Insurance Insights

Starting a business provides you with the opportunity to pursue and live your dreams and earn a profit. Unfortunately, there are a number of risks associated with running your own business. This includes financial, competitive, operational, environmental and other business risks. The type of business you run will dictate exactly what extents each of the primary risks are. The following are the top four ways to reduce your startup business risk.

Today, many small business owners are trying to protect and improve their bottom lines in a number of different ways.

In general, hazards are anything that could potentially cause harm to a person or thing. In the workplace, it is typically something that could injure employees or cause injury or illness to visiting customers and clients. Hazard analysis is an important thing to take note of as a small business owner, since you are responsible for any injuries or illnesses taking place as a result of these hazards. By identifying them, you can work to reduce the risk of hazards.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless and colorless gas. Since victims cannot see, touch, smell, or taste this particular gas, it is often fatal before its victims know what’s happening. It’s not only a concern for homeowners, but for business owners as well. Combustible engines, welding, burning wood, and burning plastic produces carbon monoxide gas in the workplace. It’s also produced in poorly maintained, or vented, heating and cooking equipment, vehicle exhaust fumes, gas water heaters, fireplaces, gas stoves, and kerosene heaters.

The past several weeks or so haven’t been easy on many people up and down the eastern seaboard, as winter weather has repeatedly dropped snow on areas ranging from Maine to Georgia just days apart.

As a small business owner, if you are looking for a way to keep employees motivated and decrease their stress throughout the day, allowing them to bring their pets to work might be the answer. There are a variety of rewards to allowing pets to the workplace, but there also some risks to be aware of. As long as your employees have trained their pets to “go” outside, the pets are well-behaved, and you set up a strict pet policy, this can become a reality in your business.

In the past several years, it has been extremely difficult for many small business owners to obtain approval from lenders when it comes to loans that could help to keep their companies afloat.

Employee lawsuits often hit the heart and soul of a business. Even if you don’t believe you’re doing anything wrong, in some cases, you may be violating the law by your actions or, more specifically, inactions when complaints about certain acts in the workplace are levied against you or your employees.

Current estimates for costs of absenteeism in the workplace from Absenteeism: The Bottom-Line Killer, and cited in Forbes.com, are $3,600 each year for each hourly worker and $2,650 for salaried workers per year. It’s important to note that these numbers include a wide range of factors that go beyond lost wages paid for the day.

Cloud computing allows businesses to give access to select or all employees to the cloud. It is a network or computer system where employees with access are able to submit or capture data and other information from any remote location. Cloud computing is ideal for employees who work from home or travel for business often, and proves to be highly beneficial for many businesses. It can help keep the network organized, use less servers and save money. But there are also some risks, which must be managed. Following are 5 ways businesses can help to mitigate the risks of cloud computing.