Steps to Starting a More Sustainable Business

Julie Starr • Jun 01, 2020



If you have a business idea, and it is a niche you’re really pleased with, know there is a market for, and want to get the idea going, then where do you start? So many business ideas these days need to be about creating a solution to an environmental or social problem, as for many consumers, that is what they are all about. There is a choice in business, and there is a choice for consumers. We are seeing more and more of them opt for more sustainable or green choices. So if you want a new business to be able to stand a chance, then it needs to have an element of that, and really think about the processes used, the materials, and where things are sourced. 

So with that in mind, here are some steps that will help you get on the way, to get your business started successfully. All while helping you to strike the right kind of balance between business and being sustainable .

Making money and a scalable business

Although many business owners go into owning a sustainable business to solve a problem or provide a more sustainable solution to something, they would be lying if they didn’t want to make money at the same time. If you focus too much on the impact of charitable PR, rather than focusing your business growth on solid economic principles , then your business could come to a bit of a stop. There will be interest with business when they first open, but you don’t want that to tail off. You need to look for ways to grow the business in an economically sustainable way, in order for the business to survive. 

Deciding the kind of business structure you will have

When you are getting a business up and running, there is more to decide than the initial business plan. To start with, you need to think about the kind of business you will have. Will you choose to have it as a registered charity, for example? How about an S corp or a C corp? If you are wondering what is the difference between S corp and C corp , then you need to know before you set up your business. One advantage of an S corporation is that it gives the business owner limited liability protection, meaning that any personal assets to the business owners aren’t at risk, should the business fail. For a C corp, it means that there is unlimited potential to grow, and can benefit from tax deductions for things like expenses. So think about the business structure that you want to have before you kick-off.

You don’t need to reinvent the wheel

There is much demand for sustainable businesses, solutions, and products, in nearly every industry. But don’t think that you need to have a brand new concept in order to start your business. Even common household items that are made in a more sustainable way, such as a hairdryer that uses less electricity or dries without getting too hot, could be an example of a solution. There is an audience out there waiting for more sustainable options, so don’t hang around.

4 Ways to Make Sure Your Business is as Safe as Possible

By Julie Starr • 17 Apr, 2024
If there’s one thing that all business owners have in common, it’s that you want to have a successful business that rakes in the profits. However, some business owners then start to ignore the importance of safety in the workplace. Having a safe business is integral to the health of your employees which in turn, affects the success of your company. And, when it’s overlooked or not implemented properly in your business, you’re actually risking how well your business functions. Not having the right business safety protocols in place can and will affect productivity, cause injuries, cause losses, and even put you at risk of major action being taken against you in a courtroom. So, if you want to make sure that doesn’t happen to you, take a look at these safety tips that you should implement into your business. Have clear equipment safety procedures If you run a business within an industry that uses machinery for things like manufacturing and construction, then it’s so important to make sure you put in place some safety guidelines to govern the use of that equipment . Make sure that the safety guidelines are clear and very easy for everyone to understand, and without the risk of any confusion from anyone on your team. And remember to make sure that the machinery is only used for its intended purpose. Doing that can help you avoid any operational misuse that could end up in someone getting hurt. Also, there are lots of pieces of machinery like forklifts that need the user to have special training. So, if you allow someone to use machinery without the necessary training, you’re putting their health and safety at risk, not to mention the lawsuit that could be filed against you. That’s why it’s important to make sure your equipment and machinery safety procedures are clear for all to see at all times. Make sure there are clear safety rules Alongside making sure that your machinery and equipment safety rules are always in clear view, you will also need to make sure you publish important business safety rules. You’ll need to think about everything, from safety compliance to health, and you’ll need to make sure all of those rules are alway available to your employees. If you’re unsure on what’s compliant in your industry, or you simply want to make sure you’re not missing a trick, you can use isnetworld compliance assistance to make sure you’re running things how you should be. And, where necessary, these rules should be placed in multiple locations of the workplace to make sure all employees and any visitors are aware of your safety procedures. You should also make sure you’re regularly reviewing and updating these rules and procedures and let your team members know what changes have been made, even if they’re only minor changes. Make everyone accountable for each other’s safety While it’s important for you to make sure you, your team, and anyone else that visit’s your business location are safe at all times, there’s only so much you can do. Everyone needs to be held accountable for their own safety, so it’s important for you to create a culture of awareness in the workplace. You’ll need to start by encouraging them to follow the rules you’ve put in place, and you can do this by giving them the equipment and materials they need to work in a safe manner. You should also encourage everyone to be accountable for others safety as well, and this can be done by making sure safety equipment is left in the right place, or by making sure things are cleaned after use to prevent any damage. For example, making sure knives in the kitchen are cleaned well and not left somewhere that could be dangerous to the next person in the kitchen, such as the sink. Provide first aid training Finally, if your business uses any type of machinery or equipment where someone could get hurt, you should always have someone on hand to provide first aid if needed. That’s why it’s a good idea to make sure everyone has first aid training in case something does happen. There are loads of first aid training companies out there that can come in and teach your team members as a group, and they will certify them afterwards to show they’ve learned what they need to. It might be a cost you don’t particularly want to front, but it might just save the life of you or one of your workers.

Defending Your Business Against Fraud

By Julie Starr • 16 Apr, 2024
Fraud is unfortunately one of the most common problems that businesses of all types have to learn to deal with. If you are in charge of a business and you want to make sure that it is being kept as safe from fraud as possible, there are many steps you can take to help with that. In this post, we’ll look at a number of the main ways in which you can defend your business against fraud. All of the following things are well worth being aware of and making use of as best as you can.  Get A Fraud Partner For Payments One of the most common types of fraud that businesses can be victims of is payment fraud. With this, the problem is that payment fraud has become more and more sophisticated in general, to the point that it can be very tough to overcome or avoid this kind of fraud altogether. However, it is possible, and the solution that most businesses use is to find a fraud partner who can help, who is usually a payment processing provider who is able to protect against such attacks. That’s something you may therefore want to consider. Train Your Staff To Detect Fraud It’s best if you can ensure that your staff are able to detect fraud as easily as possible, because that is going to mean that much less of it gets through undetected. You are not necessarily asking them to deal with the attempted fraud they spot, merely to identify it, so that it is being caught out in the early stages. That alone can make a huge difference, and should mean that you are going to have much less fraud going on in general. So training your staff is hugely important all in all. Be Preventative In every way that you try to defend against fraud , it’s best if you are being preventative rather than reactive. As long as you are doing that, it’s going to be much more effective for keeping your business safe, so this is absolutely the way that you should go about this as much as possible. Being preventative means that you are going to have a much better ability to keep your business safe from fraud, and that everyone is going to find it much easier to keep at bay. This is absolutely the focus that you should try to have. Audit Carrying out audits is another really useful thing you can do to ensure that you are defending your business as well as possible against the reality of fraud. With audits, the point is that you are going to see any potential issues that might arise early on, so that you should be able to deal with them as soon as possible. That’s something that is going to be hugely helpful, and it’s important that you are doing all you can to make use of audits as well as possible. That is going to have a huge impact in the end.
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