Business owners are always worried about possible threats hurting their company. Largely, this means paying lots of attention to outside sources. This can include, but is not limited to:
- Your main rivals
- External cyber threats (hackers, etc.)
- Changes in market forces
- New government regulations/laws that affect your business
All of these things exist outside of your business and can cause a lot of damage. But, what if I told you that some of the most significant threats reside from within?
It’s true, lots of small businesses are undone by internal problems. What problems do we speak of? Well, that’s what this article is all about! You’ll learn about some of the critical issues that hurt your business from the inside…
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A terrible IT infrastructure
Your IT infrastructure basically refers to all the different technology elements in your business. We’re talking hardware, software, servers, cybersecurity; everything. If you have an awful infrastructure, then that’s one of the biggest dangers to your business. It can lead to cyberattacks, so much downtime, and a loss of business efficiency. You can see on www.redkeysolutions.com that managed IT services could help you gain control of this. Realistically, you need to have an excellent IT infrastructure to manage a modern business. If you don’t, then you’ve got a fundamental weakness residing from within your company.
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Your employees
That’s right, your employees can be guilty of being the single biggest threat to your business. Here are a few ways your team might pose problems:
- Poor performance and lack of productivity
- Employee disputes leading to a lack of work
- Terrible customer service causing disgruntled customers
- An employee being caught doing something bad that reflects negatively on your brand
- Employees stealing information or money
The list can go on for a pretty long time, but you get the point. It’s also worth stating that your employees can be your biggest asset. Mostly, it all comes down to your recruitment policy. If you hire the best people for your business, then you ensure that they become an asset instead of a hindrance. Here’s a vide that you should find useful when hiring new employees:
You
Yep, you could be a massive danger to your business.
How does that work out then? Well, it’s mainly to do with your decision making and goal setting. As the business owner, you’re in charge of the direction your company goes in. All too often, you become stubborn and set in your own ways. You have sales goals that you want to achieve, but they’re just not realistic. Despite what other people tell you, you don’t want to shift your stance. So, you force your business to move towards ideas and goals that aren’t attainable.
Or, you make decisions that can cost your business a lot of money – like investing in a new idea, only for it to fall flat. If you don’t run your business correctly – and listen to people giving you advice – then you will be the biggest threat to your company.
You see, internal issues can have just as big of an impact as external ones. As such, make sure you spend some time working on all three of the problems discussed in this article. That way, you can at least be sure that all the potential dangers lie outside of your business.
