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:

  1. You will not reach enough Customers to make your business worthwhile.  Initial interest will fade and your business will slowly decay and be forgotten.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. You will share Ownership of your business in the wrong way or with the wrong people.  You will lose control of your business.
  5. You will not manage your Liability with smart planning and insurance.  You will get sued into oblivion.
  6. 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.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. 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.
  10. 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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