If you’ve got a business on your hands, then you’ve got an office in some kind of shape or form. Maybe it’s a converted living room at your own house, maybe it’s a cubicle you’ve rented in the city, maybe it’s a block you’re renting out or have managed to full out buy based on your resources. Whatever the space you’re using to operate the nerve center of your business, there’s going to be some internal (and external) threats prowling around it.

Of course, missed investment opportunities, a dip in the stock market, and rival businesses are going to be your main threats, but there’s a physical side to this idea too. You need to be sure you don’t have any mishaps in your office, to make sure you’re always operating at maximum effectiveness, and are never missing out on a chance to make a profit.

So let’s go through the most common, and biggest, of these physical threats below. Be sure to be on the lookout for them within your own office.

Not Using the Correct Equipment

This is a big health and safety issue, but often enough, it’s simply because we pay no mind to the very real threat of trips and falls that could happen to us throughout daily work life. Sure, you may think standing up on your desk chair to reach a top shelf will only take a moment, and is easier than going all the way to the store room to fetch the step ladder, but it could end up with you flat on your face and an injury or two. And if anyone else is standing nearby, and you end up falling on them, you could have a lawsuit on your hands!

It’s a simple case of negligence we’re all guilty of, but it’s one we can put a quick end to. After all, if you do get injured from a topple like this, you could end up out of commission for a few weeks, losing money every single day you’re away from your desk. Of course, you should always take time to recover, but this kind of accident could have been easily avoided. And if any of your employees get similarly injured in similar accidents, that’s a huge loss of manpower, and a lack of customer service on hand at the least.

So always be sure you get the right equipment out to use in the office. If you need to ascend to reach something, use that ladder. If there are wires all over the floor around the desks, get your employees to store them neatly in the provided wire receptacles or plug boxes. Make sure the fire exits are always clear and never blocked up by excess inventory or employee belongings, etc.

A Pest Infestation

Pests are a big concern if you work in a city centre. New York City alone has a huge problem with pest infestations, and there’s a whole website dedicated to the insects dwelling in and out of these boroughs. Seeing as these populous areas have hundreds of company buildings operating in them, and there’s little room left for even the commuters to try and get through, then it’s only a matter of time before the bugs and the rodents start moving in too.

Pests can eat through all your important equipment faster than you ever thought possible, so even a potential infestation is a big problem. As soon as you notice signs of little critters coming to join you in your working environment, then it’s time to get your cleaning staff on the phone and ask them to do a double shift for today or for the next week. Make sure your staff are aware of the potential problem at hand as well, as the bugs could be going home with them on their clothes and belongings.

It’d be a good idea to have a commercial pest control company number on hand. Seeing as they’re the professionals with the big roast blasting or termite terminating guns, they’re going to be the people to rely on in a case of emergency. You never know when you’re going to walk into the break room to find a whole hoard of ants feeding on a sandwich that’s been left in the communal fridge for a couple of weeks, and that means you always need to be prepared for infestations to occur.

There’s a lot of threats to your office interior, but keep an eye out for these ones particularly.

Sure, you’d probably prefer it if your business could be professional and not just appear like it, but no matter how much effort you put into it, your clients may still get a different impression. This is especially true for businesses that choose to operate without an office or flashy office supplies, in general; while the main goal is to save money, it’s far too easy to lose credibility this way.

Luckily, there are a few ways to ensure that your startup is able to give the right kind of impression, with or without an office. Here is a handful of ways to make it appear just a bit more credible so that you can focus on more important things: treating your customers right and doing an outstanding job.

First: Keep it neat

While every business with a website should try to keep it as orderly and neat as possible, the same goes for those with an office. Just like it is when you step into the home of someone for the first time, the first impression tends to last – and you need to make sure that it’s the right kind.

Start by tidying everything up, get rid of all of those cables by using these elevated floors from computer floor pros, and focus on making it look a bit minimalistic. That way, you can let the few pieces you have around there really shine instead.

Next: Make it comfortable

A successful business with an office isn’t afraid to put some money into its furniture. This is certainly not easy if you don’t really have that much money, though, and many businesses before you have struggled with the same kind of issues; you want to look professional but don’t necessarily have the funds to do so.

Just try to find a supplier of furniture that won’t cost too much, that all, and keep it simple. You don’t have to go all out, at least not to begin with, and should treat yourself to just a few pieces in the beginning.

Invite a few plants in, for example, treat the office to a comfortable couple of chairs for your clients as they wait, and invest in decent coffee. It doesn’t have to cost too much but the impression will still be a lot better. Have a look at this site if you’d like to learn more about the most popular office plants, by the way; they look great and will keep the air clean for you too.

Improve your website

Since you don’t have a storefront to work with, it’s a good idea to make sure that your business website looks as professional as possible.

You might want to hire someone for this, though, as web design can be quite a task; the most important aspects involves improving the navigation, making sure that it’s not cluttered, and that it is available to view on all devices.

Put some thought and effort into the web design of your business, first of all, and you might notice a proper spur in visitors. Maybe they even hang around for a bit longer – or maybe they get in touch with you right away since the site is so easy to navigate. Either way, it’s good for business and far better than having a mediocre website.

Besides, making your main site look proper won’t really cost you that much either, and the results will certainly bring in a bit more revenue, in the end.

Improve your social media game

Remember that your social media efforts are a part of the impression people get of your business, though, and you need to focus extra on this while your business is still young. That way, you’ll be able to build a proper group of followers and perhaps even make a few other contacts that are able to spread your message far and wide.

The social media profiles should be used for answering all of their questions, promoting new products and services, as well as attending to the problems they have with your business.

When your customers see that you’re actively trying to help and that you’re able to answer even the rudest query with a smile, they will definitely notice how professional you are – and your business will, of course, prosper. That kind of stuff builds credibility for your business and you’ll be able to enjoy a steady stream of traffic to your website.

The impending threats the world has to offer to your company are extensive and destructive, not only in the physical sense of destroying your companies building but also in terms of what threats such as cyber attacks, thieves, health and safety hazards can do to your business’s reputation and profitability too.

Here are 3 ideas for you to think about integrating into your business practices to protect your company for irreversible damage occurring.

IT Support Services

It’s highly unlikely that you don’t have a PC of some description playing host to all of your business intelligence, inside knowledge, confidential customer information and so forth. It’s one of your most important business assets that your company’s existence relies upon and it’s worth protecting with technical professional support from a business such as www.frontlineinc.com/ if your budget will allow.

In doing so, you will be presented with an array of IT support opportunities to backup your information in different locations in case the PC in your workplace fails. You will be offered the chance to secure your data and safeguard it from hackers attempting to access important data, such as business bank account details and customer credentials, etc. You will also have other options such as limiting business information access to employees depending on their role. This will prevent the possibility of internal users stealing information from our business.

Security Services

The level of security you require depends on whether you hold a lot of cash, business information and staff on your premises. For instance, for a small bar business for late-night drinkers in a neighborhood prone to crime may need to rely on multiple services and products such as, you may wish to install electric shutters for protecting your business at closing time. And also consider an alarm system and advanced CCTV that you can preview on your phone when you are not at the bar. This is to protect your business from criminals damaging your business and stealing any on-site assets. You might also want to consider hiring a security guard to monitor and control who can enter the bar and also to diffuse any issues that may occur by any trouble makers inside.

Health And Safety

Another threat to the livelihood of your business is the prospect of you or someone on your business grounds becoming severely hurt due to health and safety hazards. The result of this is damaging to your business in a few ways. Such as, it will jeopardize the safety of employees and customers, people may get badly hurt or even die, and your reputation could be affected which may result in a loss of business.

To prevent these issues occurring, adhere to the legal requirements set by your state to promote the safety of your premises, preview the information set by the OSHA for identifying hazards, and educate your staff of the plans to follow should a disaster such as a fire occur. Also keep a lookout for new occurring hazards, such as a spilled drink on a slippery floor that could cause someone to fall. Or a door in the building that often becomes stuck, as this will be detrimental to the safety of the people within your building if they need to exit quickly.

As you’re thinking about how you can apply the above points to your business, take into consideration technology for security adapts and improves and health and safety regulations are prone to change also. Therefore it’s imperative to keep up-to-date with any new practices that might apply to your business to maintain its protection from irreversible damage.