The Times Real Estate

.

Business concerns they don’t tell you about at University

  • Written by News Company


If you run a business you will no doubt be aware of the fact that as soon as it gets bigger than just you, that there are all sorts of problems and issues that you need to take care of. Things that they don’t ever teach you about at business school yet things that take up a considerable amount of time, and which, frankly speaking, can be critical to the success or failure of your business. ‘What are the things?’ we hear you ask. Well here are a few considerations and concerns to factor into your thinking if you are looking to start your own business.

Pest control is a thing

It might sound like a silly thing to list, but if you have any type of public facing business, or even a business that is not public facing, but which just has staff on premises, you need to think about controlling unwanted visitors. These could be in the form of rats or cockroaches or any number of other creepy crawlies in between. No matter what the product or service is that you offer, nobody wants to see vermin running around the office. Run an internet search for something like ‘commercial pest control Adelaide’, to see what comes up. Call one of the options and make sur they visit regularly – especially if your place of work is in the part of town that is likely to have pests around.

Fire kills

Any office or place of work needs to be kitted out to ensure that in the event of fire there are solutions. You must have fire extinguishers, sand buckets and even sprinklers. Depending on the nature of the work that you do the risk of fire could be high. Think about it from all angles. Are there fire escapes and alternative routes out? And don’t just look to see if there are fire extinguishers, make sure that they are regularly serviced and operational. The time for discovering that they have expired or are empty is not when there is an impending disaster.

Security

This is a key part of the plan for any business, although it is seldom, if ever, spoken about. You need to make sure that your people, your IP, your property and your clients are all safe. And this is a complicated and involved thing. From security alarms to robust firewalls and computer systems. Security will obviously differ from company to company, depending on the nature of the business, but if you have anything of value on your premises, or if you are handling cash ti pay for transactions, then you need to ensure that you are covered with cameras and armed response and such like.

Greenery

There is nothing that sends a worse message to clients than an office with dead plants in it. It simply screams neglect and bad times. The reality is that no business owner can be expected to remember to water office plants regularly. There are companies that specialize in the supply and maintenance of office plants – use them. Plants in an office look great, just make sure that the responsibility for looking after them and keeping them alive does not rest with you.