Owning a small business is a great responsibility, and a great risk. There’s a good chance that those risks will pay off, and a lot of countries around the world generally encourages people to start on their own, be it with tax incentives or other measures taken on a government level. The risks, however, stay clear and present.
A major concern for those who own businesses where physical merchandise is involved is theft or destruction. Some loss will always occur, it could be clocked up to shipping damage, third-party loss (e.g. the ship with the container goes down, or something in that alley) or, if you trade in perishables, some might be because of cooling failure or delays. Monitoring your storage and locales is still imperative. If you have a good monitoring and surveillance system in place, that might ensure that if – or perhaps rather when – a loss occurs, you will have early warning as to what the cause was, and your insurance company will be more willing to cover your losses than if you are unable to document the chain of events.
So how to effectively monitor your investments? Camera surveillance is the first step. With a good system you can keep your premises under guard 24/7, and it doesn’t have to cost you more than a few hundred dollars. A 4-camera package, which can be bought online for the best price, is perhaps the best choice for small business owners, wanting to keep an eye on things but without the cost of massive installations.
Audio surveillance is a good addition to the video. Most businesses leaves it out, thinking that the cost of it is too high, but that is merely a myth. With a good security blueprint in hand, prioritizing the areas you deem most important is easy. Also, consider that if your establishment does get robbed or broken into, the audio will both help the police with their investigation and make sure, again, that the insurance company of your choice can not stall their payments. Also, a court would be most pleased to have the audio of a robbery or break-in instead of just the grainy video for once.
Investments in security is often seen as a “black hole” investment – the tangible return on that investment is hard to find, even impossible for small operations, and that is why security spending is often not a priority. However, in the long run, a heightened pay-out from an insurer, a break-in avoided or a few shoplifters apprehended will easily pay for the few hundred dollars you spend setting the system up.
Lastly, make sure you have your plan ready. A good security blueprint is essential, and you really should take a couple of minutes reading up on how to make one. There are numerous resources on this out there on the internet, but evaluate those too – if you own a small business, following a blueprint template designed for a large operation will be costly and ineffective. Be wary of security companies that try to push you into buying packages designed for larger operations than your own – and the other way of course. If you do buy from a security company, have them come out to your premises and join them on a walk of the entire place or places. Get a quote from them, with a detailed plan of what they think is fitting, and compare it to other operations your size.
Lastly; a specialized and customized blueprint is essential, both for cutting costs and ensuring security for your livelihood. Never save your pennies at the cost of your dollars!
SnallaBolaget.com is a public and private resource for security information, being added to every day and run by experienced security professionals.
G. Sommerfeldt is closing on a decade of security experience in both private and public sector, and has been a security supervisor and manager for several of those years.
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