Protect Your Business
We don't need to tell you that getting your small business startup running is difficult and time-consuming. You need to obtain financing, lease an office, find customers, establish business credit and hire the right people. But while you're juggling all this, don't put off critical tasks such as securing your data, guarding your inventions or ideas, managing your risks, safeguarding against threats and taking security measures. Here are some things to think about:
- Protect Your Small Business from Credit Fraud — Some types of credit fraud include identity theft, identity assumption and fraud spree. Learn about credit fraud, and get the information you need to protect yourself. Receive email notifications of important changes to your business credit report, and get unlimited access to your Experian credit report and score with Business Credit AdvantageSM. You usually can uncover fraudulent activity by examining the accounts, inquiries and addresses that appear on your business credit report.
- Be Sure About the Businesses You Hire — If you're considering doing business on credit with a company that you're not familiar with, check the company's credit report. The most effective way to do this is to get a business credit report from Experian, whose world-class business database and scoring models enable you to better understand the creditworthiness of your customers and make faster, more effective business decisions. You can ask the potential customer/vendor/partner for a credit history, but bear in mind that this may not give you a completely accurate credit profile.
- Protect Your Great Ideas — According to the FBI, intellectual property theft costs the U.S. economy $250 billion per year. In the early stages of creating your small business startup, you should be concerned with how to protect your ideas and inventions from being stolen. Even during the ideas' formation and planning stages, one way to protect them is with a Non-Disclosure, Non-Competition Agreement record. Get it signed by employees and everybody else who knows about your ideas.
- Monitor Your Own Business Credit — A credit report for your small business startup will not exist until you (or a lending source) request one. Your business credit report profile grows each time that you apply for credit, pay a bill, move or add a new tradeline. It is challenging to finance a small business in today's unstable credit market, so your business credit score needs to be very solid. Be aware of your small business' financial health. When you enroll in a credit monitoring plan such as Experian's you'll get 24-7 access to your credit report and score. Monitor all three national credit files every day and get email reports of major changes.