A lot of small business owners dream about this day – when the business runs itself and is not owner dependent. Some get there, most don’t.
But you don’t always get a choice. What would happen to your business if you couldn’t be there for one, two or three months?
For most of us, that is not something we are planning for and, certainly, start-up businesses tend to be highly owner dependent. Increasingly though, we are seeing cases where accident, illness or an unexpected family crisis throws all of your business plans into disarray.
The question to ask yourself is if this happened to you what would happen to your business and your investment in the business?
For many it would put the business and the investment at risk and, in most cases, it would have a negative impact.
Here are five things that will help reduce that risk:
1. Insure your income
If you are dependent on your income from the business and would be in financial stress without it then you should consider having an income protection insurance policy. You may also need a policy to cover your business overheads if you were off work.
2. Give other people responsibility
This can be a challenge for some business owners. They like to be in control and to have the final say on everything.
You can be in control but have delegated responsibility to other people. It is always better to train people into roles before they are required. It allows you time to develop and test them.
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