As you’re probably aware, the world of business is fast-paced and often unpredictable. You’ve probably put a lot of time and effort into founding your small business. Now that it’s established, you have to start thinking about pitfalls further down the line. There are so many unexpected problems which can spring up and harm a company. To make sure your business doesn’t fail just when it’s starting out, you need to prepare for these issues.

First of all, find your company’s niche and stick to it. In your early days, if you try to expand into a lot of different areas, you’ll just get swallowed up by established competitors. Have a firm idea of your target market, and hone your products or services to appeal directly to that demographic. Take custom-made clothing companies like Threadless. They’ll make products printed with anything the client wants. However, you’ll notice they appeal to a specific niche within youth culture. By keeping their focus narrow as a start-up, they’ve been able to thrive and expand into other niches over time. Don’t try to encroach on all the business areas Virgin has tapped into. You’ll almost certainly fail.

This next tip is especially important in the modern day. Make sure all your company data is organised well. This includes backing everything up to ensure your client will be able to pick up what they’ve paid for. There may not be much to take care of now, but as your business grows data organisation will become more important. If you develop software or do anything in the digital-creative niche, then backing up is a precaution you can’t afford to neglect. It’s also worth keeping the number of a recovery service such as DatLabs. This will ensure that even in the worst case scenario, your business will stay live and functioning.

Making sure your books are balanced properly is also extremely important. Manual bookkeeping might be perfectly sufficient for your business at the moment. However, when you take on more costs and revenue to worry about, you’ll probably make mistakes here and there. To make sure this human error doesn’t cost you too dearly, you may want to purchase some accounting software. Don’t leap straight into this though. There are dozens of professional accounting programs out there, all with their own distinct features and interfaces. One thing that’s a constant is that they’re all pretty expensive! For this reason, take your time choosing your software. Consider things like your business size, niche and what you need the program to do. You may find it more cost-effective to hire a human accountant.

These tips may have opened your eyes to the potential risks facing your business. I hate to tell you this, but they’re just the tip of the iceberg! Any niche and sector is fraught with different hazards, and even the most careful of CEOs find themselves struggling with them. As with anything, you can’t tell what the future holds. However, by preparing for different problems, you’ll help your company’s chances of success in the long run.