West Bend Cares Blog

Is your business prepared to thrive in the new year?

Written by Scott Stueber, CPCU, CISR, AAI | Nov 27, 2024 2:30:00 PM

Running a business is filled with rewarding opportunities and complex challenges. Business owners routinely make decisions that affect their financial stability, customers, employees, and community. With all these demands, planning for the upcoming year, including talking with your independent insurance agent to ensure you have the right insurance coverage to protect your business, is crucial.

Here are some steps to address risks and insurance coverage for the new year:

Review your current insurance policies.

It’s important to know what coverages are in force as well as the policy limits and deductibles.

Assess changes in your business.

Changes over the past year may require adjustments to your policies. Changes to consider include:

  • Expansion of products or services
  • Increase or decrease in employee payroll
  • Acquisition of new equipment or property
  • Relocation or opening of additional locations
  • Changes in revenue

Identify new risks.

Inspect your property to find any new risks that may have developed. Also research current risk trends. For example, cybersecurity risks are constantly evolving. If you have an increased online presence, Cyber Liability insurance can help protect against data breaches.

Review and implement risk management techniques.

Consider updating or implementing new safety protocols to prevent injuries. Also, offer employee training programs.

Here are some additional general business best practices to help you be successful:

Set clear goals and objectives.

Evaluate your results for the current year and establish goals and objectives for the upcoming year. Setting SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time bound) goals provides clear expectations for your staff.

Review legal requirements.

Meet with your legal team to determine if there are new laws or regulations that may affect your business.

Evaluate your products and services.

Do market trends or customer feedback indicate that new products or services are needed? It may be time to introduce new offerings and phase out underperformers.

Review and update your marketing strategy.

Are your current marketing strategies performing the way you’d like? If not, research and consider adding new ones. With continuous technology updates, unique marketing and advertising capabilities may be available.

Assess and upgrade technology.

Is your current computer system sluggish or hampering productivity? Are repairs becoming more expensive than purchasing new equipment? as technology is constantly evolving, the typical lifespan for equipment is:

  • Two-three years for phones and tablets
  • Three-five years for laptops/desktops
  • Three-six years for routers, switches, and modems
  • Five-eight years for servers

Evaluate and adjust business processes.

Reviewing critical aspects like operational readiness, finances, and team culture can set the foundation for a thriving year.