10/ 31/ 2007
by Jeffrey Moses
Things that go clunk in the night. The sound of fingernails being scraped down a blackboard. Walking alone at midnight on an empty street and suddenly hearing footsteps behind you.
Ah, it must be Halloween. The time of year when we love to be scared and sometimes even pay money to be grossed out. No matter how old we are or practical we think we've become, there’s a little kid inside us that relishes the bizarre, the odd and the creepy. Except, of course, when it comes to running a business.
There’s nothing fun about something going wrong in the operations of a small business. In fact, business as usual is almost always a good thing. But since we're in the spirit of Halloween and it’s the season to be frightened out of our wits, here’s a list of 10 ghastly ghouls that can spook any small-business owner.
Each of these ghastly ghouls has been discussed in previous Tools & Tips articles. Please refer to the archives for ways to prepare and prevent these most unpleasant things from happening to you.
1. Internal theft. This is probably the creepiest ghoul of all. It sneaks up on you like a ghostly stalker in the night, silent, unexpected, but suddenly right in your face. Often, the shock value is followed by a sense of betrayal because employees in a small company are like family members.
2. Computer failure, with complete loss of data. Was it poltergeists? The work of unseen evil? Whatever it was, suddenly you're left staring at a blank, useless computer screen. You say to yourself: “Why, oh, why didn't we buy those backup hard drives? Why didn't we listen to our resident geek when he suggested a system that automatically backs up every night? It would have been so simple and cost-effective!”
3. Natural disasters. These are the minutes and hours of which nightmares are made. Our normally calm, sane business surroundings turned into a maelstrom of chaos and confusion when a tornado, flood, hurricane or lightning strikes. Such disasters sometimes come swooping down from the sky like “Jeepers Creepers,” or in the case of hurricanes, with several days warning. But with advance preparedness, we can move confidently past them into a safe, protected future.
4. IRS audit. This ghoul lurking under the bed may keep you awake and give you night sweats, but it’s hardly ever as dreadful as imagined—if you record your income and expenses accurately and honestly.
5. Discovering too late that losses are uninsured. This is a double whammy. First, the loss itself, perhaps of property or income, hits. Then you find out the loss is not covered by the insurance you thought would have protected you. But of all the ghastly ghouls on the list, this is probably the easiest to prevent. Avoid it by discussing your coverage often with your insurance representative.
6. The sudden loss of a key employee. Through death or illness, family emergency or simply quitting without notice, the loss of an important employee can leave you hanging by your fingernails at the edge of your office high-rise. You can minimize the potential havoc of this bogeyman with foresight and key-man insurance.
7. The sudden loss of major customer. If you've allowed one customer to grow into an uncomfortably large percentage of your total business, you could be in for a Halloween onslaught of devils and demons. There’s usually little preventing a customer from shifting business to a competitor, even if you have a seemingly ironclad contract. Hang a cross and some garlic beside your window to keep this vampire at bay by not allowing any single customer to become so important to you that the loss would cripple your business.
8. A new competitor arriving on the scene. Like Frankenstein at your doorstep, a huge new competitor has to be dealt with. You simply can't turn away and pretend it’s not there. But strategies can be implemented to reduce loss of market share. Consult with experienced business advisors to find out what others have done to outwit the monster.
9. The rising cost of health insurance. Small businesses nationwide are faced with this bloodsucking fiend. There’s not much that can be done about it except to consult with your insurance representative to find the most cost-effective plan available for your business and geographic area.
10. Problems outside of business. These range from family concerns to health difficulties. Everyone wants to let out a bloodcurdling scream from time to time when outside influences drain your time and energy. They're a part of business, and often a person has to realize that it’s necessary to take some time off and handle important issues, rather than continue to work full-time and become overly stressed.
