Prevent a Burglary from Destroying Your Business

Too many small businesses don’t take adequate measures to protect themselves from robberies. Many believe the probability of being robbed is so minute they don’t have to worry about it. Nothing could be further from the truth!

Data from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) shows that Business is robbed every four minutes. Some businesses are victims of multiple robberies a year. ABC News Baltimore reported that one local coffee shop was robbed five times in the span of four months.

“Park Cafe and Coffee Bar in Bolton Hill has experienced its share of robberies in the last four months– the business has been robbed five times since October. This week, its owners said it would no longer accept cash as a form of payment.”

The worst part is that businesses that aren’t adequately prepared may lose everything.

Here are some things you need to do right now to keep a robbery from destroying your business.

Make sure you have adequate insurance

Every business owner understands the importance of having liability insurance in case one of their customers is injured on their property for the accidental damage customer property somehow.

Unfortunately, too many businesses fail to insure their own property. This means that one massive robbery can completely wipe them out.

You need enough property insurance coverage to replace any inventory that could be lost in a robber.

Setup a decent security system

Robert Siciliano, a security consultant, told Business News Daily that you can’t expect police to thwart burglars and return your property.

“The FBI says there is a burglary every 15 seconds,” said Siciliano. “The statistics do not favor businesses that have been victimized. Police only catch one out of 10 burglars. The U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics show about 16 million property crimes annually. Burglaries result in over $4.5 billion in losses annually resulting in over $2,000 in losses to the victims. The National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association determined property crime averages above 75 percent of all crime. ”

Siciliano urges every business owner to get a decent security system. A good security system should:

• Have wireless accessibility
• Have a high uptime rate
• Have closed circuit, real-time video monitoring
• Have a direct contact to your security company

Siciliano also states that it is a good idea to hire a third-party security contractor to evaluate your business to make sure the security system is properly setup and adequate for the risks you face in your area and industry.

The type of security system you need depends on the location and structure of your business.

If you are running a business from your home and want the best possible protection, then you may want to install the Keypad solution, by SimpliSafe. Michelle Lakov explains how it can help keep a home based business more secure.

“If a burglar thinks he can outsmart your system with a bat, here’s what he doesn’t expect. We designed the Keypad to emit beeping sounds in order to draw attention to itself. At the same time, the Base Station will go dark to disguise itself. This way a burglar is busy with the Keypad while the Base Station is stealthily sending a signal to the Monitoring Center!”

Urge Employees to Take Necessary Security Precautions

You can have the most state-of-the-art security system in the world. It won’t do you any good if your employees don’t use it properly or take poor security precautions.

Your employees need to be trained to prevent a possible burglary and mitigate losses. Here are some things they need to understand:

• They must be urged to keep doors locked whenever an employee isn’t around. Even if they are leaving to go to the store for a few minutes, they need to lock everything up and put up a sign letting customers know that they will be right back.
• Encourage them to try to memorize any important details of anyone in the event of a robbery, such as height, skin tone, facial hair, scars, tattoos and other distinguishing characteristics.
• Tell them to pay careful attention to anyone that seems out of place. If you own a high -end business and find a poorly dressed person lingering around the property, they should pay extra careful attention to them.
• Tell employees they are not allowed to bring anyone into areas restricted to employees without prior authorization.

Employee training needs to emphasize the importance of keeping your business secure. Let your employees know if your company has ever been robbed, so they understand why certain security protocols are in place.

Take Small Business Security Seriously

Unless you are selling jewelry or other high end products or operate almost entirely on cash, security is probably the last thing on your mind as a small business owner. It should be one of the first things you think about, because thousands of businesses are robbed every year. Fortunately, the odds of being robbed are considerably lower if you take the right precautions.