How to identify business risks?
83253
My company did this last year.  We asked each department to identify the top risks to our business from their perspective.  We also asked them to get out of the box and look at everything from market changes to having a key employee leave.   \n\nOnce we had a list of risks, we used a scale of 1-10 for three areas:  1) Chance of this happening, 2) Cost to Cure  3) Revenue Risk.  This wasn't a perfect science, but it gave us something to work with and a common language.  \n\nWe found there was a list of about 100 and we tackled them based upon budget and bandwidth of the key employees.  \n\nI am certain there are MBA's out there who will have better answers.  Good luck.
461793
Whatever price the current owner is asking for this business, he should be able to support with accurate financial data.\n\nAsk for the last 12 months of financial statements - Profit and Loss Statements, Balance Sheets, etc. Then pick a few months at random, and ask the owner for the supporting documentation (receipts, bank statements, invoices, check stubs, etc.). You will want to make sure that the financial statements are accurate.\n\nIf the owner of this business is unwilling or unable to provide you with this data, DO NOT BUY THIS BUSINESS.
364912
might want to ask this question in the business section.
318203
You will find safety guidelines for a small business as per the following:\n1. The small business owner manager's search for external by Johnson.\n2. Understandings of occupational health and safety risk by Lingard.\n3.www.workcover.nsw.gov.au/safebusiness.\n4.Observation and brainstorming.
126217
Since we can't tell at what point you are in your business planning I agree with answer number two.  SCORE is a great place to get started.  I have added a few more websites if you are still looking for direction/ideas/answers.  \n\nGood Luck
609020
Even if the business is incorporated, personal assets can be at risk. As many creditors ask for personal guarantees to be signed.
599217
List the types of thing that your sales and production are dependent on.  What internal and external factors will effect business?\n\nCreate your list without organisation and later you can organise your list. Look for orthogonality (exporting is in my list, what not importing?)\n\nHere my starting list \nLook at competitors  annual reports for factors you should be considering\n\n  directional strategy. \n  sales portfolio analysis. \n  corporate synopsis. \n  franchising.\n  government regulation \n  exporting. \n  licensing. \n  production sharing. \n  how to expand? \n  vertically integrate. \n  horizontally integrate. \n  product fit. \n  market size \n  margin\n  market support\n  cash flow availability \n  product/market segments \n  product consumption rate \n  raw material dependency/labor pool \n  opportunity matrix
363533
I think that this will be a helpful page for you:\nhttp://ca.dir.yahoo.com/Business_and_Economy/Business_to_Business/Financial_Services/Insurance/Commercial/Professional_Liability/Medical_Malpractice/
391146
There are predictable contents of a standard business plan. For example, a business plan normally starts with an Executive Summary, which should be concise and interesting. People almost always expect to see sections covering the Company, the Market, the Product, the Management Team, Strategy, Implementation and Financial Analysis.\n\nIf you have the main components, the order doesn’t matter that much, but here’s the order I suggest.\n\n1. Executive Summary: Write this last. It’s just a page or two of highlights.\n\n2. Company Description: Legal establishment, history, start-up plans, etc.\n\n3. Product or Service: Describe what you’re selling. Focus on customer benefits.\n\n4. Market Analysis: You need to know your market, customer needs, where they are, how to reach them, etc.\n\n5. Strategy and Implementation: Be specific. Include management responsibilities with dates and budgets. Make sure you can track results.\n\n6. Web Plan Summary: For e-commerce, include discussion of website, development costs, operations, sales and marketing strategies.\n\n7. Management Team: Describe the organization and the key management team members.\n\n8. Financial Analysis: Make sure to include at the very least your projected Profit and Loss and Cash Flow tables.\n\nI don’t recommend developing the plan in the same order you present it as a finished document. For example, although the Executive Summary obviously comes as the first section of a business plan, I recommend writing it after everything else is done. It will appear first, but you write it last.\n\nThere are also some business tables and charts that are normally expected in a standard business plan.\n\nCash flow is the single most important numerical analysis in a plan, and should never be missing. Most plans will also have Sales Forecast and Profit and Loss statements. I believe they should also have separate Personnel listings, projected Balance sheet, projected Business Ratios, and Market Analysis tables.\n\nI also believe that every plan should include bar charts and pie charts to illustrate the numbers.\n\nI also recommend contacting your local SBDC and/or SCORE office. These two organizations are funded by the SBA and provide free business planning advice. You can find your local SCORE here: http://www.score.org/\nYour local SBDC can be found here: http://www.bplans.com/sb/\n\nIf you're interested, here's an expanded plan outline:\n\n1.0 Executive Summary\n1.1 Objectives\n1.2 Mission\n1.3 Keys to Success\n2.0 Company Summary\n2.1 Company Ownership\n2.2 Company History (for ongoing companies) or Start-up Plan (for new companies).\n2.3 Company Locations and Facilities\n3.0 Products and Services\n3.1 Product and Service Description\n3.2 Competitive Comparison\n3.3 Sales Literature\n3.4 Sourcing and Fulfillment\n3.5 Technology\n3.6 Future Products and Services\n4.0 Market Analysis Summary\n4.1 Market Segmentation\n4.2 Target Market Segment Strategy\n4.2.1 Market Needs\n4.2.2 Market Trends\n4.2.3 Market Growth\n4.3 Industry Analysis\n4.3.1 Industry Participants\n4.3.2 Distribution Patterns\n4.3.3 Competition and Buying Patterns\n4.3.4 Main Competitors\n5.0 Strategy and Implementation Summary\n5.1 Strategy Pyramids\n5.2 Value Proposition\n5.3 Competitive Edge\n5.4 Marketing Strategy\n5.4.1 Positioning Statements\n5.4.2 Pricing Strategy\n5.4.3 Promotion Strategy\n5.4.4 Distribution Patterns\n5.4.5 Marketing Programs\n5.5 Sales Strategy\n5.5.1 Sales Forecast\n5.5.2 Sales Programs\n5.6 Strategic Alliances\n5.7 Milestones\n6.0 Web Plan Summary\n6.1 Website Marketing Strategy\n6.2 Development Requirements\n7.0 Management Summary\n7.1 Organizational Structure\n7.2 Management Team\n7.3 Management Team Gaps\n7.4 Personnel Plan\n8.0 Financial Plan\n8.1 Important Assumptions\n8.2 Key Financial Indicators\n8.3 Break-even Analysis\n8.4 Projected Profit and Loss\n8.5 Projected Cash Flow\n8.6 Projected Balance Sheet\n8.7 Business Ratios\n8.8 Long-term Plan
861444
One of the major fears of starting a business is the risk involved. What would happen if you invest your money in a business, while potentially profitable, offers no certainty of success? What if the business fails?\n\nBusiness is risk. There's not one business that can provide a business owner with 100% success guarantee.\n\nIf you are hesitant or scared to start a business because of its perceived risk, I suggest you evaluate the level of risk of the business and determine whether you want to take on that risk. In the risk management field, this is called "risk appetite." The most successful entrepreneurs are those who are able to face the risks and overcome them.\n\nMake a list of the potential risks of the business. Understanding how the nature of your business affects risk is important in determining where to apply resources in order to help mitigate those risks. Recognizing areas of business risk will help you to optimize allocation of your resources.\n\nFor example, if you want to start a hair salon business, your risks may include (though not exhaustive):\n\n- insufficient capital\n- quality of location that you can get, which can affect your level of foot traffic and even the insurance you can get for the business\n- potential for fire given the flammable nature of most hair products\n- electrical safety due to the number of electrical appliances used in the business\n- top hair stylists may leave, bringing with them your clients \n\nThen indicate the level of probability that the risk will occur:\n\n- Is the likelihood that this risk will happen HIGH?\n- Is the likelihood that this risk will happen MEDIUM\n- Is the likelihood that this risk will happen LOW\n\nFinalize the list with the steps you can do to manage and minimize the risk.\n\nThis type of assessment can help you determine if the risks are well worth it -- and if you have the resources, skills and knowledge to actually overcome the risks.\n\nIf you are comfortable with the level of risk, especially when compared to the returns, then invest in the business. If not, then look for a safer business for you to invest or work with someone you think is better equipped to handle the risks of the business. Or maybe consider that entrepreneurship is not for you and you may be better suited for something else.
818271
Try this:\nhttp://www.whitepages.com/10001/business
383058
you gotta get some numbers on what happened in the past and will happen in the future. \n\ne.g. Demand forecasts, effect of advertizing, your costs as a function of output, link between employee compensation and perfomance.
652082
You may be in over your head if you have to ask this question.  There are several things you need to consider such as what the risk is, how is the risk rated, what is the mitigation plan, when is the earliest the risk could become a problem, what is the impact, etc.  It would not be a small undertaking to create a decent product or tool.  Hours and hours of coding if you know what you are doing.
460927
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration offers a number of safety guidelines for small businesses covering various topics, such as:\n\nErgonomics\nhttp://www.osha.gov/SLTC/ergonomics/index.html\n\nWorkplace Substance Abuse\nhttp://www.osha.gov/SLTC/substanceabuse/smallbusiness.html\n\nEmergency Preparedness and Response\nhttp://www.osha.gov/SLTC/smallbusiness/sec10.html\n\nOSHA's Small Business Outreach Training Program\nhttp://www.osha.gov/SLTC/smallbusiness/index.html
215432
review your processes and technology.  business within a company normally follows some sort of flow (hopefully!).  i have used a flow diagram to get a sense of how things are happening.  most times you will need to interview employees to hear directly how they are doing their jobs (sometimes what you think might be happening isn't)\n\nafter you've done the audit, you can often times spot redundancies or inefficientcies.  this can apply to all parts of your business - from personnel workflow, to technology to...  absolutely anything that is part of a process.
567016
go to www.cbsc.org/ibp interactive business planner
787567
The guidelines for assessing and identifying hazards and risk vary depending upon the inviroment. For example, in an industrial setting the hazzard and risk factors will differ than say in an Assisted living Center or a Restuarant, etc, etc\nYou need to give more information about the inviroment that you are assessing.\nWhen filling your report you need to document the specific location of the hazard or safety risk as well as a detailed explanation of the risk factors. You also need to documment a detailed plan of correction and the date and time the plan of correction will be completed. You then need to do a follow up inspection to insure that the task has indeed been completed and document the findings along with the date and time.