Regulations. Can’t live with them, can’t live without them, right? Well actually yes, we can live with them. In fact, many people today are alive solely because of them, even if they don’t realise. We don’t live in a wanton libertarian hellscape just yet, where anything goes and corporations can do all they like, although where the balance lies is a hotly discussed topic for many.
That being said, in some fields business regulation can feel like a great big ball of threat you have to unspool in order to decide your business plan. Sure, few people argue with essential regulations, like food safety protocols designed to keep people safe and hygiene standards high.
Yet as a new business operating on a threadbare budget, you may lament the difficulties that come with tracking and continually updating your business plan because of new compliance measures. We often see this with cybersecurity standards, where the protocols are improving all the time in response to more sophisticated threats. Even today, we’ve seen how huge companies worldwide can suffer from such a lapse.
So, as the “little guy” running a small or mid-sized business, how do you untangle that regulatory confusion? Let’s explore this below:
What Are Your Foremost Obligations?
As ever, simply the process, and ask what rules apply to your business specifically. You shouldn’t try to track every single law in your industry to start because that’s a waste of time. Instead, focus tightly on the handful of compliance areas that are absolutely essential for your operations, for example, the licensing, taxes, and any health and safety standards that relate directly to what you sell or do.
If you focus on that, you can then set up simple systems to make sure you follow them each day – like having a data safety system that means applying a VPN to every single staff member’s digital training module and training them on proper use when onboarding. You can talk to experts like Richard Cheng if you want more help going through the regulatory law applicable to you.
Photo by Pixabay: https://www.pexels.com/photo/person-signing-in-documentation-paper-48148/
Use Simple Digital Tools
Thankfully, you don’t need expensive, complex software to handle your basic compliance needs. There are plenty of user-friendly digital tools out there designed for small business use. For example, you can use simple cloud-based services to securely store all your documentation, like licenses and permits, so you can find them instantly when you need them, and this will mean the obligation for data security lies on their server-hosted side.
Moreover, you could also set up automatic calendar reminders for all your deadlines, like tax filing dates or license renewals. It’ll make sure you know the exact calendar timing of compliance instead of it being some vague issue hanging over your head all the time.
Outsource Expert Needs
If a compliance area is more technical or changes a lot, like the example we gave in our intro about data privacy laws or payroll tax rules, it’s often cheaper and safer to hire an expert for just that part. You might not have the budget for a full-time in-house legal department, but thankfully, you don’t need one.
So for instance, bringing in a fractional specialist or an accountant who knows the latest changes coming in by a certain date means you don’t have to become an expert yourself. You pay them to handle that one complex part correctly and explain how this is exactly appropriate to your business. Fundamentally, it should protect your business from expensive fines and gives you the peace of mind to focus on what you do best.
With this advice, we hope you can more easily cope even when compliance seems a little strange.
