Starting a new business is a rather exhilarating enterprise. The main objective of a good business is to create a sustainable source of income in a safe and predictable manner. It can be an exciting challenge to strive toward that goal. However, it is important to keep one thing in check first; minimizing the financial risk. It may be unclear and somewhat unintuitive how to minimize this risk because of the high competition and scammers lurking from every corner. So, what are some great ways to avoid running into financial risks when starting a business?
Conduct market research
It may be tempting to release your product or service onto the global market as soon as possible because it genuinely feels like it is the best product or service ever. However, the market might demand something a little bit different or even something completely new. It is up to the business owner to conduct a thorough market research first. Good things to consider are: what kind of customers is this idea going to attract, what is the best way to convey the idea to a given population, what problem does it solve, and what is the long-term potential of that idea. Having a firm plan with a solid scalability plan set for the future will ensure that there are minimal financial risks because the trajectory is clear and any unnecessary pivoting is completely eliminated from the equation for success.
Choose a business insurance policy carefully
Insurance has been around for decades and it is a widely accepted protocol in many scenarios because the idea of insurance itself is to prevent any financial risks. However intuitive this idea might seem, sadly, this is not the complete truth. Not every insurance is necessary or even safe to get. These days, any new business is practically a sitting duck for the predatory insurance agencies. New business owners are either persuaded to get the insurance that they don’t need or are not even made aware that they have paid for a trivial insurance plan for their new company, ultimately losing thousands of dollars on something completely redundant. The latter is a far more frequent occurrence. This is an unethical scam, rightly termed ‘insurance junk’, which befalls many new businesses. Luckily, in these scenarios, it is possible to refund junk insurance and get some money back.
Vary your income
A famous saying advises not to put all your eggs in one basket. This is especially true when starting a business. It can be irreparably risky to offer a single service or a product because the market fluctuates daily and the demand can change overnight. Therefore, most successful businesses diversify their streams of income. This is a surefire way to provide enough money for a thriving business. Not every product can be viable all year round. That is why it is a good idea to have a backup plan for the off-season. And this can be anything from selling additional supplementary merchandise and digitizing services to adding a subscription service and even offering courses for a given domain. Digital products are particularly appealing because there is nearly zero production cost, not to mention that this format has great potential for infinite scalability.
Build an emergency fund
It can be tempting to spend all of your newly earned income. However, the safest choice is to always save some profit for later. This can be achieved by choosing a reasonable percentage to cover the additional expenses and cover taxes first. Furthermore, it is vital to be completely objective when defining a good investment. Is it really that necessary to invest in some fancy office equipment when the business is just starting out? Good investment strategies always include creating a buffer or an emergency fund, when the business is still very fragile and it might slow down for a few months.
Choose investors wisely
Every business thrives on having strong investors. However, who you choose as your investors can be crucial to making your business a true goldmine. A good place to start would be to run a background check on your investors. Maybe there were some shady collaborations in the past or the credit history seems somewhat enigmatic. An important decision to make is what kind of shareholder model to use. For instance, an ownership model can reduce financial risks by splitting the responsibilities among the members. This option is far more regulated by legally binding documents than other options, resulting in fewer financial risks.
Starting a business can be enormously exciting but it is important to set firm risk management strategies first. Any experienced business owner will tell you that constantly monitoring the market, diversifying your income, and saving for later as well as choosing your partners carefully and avoiding insurance junk is key to having a solid foundation for a healthy business.
