I’ve been working on a new training tool for Eat Drink Law. In the fine tradition of business gurus like Guy Kawasaki and David Letterman, I decided to go with a top 10 list. You may have noticed the beginning of the framework in the Learning Center. Last week I gave the first presentation of the list as part of my talk, “Start Selling It! How to Turn a Food or Beverage Idea into a Real Business: Getting Started, Avoiding Pitfalls, and Scaling Up.” The first room of Food Entrepreneurs to take it in found it really helpful. They could see that there was a lot to learn, but at least 10 risks seemed possible to wrap their heads around. So, here is the extremely short version of the 10 risks for you to consider:
- You will not reach enough Customers to make your business worthwhile. Initial interest will fade and your business will slowly decay and be forgotten.
- You will not have enough Money to manage your cash flow as you start and grow. You will run out of cash and be forced to close your doors.
- You will not be able to systemize your business Model to reliably deliver your product at a profit. You will keep working harder only to watch your business flat line and fail.
- You will share Ownership of your business in the wrong way or with the wrong people. You will lose control of your business.
- You will not manage your Liability with smart planning and insurance. You will get sued into oblivion.
- Your Compliance with the many layers of government regulations will be inadequate. The government will shut you down or force you to do things your business can’t afford.
- You will not use Contracts to manage your business relationships. Bad contracts or no contracts will destroy key relationships, get you sued, and drive you out of business.
- You will not hire and manage your Employees to their expectations or those of the government. Disgruntled employees will undermine your business or seek revenge through employment laws.
- You will fail to recognize and protect your Intellectual Property. You will lose control of your brand, media, know-how, and technology and your competitors will use it against you.
- You will never reach a point of Sustainability. You will burn out before you ever build something worth passing on.
The actual presentation was not all doom and gloom though. I did offer ideas to address each risk. I even gave them a handout with actions they could take right now to work on each risk. Maybe I will post it sometime.
Are there other major business risks that should compete for top 10 status? Post it in the comments.
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