Author: Kurt Williams

Owning and operating a small business means wearing a lot of hats. Whereas large corporations have the money to hire specialists and fill redundant positions to ensure optimal coverage, small businesses rarely have the capital on hand to fill all of the roles needed with individual workers, much less the best and brightest in their field. As a result, many small business owners will find themselves handling tasks like management, accounting, sales, and any number of roles they are ill-prepared to tackle. And workplace safety is definitely an undertaking that can fall to a small business owner. But if you want to limit your liability and ensure the health and safety of workers, clients, and anyone who interacts with your business, it's imperative that you make workplace safety a top priority.

By now, friends, coworkers, and family have probably warned you: opening a restaurant business is too risky. Some people may even be telling you to keep your day job. However, much of what people say about the restaurant industry isn't true - the statistics are skewed. Sure, it is competitive, but with a little ingenuity, great food, and an amazing dining experience, any restaurant can make it. When it comes down to it, running a restaurant can be difficult, but mainly in the beginning - during the startup phase. This is the time when you have to avoid some of the fatal flaws that some restaurateurs make. If you can circumnavigate those flaws, your restaurant has a much better chance for success.

Going from the startup phase to the franchise phase can be a big leap, but it can happen. In fact, it can happen sooner than you think - especially if your establishment becomes quite popular. If your brick and mortar establishment becomes recognizable in a certain community, it may have the same power and potential for success in other communities. So, is your business ready to be franchised? Before you set the wheels in motion, you need to be fully prepared. Starting a franchise is not a cakewalk - you need to think about the legal implications, the financial implications, and a number of other responsibilities.

You have probably noticed that in the last few years alone, the world has become more globalized and diverse. You may have also noticed that diversity is not something that we have to come to terms with - it is something we should embrace. We are all human, but each of us comes from a completely different background - with completely different cultural norms and ideas. Because of this, diversity can add a whole new layer of understanding to the way we live our lives - it can make us better humans. This sentiment is especially important in the workforce and it is the reason why diversity in business is so imperative.

No workplace big or small is safe from workplace accidents. The only thing is that a bigger business may have the capacity to take the costs that go towards medical bills and other expenses, like legal fees - while most small businesses don't. One workplace injury and it could cause a small business to go completely under. If your small business operates a workshop or a warehouse - anywhere that has dangerous conditions or requires the operation of power tools - preventing and reducing workplace injuries and accidents are even more important. Not only is it important for the sake of your business, but also for the health and wellbeing of your business.

When it comes to your business operations, you may start out with fairly simple processes. But over time, the way you conduct your business can become more complex as your company grows, as you introduce new programs and procedures, and as employees develop their own ways of getting the job done. Unfortunately, this can have a negative impact on your productivity, turning once-simple tasks into monumental hurdles. And the worst part is that very little of the work being done might be necessary to ongoing operations. For this reason it is imperative that you perform an audit and figure out where time is being wasted, as well as how to best create the targeted practices that ensure work is completed in an effective and efficient manner.