Canada Business Network (CBN)

Do you have an action plan in place to keep your business secure and protect it from fraud? Security is a key issue today as many business owners are increasing their transactions over the Internet. Make sure your business can detect and avoid fraud and security risks before they happen.

You can also tailor reliable, off-the-shelf human resources tools. Choosing the best technologies, however, is not easy; consider this as carefully as you would any other process implementation. Look for affordable solutions to manage different functions.

The responsibilities of payroll, benefit plans and other human resources issues can take a lot of time, often to the detriment of your customers and your bottom line. You may be able to reduce this burden by hiring outside companies to handle some or all of your human resources functions, or by automating the internal processes you already have in place.

Introducing organizational change, such as the implementation of online human resources tools, can be a difficult task. Employees who are unable or unwilling to make the transition to a new way of working can be more of an impediment to change than faulty technical installations or poor supplier relationships. How can you help your employees adapt?

Are you trying to streamline your benefits procedures? Would you like your employees to have more access to information they need? Do you want to keep better records? Online tools and software can help you build a more efficient and competitive business.

Know your obligations and opportunities when it comes to hiring employees — from recruitment to payroll to tax returns — and familiarize yourself with current labour market conditions.

Learn about permits, licences and regulations that apply to your business.

Starting your own business from scratch can sometimes be overwhelming for first-time entrepreneurs. Instead, investing in an already successful franchise concept may be a great choice for your new business venture.

Now that you have decided to start your own business, you will have to determine what business structure or form of organization suits your needs. The structure of your business will depend on whether you want to run your business yourself or with a partner or associates. There are four types of business structures: sole proprietorships, partnerships, corporations and cooperatives.

If growing is part of your business objectives, identify activities that maximize the return on your time and investments and take time to plan your implementation strategy. It also helps to focus on the kind of growth you can manage, rather than trying to achieve everything at the same time.