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It’s your responsibility as a business owner to protect everything about your business. If there is a chance that you have people working for you, then you have to protect them. But if your business is in a public space, you also have to think about the people walking past and coming in and out of your business.

You need to limit your risk and do what you can to keep your business running smoothly, but limiting the possibilities of a lawsuit isn’t always easy. Ensuring business continuity is not easy either. There is insurance for small business owners out there that can protect you in the event something goes wrong, but that’s not the only way that you can protect your business. You cannot control every single eventuality, but there are things that you can do every day to ensure that your company is protected from being sued.

  • Consider your image. You have to watch what you say and what you do as a business owner. Social media and Internet usage, for example, can come back to bite you in the butt and the image of your business is critical. Whatever you put out there into the world is going to be visible for other people, which means that you have to be very careful about what you say and how you say it too. If you are not careful, you could end up being found negligent or you could end up being questioned by a court for the wording that you have used against somebody else. Make sure that you are not including any public announcements or conducting any business that could be seen as libelous.
  • Make sure that you have a competent attorney on your staff when you start up your business. You need to make sure that you are interviewing attorneys so that you have legal counsel on standby. Legal advice is always worth having and a good attorney is going to be able to talk you through any issues. In your business, make sure that you retain an attorney who is familiar with local laws and customs of the area in which the business operates, but also who understands the nature of your business itself.
  • Make sure that you keep your business and personal finances separate. It’s vital that you ensure that your business finances do not mix in with your personal ones. Not only is it important for tax season, but to ensure that you don’t end up spending money you shouldn’t be spending. It’s a good way to protect yourself because you don’t want to end up with no money in your business and too much cash flow in your personal life.
  • Get insured. We talked about small business insurance already, we need to ensure that you have liability insurance as well. Your business needs to be covered in all directions. Without that coverage, you could be opening yourself up to some problems in the future.
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