You have poured your heart and soul into building your business from the ground up. Endless hours of effort, investments from family and friends, and customer support have brought you where you are today. However, if you do not keep an eye on business liability to protect company and personal assets, you could lose everything from a single incident.

As a business owner, you are responsible for ensuring your space is free of things that might harm someone else. Even e-commerce brands without a physical location or more than a solopreneur have items they must consider to keep buyer information safe and protect any future employees that might work on site. Here is what you can do to ramp up your protective measures and ensure you safeguard your brand.

1. Add Cybersecurity

In a survey of 2,508 United States consumers, researchers found 79% felt it was easier to trust a business they knew protected their personal information. You may also have a legal obligation to protect information if your customers reside in the European Union and fall under the General Data Protection Regulation Act.

Some states now have laws regulating how companies collect and store details on their consumers. Even if your area does not yet monitor data, it is smart to put practices in place to reassure your customers their sensitive information is protected.

2. Be Transparent

Reduce your business liability by being upfront and transparent. If you experience a data breach or a product fails repeatedly, admit the issue and explain what you are doing to fix it.

Sweeping a problem under the rug only leads to potential harm and lawsuits. If you find an issue with one of your offerings, inform your customers immediately and take steps to avoid injury to your patrons.

3. Secure Insurance

Insurance can help with common issues such as personal injury, natural disasters and workers’ compensation. The most common type of business insurance is a “Business Owners Policy” (BOP), which covers property and liability.

In a perfect world, you will never need insurance. However, it is there to cover you in case of a catastrophe. A solid BOP can keep you from losing your livelihood to damages from a lawsuit for not having a replacement for damaged property.

4. Assess Risks

Best protect yourself from business liability by assessing potential risks. A small brand that operates daily ax-throwing competitions is going to need different insurance and safeguards than one that offers transcription services. Make a list of potential issues you might run into, such as physical hazards around your property that could worsen over time.

5. Protect Your Reputation

Your company’s reputation can impact whether customers decide to purchase from you. A 2023 report on Statista found 58% of consumers were more likely to buy from an enterprise known to have good character.

You can protect your reputation by keeping an eye out for mentions on social media. Engage with users who make positive posts and follow up with any stating negative things. Doing so shows you take complaints seriously and have the heart to fix any issues.

Be upfront with the disgruntled customer. Do your best to make them happy and solve the problem. When you do, ask them if they would consider adding a note to their original post that you resolved the issue so it does not damage your reputation.

Although rare, should you run into an instance where the user posts untrue statements, you might have to involve lawyers. Defamation can damage your reputation and your revenue. You can usually work things out by communicating with the irate person, but have a lawyer on retainer should you absolutely need to go that route.

6. Install Quality Control

You must pay attention to quality on the front end so you can handle any problems before the back end. Test everything you sell to failure and talk to your customers about what they would like to see improved.

It is crucial to fix any issues before sending more items out so you avoid running into a situation where you know there is a problem and do not solve it. Being aware and not doing anything does make you liable if someone suffers an injury.

7. Register Intellectual Property

Nearly five billion people use the internet and the number grows every year. Some countries do not have the same copyright laws as the United States. Prosecuting offenders around the globe comes with so many obstacles that it is hard to stop them.

Although you should register copyrights and trademarks, you will also want to add some additional protections to prevent unsavory brands from using your images. People might start to associate you with their poor customer service.

One online reseller ran into this issue when a company utilized a name extremely similar to his, collected funds and never delivered the items. Suddenly, he received angry messages on social media from people who tracked down his page. The reputation damage was already done and it took him weeks to clean up the mess. Have a plan in place for what you will do if someone uses your intellectual property to try to make their shady brand look better.

8. Plan for a Crisis

What would you do if a tornado swept through your town and wiped out your store? If hackers got into your databases, do you have a plan to secure your information and clean up the mess?

When you plan for a crisis, you can shift immediately into damage-control mode. This action minimizes the risks of a disaster and helps you bounce back quickly. Make sure to plan for natural and human-made disasters.

9. Audit Potential Lawsuits and Fines

Fines, lawsuits and damages can harm your bottom line and might even drive you to bankruptcy. Reports show $1.2 billion was the largest fine in the last four years, going to Didi Global. Amazon’s $877 million fine was the next highest. You should conduct an audit to see what you can avoid.

Ask outside companies to audit your risks, having them walk through your store or warehouse to spot perils. In the digital sphere, hire white-hat hackers to break into your databases and send you recommendations on creating a more secure server.

Protect Yourself from Business Liability

The issues that might damage your brand are numerous. Focus on the most common culprits, fix any problems, and keep adding to your list to protect your company from lawsuits or reputation damage. With a little attention to detail, you can reduce your risks considerably.