starting a business abroad. Unless you do your research, you will be out of your depth when you start your new business.

Prioritize Health And Safety

The mining industry is dangerous and, as an employer, it’s up to you to make sure that all of your employees are safe. If you do not prioritize health and safety, you will find yourself dealing with mining accident injury lawyers and you will have to pay out some big settlements. This could be enough to sink your business before you get off the ground, so it’s vital that you have all of the correct health and safety measures in place. Make sure that you invest in training for all new employees, and put on refresher courses every year so you can be sure that everybody is always following health and safety rules. It’s also important to keep up with maintenance on any equipment so it is always in good working order and safe for employees to use.

Hire Experienced Site Managers

When you are starting a mining business, you need to pay close attention to your hiring process and hire some experienced site managers. Take a strategic approach to hiring and be realistic about the areas of the business where your knowledge is lacking. If you can hire experienced site managers that you can trust with the day to day running of the mining operation itself, you can handle the business side of things.

The mining industry has a lot of great opportunities for entrepreneurs, but if you are planning to start your own mining business, it’s important to keep these things in mind.