Cincinnati, OH – June 13, 2005 – Though
no business is free from risk and worry, there are a few ways to significantly
lower the risk of typical startup hazards. Brad Forsythe, founder of Best Practice
Advisors LLC in Milford, Ohio, and author of Bulletproof Your Business: Cutting Risk
for Small Business Owners and Managers, shares his tips:
1. Focus your energies on what makes you the most money. This limits
your risk in that you're not spreading yourself too thin. If you allow
yourself to be pulled in a zillion directions, you take away from what
makes you profitable in the first place. Don't let off-focus opportunities
derail you from your main vision.
2. Don't build a business you can't finance. This is an issue
that dwarfs other issues. Access to capital is vastly more important than
anything and everything else. You've got to be very wise on how you approach
your financing and secure as much startup capital as you can.
3. Think ahead. By establishing plans for dealing with
production delays or problems with vendors beforehand, you'll be able to
defuse these issues quickly, without hurting your bottom line. "There are
simple things you can do within your own company," says Forsythe. "Once you
put [your contingency plans] in place, they'll last for a long time."
4. Draft legal agreements. Have standard contracts like
noncompetes and nondisclosure agreements on hand to deal with your three main
liabilities: employees, vendors and customers. Getting everything in writing
limits your liability in case things go sour (like an employee leaving and taking
two other top sellers with him).
5. Don't fear risk--manage it. Managing your risks–that is,
limiting your liabilities and general exposure–keeps trouble at bay and gives
you the freedom to innovate. "You've got to take those risks to expand your
market," says Forsythe. Hiding from all risks, even the innovative, invigorating
kind, can cause your business to get run over–which is an even bigger risk.
# # #
Contact
Rodger Roeser, APR
Vice President, Justice & Young PR
513.388.4700 x3012
rodger@jypublicrelations.com
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