Starting up a business is no easy feat. But after the couple of years we’ve had, it’s not surprising that so many of us are considering heading in this direction. The mass job loss and redundancies caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have resulted in many people looking for new ways to work that provide them with more direct control over their finances – and running a business is a great solution.

Of course, running a business isn’t always straightforward and you’re going to have to learn a lot to get things up and running and to manage to company as it experiences demand, progresses, profits and expands. The key to experiencing success is to get your company into good habits from the outset.

Doing things half heartedly or failing to stick by the rules may seem like the easiest way to operate, but the truth is that you will quickly experience backlash and consequences for this. Instead, operating in a professional and reputable fashion from the outset is a great way to set good habits that stick and benefit your business in the long run. Here are a few areas to focus on that will help with this!

 

Accounting

 

When you run a business, you’ll find finances and financial management become an essential part of your business’ operations and success, so will become an integral part of your routine tasks and chores. Now, unless you’re a qualified accountant yourself, it’s a good idea to hire the services of a professional, qualified accountant form the get go. Sure, you may be trying to cut business costs wherever possible as you start out and don’t have much of a budget, but an accountant will make all the difference when it comes to making sure your business is operating legally and paying the taxes that it owes.

Your accountant also knows the ins and outs of the tax system, so can help you to understand things like expenses to help reduce your tax bill wherever possible. Of course, failing to use an accountant can quickly see your business fall into bad book keeping that is then difficult to rectify and get back on top of as you progress down the line. Now, choosing an accountant is an important decision to make. First and foremost, you need to remember that your accountant is conducting a legal task, so they need to be genuinely qualified in the state or country your business is operating in.

Laws around tax vary from one place to another, so it’s important that they have expertise significant to the area you’re operating in. Second, you want someone with experience. These individuals will be able to manage your taxes easily, navigating your receipts and files with ease and producing fast results. Generally, start ups tend to outsource their accounting to the freelance accountants, accounting companies or accounting agencies. This cuts costs and means you’re not committing to providing an in-house accountant with employee benefits and consistent work. Instead, you can use their services as and when you need, paying for the individual jobs they complete rather than offering an ongoing salary.

 

Data Protection

 

Data will play a major role in your business’ success. Any good business takes data in a number of ways. Put simply, “data” is a term that we tend to use a lot, but few business owners actually understand what it is, what it means or how it can specifically benefit their business. When it comes down to it, business data is any piece of information that your business generates or takes. This can include anything from numbers to figures and measurements.

Your business will generate and take a lot of data on a day to day basis and this can then be used to make your customers’ experience better by tailoring their experience for them, inform business decisions such as which products are working and which need to be axed or improved and so much more. It will prove an integral point of your business’ operations on a day to day basis. Of course, data can be personal. This is why there are data protection laws in place.

It’s essential that you protect your business’ data in order to protect your employees, customers, partners and anyone else whose data you store. Failing to do so can result in data leaks and cybercriminals picking up personal details to commit fraud, identity theft, financial theft and more. Here are some good habits to get into when it comes to data.

• Ask permission – first and foremost, you need to ask people permission to take and use their data. Most people do this by adding popups to their website enabling cookies and other data collection technology. You may also want to add tick boxes to web sign up forms, such as when people join your mailing list. This will ensure that you are taking data with consent.

• Data storage – you need to store all of your data safely. There are plenty of ways to achieve this. You can store data in the cloud, only providing access to those who need to directly access it for their work. You can encrypt and protect your computer systems from cybercriminals.

• Data duplication – you may also want to use Media Duplication Services to back up data and provide yourself with an extra copy. This ensures you still have access to all of your data should anything happen to the original files.

 

Equality

 

When you begin to take on staff, you will find yourself facing a whole host of extra habits to get into. The first is to make sure that you are not discriminating against anyone in any stage of your recruitment process, in any element of your business or in any way, shape or form possible. It’s essential to offer equal opportunities.

This should be a moral imperative, but it’s good to know that it’s also a legal imperative. There are a number of characteristics that are protected in all workplaces. This means that, as an employer, you can’t be prejudiced against anyone due to these characteristics. The characteristics include age, sex, gender, sexual orientation, religion, ethnicity, marital or civil partnership status, pregnancy, or being or becoming a transgender person.

People will be able to take legal action against you if you are prejudiced towards them, which can come hand in hand with hefty fines and damage to your reputation, so it’s important to practice equality from the get go.

 

Health and Safety

 

Health and safety is another important area to get involved with when taking on staff or when welcoming customers, partners or anyone else into your workplace. Health and safety is another set of legal requirements, specially designed to protect anyone coming into contact with your business. It’s essential for you to fully understand and properly implement health and safety guidelines that will protect everyone, as this is a moral imperative, as well as a legal one. Of course, this is a huge field to tackle, but here are some key areas to take into consideration and focus on.

 

Fire Safety

 

Hopefully, fire never breaks out in your workplace, but you do need to ensure that the space has proper fire safety implemented to help you keep everyone safe in case of fire. Here are some essentials to invest in and focus on

 

• Fire Exits – your workplace should be fire safety approved, with plenty of exits to allow people to make a fast exit from the building should a fire establish itself. These exits need to be clearly signposted at all times. During staff inductions, you need to make sure that fire exits are pointed out, ensuring that everyone is aware of their location.

• Smoke Detectors – all buildings require smoke detectors for safety and workplaces are no different. Make sure that you have smoke detectors fitted throughout your commercial premises, as advised by your local fire department. You should run regular checks to ensure that they are working and have the batteries changed regularly.

• Fire Extinguishers – you should provide a range of fire extinguishers in your workplace, as these are essential for tackling blazes that establish. Common types that you should have available include water, AFFF foam, carbon dioxide, ABC powder, water mist, and wet chemical extinguishers.

 

• Fire Blankets – if your workplace has a kitchen, fire blankets are another essential. They can prove life saving in the instance of a kitchen fire.

• Fire Curtains – if you have a warehouse space, or other large space, you need to fit fire curtains, which can prevent the spread of blazes across large spaces. They should be professionally fitted and approved.

 

Sure, this may all seem like a lot of work. But we’re just getting started. Running a business is a challenge and you’re going to have to get into all sorts of good habits across a number of different areas and different departments to ensure that your business is operating well, profitably and safely for everyone involved. The sooner you’e in good habits, the sooner everyone will benefit!