So much more than money goes to set up and run a successful business. It involves time, effort and a whole lot of emotional investment as well. When you have put your heart and soul, and potentially your life savings and future into a project, you will want to do everything you can in your power to protect it.

However, it is far from being the easiest thing to do with so many different factors that can become potential threats. Thankfully, there are plenty of things that you can do to protect the success and longevity of your business, and we have shared some of these below.

Crime

As much as we would all like to hope that our business is safe from being targeted by criminals, the truth is every business is at risk. From low-level shoplifting and vandalism to devastating fraud and other major crimes. Sometimes that crime comes from the outside – visitors and customers taking advantage, and sadly, sometimes, it comes from the inside – employees who feel like they need to take a little extra.

There are so many different things, and each one needs its own preventative system. For example, if your biggest issue or concern is shoplifting, you could make sure you have a camera system watching the vulnerable areas of your store, as well as installing security tag readers at the exit point of the store. If your budget allows for it, security guards can be an excellent deterrent.

Of course, when the issues come from inside, this can make things a little tricky. Again, putting CCTV in areas of the workplace where crime is most likely to happen – counting offices, by the till, etc, can help, as can having a search policy. This involves your employees having their pockets and bags searched at random before they leave the store. You might also want to consider putting lockers in communal areas such as the staffroom where they can leave outdoor clothes and bags, which reduces the ease in which stolen goods or money can get out of the building without being noticed.

Cybercrime

Cybercrime is one of the biggest threats facing businesses these days. So much sensitive data and information are held on computers and if this is accessed by someone that it shouldn’t be, the effects can be disastrous. Government agencies have high-level security such as the one provided by f1networks.com to keep their data safe, but what do you have, and how effective is it? Make sure that you only hold the information that is absolutely necessary, and the only people that have access to it are the ones who need it. If you trade within the European Union, you need to have explicit consent to hold any data about anyone, otherwise, you are in breach of the General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), which were established in May 2018. Make sure that whatever systems you have in place are up to date and checked regularly by your IT team or services.