Can You Future Proof Your Business?

April 1, 2020

Did you know that the majority of businesses will fail on the market before they have even reached the end of their first year? Indeed, some reports have the chance of a new business succeeding as being about 3%. Why is this? Well, there are a few reasons but the main fact is that most companies don’t put the right strategies in place for future proof. That’s what we’re going to look at today. 

Future-proofing is basically preparing for issues that could happen and that you need to be aware of. There are lots of problems that you could encounter including:

  • Data theft 
  • Tech failure
  • The economy changes 
  • Legal issues

But there are also steps you can take to solve every single one of these problems. How does this work? Well, let’s start with the big one.

Data Theft

You definitely need to keep in mind the issue of data theft because it is a growing concern. You might think that only larger businesses are hit but this isn’t quite true. Instead, it’s just the larger businesses that receive media attention. Smaller businesses run into the same sort of trouble and can actually be targetted. Why does this happen? Hackers assume that smaller companies won’t invest in the same security standards and are often proven right. To avoid this issue, you need to make sure that you are using a top service like ProofID. With this solution, you can make sure that you are going to be able to keep your company locked down. 

Tech Failure

As for issues with tech, the best way to defend yourself against this problem is to have a disaster recovery plan in place. In some cases, it can take business weeks or even months to recover from a tech disaster. This won’t be the case if you make sure that you have a plan in place. That plan should always include a backup server. The server should contain all the information you need to get your business firing on all cylinders once more. If you do this, then you won’t have to worry about what happens when the lights do go out. 

Economic Changes

The economy shifts all the time and it can take a positive or negative direction. The good news is that it will always recover but it could be a while. This means that you need to make sure that you are preparing for the worst-case scenario. You must think in terms of an economic disaster similar in severity to the 2008 crash. If you do this, you'll be able to ensure that your business is ideally situated to weather the storm. The main thing is to keep your costs under tight control. 

We hope this helps you understand that it is possible to future proof your company if you take the right steps. In doing so, you can make it far more likely that your business is around two or even ten years from now. You’ll be putting yourself in a far stronger position on the market.

Mark Asquith

That British podcast guy, Mark is co-founder of Captivate.fm, the world's only growth-oriented podcast host. A Harvard, TEDx, Podcast Movement and Podfest speaker (amongst many more!), he's a wildly approachable Brit and Star Wars/DC Comics geek.

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