If you’re running a business, you know that it’s seldom easy. Virtually every day, you have to deal with various challenges, and there seem to be more of them than ever this year. The pandemic has thrown many different industries into chaos, and companies big and small are adjusting their strategies to stay afloat.

Let’s take a little time to talk about a few of the most prominent business threats that you might encounter this year. We’ll also discuss how you can combat them.

Vendor Risks

If we’re talking about your business’s computer network, your vendors are the entities you use as:

• Service providers
• IT suppliers

You can research them before you reach out to them, and that’s certainly something you should always do. However, just because you see positive online feedback for a particular vendor does not immediately mean that you should trust them.

Vendor risk assessments are more important than ever, and luckily, some companies do this very thing. They are entities that can evaluate and screen vendors and third-party suppliers before you go into business with them.

By using one of these companies and going through this process, you can identify any risks or hazards rather than having to deal with them later. You can figure out if this vendor or supplier fits in with your company’s goals and policies.

Cyberattacks

You also need to watch out for cyberattacks these days. More of them are happening than ever before. Hackers might go after your company because:

• They want to steal customer credit card numbers
• They’re after sensitive employee data
• They want to steal your trade secrets

Most hackers are in the game for profit, but some do it for fun. They like to challenge themselves by crashing prominent company websites.

A hacker’s incentive is beside the point, though. You need to have a business VPN to prevent cyberattacks, network password protection, and a strong firewall. You also might hire a company to do web application penetration testing periodically.

Employee Theft

If you have brick-and-mortar locations, then you might also have to deal with employee theft. You’d hope that the people you hired are honest, but there are always a few bad apples.

One of the optimal ways to combat employee theft is with security cameras. Generally, the more of them you have, the better.

It will cost you a little money to set them up, but you can write them off as a business expense, which is helpful. You don’t need the cameras just to prevent theft, though.

You also want them there to monitor employee areas if there’s ever a dispute between workers. You’ll have a better idea of what took place if there’s evidence of it. You can also use that footage to investigate any harassment claims that might arise.

Customer Theft

You’ll also have to think about customer theft in your brick-and-mortar stores. Cameras there are a significant deterrent as well. You’ll want them looking at your front doors, cash registers, the parking lot outside, and anywhere else you think theft or robbery is likely.

You should also have electronic devices on your high-end items that will go off when customers leave the store unless a cashier deactivates them. You can have security guards patrolling as well.

It’s unfortunate that you need to have all these measures, but retail theft has always existed, and it probably always will. You must do what you can to combat it.

Covid-19 Issues

This year, Covid-19 is something else about which you have to worry. Depending on what you sell in your brick-and-mortar stores, you might only recently have been able to reopen.

However, some people are not going to want to come into your stores unless they know that you’re taking active measures to keep them safe. That means you should have large, prominent signs instructing people to wear masks when they enter the premises.

You should have marks on the ground approaching the cashiers indicating how shoppers can stay six feet apart. You can also have hand sanitizer readily available throughout the store.

You can even have security guards posted who can prevent customers from coming in without masks. This is for the other customers’ safety, but also for your cashiers and other workers.

2020 is a more challenging year than usual for companies, but as long as you’re aware of potential threats, you can prevent them. That’s how you stay in business and ride out these unprecedented times.