How to Make Your Wholesale Shoes Business Safe

Prevention is better than cure, so goes the adage. As a wholesale shoes entrepreneur, you should know that this maxim does not only apply to one’s health. It also applies to business. Awareness and early preparation are your key defenses against business fraud. You may think that no one would want to prey on you especially if yours is just a start up shoe enterprise but think again. You are, in fact, more vulnerable because you do not have established safety and security protocols to safeguard your business.

When it comes to the safety and security of your livelihood, you can never be too prepared. So, here are some tips to help you protect your wholesale shoes business from fraud and other unscrupulous elements.

1. Get insurance for your business. 

Home-based or small-time wholesale shoes entrepreneurs may fall into the trap of thinking that their business is small enough to not need insurance. This is a security risk that you need to address. Depending on the kind of coverage that you want and the budget that you are willing to allot to it, there are different kinds of insurance policies you can get for your business. You can choose between a business owner’s policy (which has a broader coverage) or an in-home business policy (which is an “in-between” between a homeowner’s policy and a business policy). Talk to your insurance specialist about your options.

2. Back up. 

You've heard about students and writers “backing up” their important files. Here’s news for you. As an entrepreneur, you can also back up your shoe pieces online. Aside from keeping hard copies of your important business files, you can utilize free online tools such as Google Docs for your documents, Flickr for saving photos of your wholesale shoes items, and bookmarking sites such as Delicious for constantly visited webpages. Of course, it is important to save your business files in removable file saving devices such as flash drives and external hard disks. These are ideal for “grab and go” situations.

3. Listen to your gut feel. 

If you have a bad feeling about a customer or a supplier, act on it. Double check their credentials and ask around. Check the Internet for well-known scams and join online communities.