Great businesses aren’t just built on big ideas, they’re built on smart decisions, tested assumptions, and a system that learns before it fails.
If your operations rely on people “just getting it right,” it’s only a matter of time before something breaks.
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The Reality of Running a Business
Things change. Customers evolve. Employees make mistakes.
That’s the reality of running a business, whether you’re a scrappy startup or an established enterprise.
Yet many companies still operate without any meaningful de-risking strategies in place. They rely on good intentions and assume people will “just get it right.”
But here’s the truth: Most businesses can’t afford to get it wrong. Every customer interaction and every deal—especially in a small business—is a big deal. Even a small misstep can have serious consequences.
That’s why it’s essential to build safety nets early on, not just when you scale.
I learned this the hard way.
Early in my career, I worked as a junior consultant at a small firm with fewer than ten people. We had big clients but little structure. One day, a major client called to place a substantial order. I answered the phone, took the request, and submitted a quote.
The problem? I wasn’t fully across the fee structure for that particular type of order.
What followed was a painful scramble. My boss realised that I had missed several critical cost components. I had to call the client back—not once, but multiple times—to explain new charges. The client was understandably unhappy. I blamed myself. And if memory serves, we lost that client.
Looking back now, more than 20 years on, I realise something important:
“Even if I had tried my best, I was set up to fail.”
That client was too big for my level of expertise, the job too complex, and the system too chaotic. There were no clear procedures. No pricing guideline. No segmentation. No training. No de-risking strategy. The good news? I didn’t lose my job. My boss likely understood the deeper issue, it wasn’t really my fault, it was the lack of systems, which is all too common in small businesses.
Why Testing and Iteration Matter at Every Stage
It’s easy to think of testing and iteration as something you do during product development. Build an MVP. Ship fast. Learn. Repeat.
But the truth is, every part of your business benefits from a test-learn-adapt cycle. It’s how you protect every deal, each relationship, and ultimately, your business. Startups that embrace this mindset early on become far more adaptable and far less vulnerable than those that just wing it.
At its core, de-risking means reducing the chance that something important goes wrong. If your business model relies on employees “just getting it right” every time, especially without proper support, then the real issue lies in your business design.
Here are a few practical ways startups and small businesses can de-risk and build smarter safeguards:
- Define repeatable workflows. Develop clear steps for critical processes. Even a simple Google Doc or Notion page outlining key actions for high-risk tasks can make a huge difference.
- Train your team. A short onboarding session or team huddle can prevent future headaches. Don’t assume they’ll figure it out on the fly.
- Match task to skill level. Assign complex clients or high-stakes tasks to your most experienced team members.
- Run simulations or dry runs. If a situation high-impact, test it beforehand so your team feels prepared.
- Create feedback loops. When something breaks, capture what happened and adjust. Every mistake is a chance to improve your system.
Don’t wait for a mistake to teach you this. De-risk before it costs you.
When you have a structure for learning, improving, and adjusting, you gain confidence. Your team feels supported. And your customers notice how smoothly things run. Most importantly, when things do go wrong (and they will), you’ll be ready.
Final Thought
Every business faces uncertainty, but how you prepare for it makes all the difference. The strongest companies aren’t the ones that avoid mistakes altogether, but the ones that learn, adapt, and grow smarter with each step.
Want help designing a business that can withstand the real world? That’s exactly what we do in the Innovation Creator Program.
We help founders and early-stage teams stress-test their business models, set up smart systems, and build feedback loops that fuel growth, not frustration.
Whether you’re refining a service offering, scaling your operations, or preparing to launch something new, our program helps you design for resilience.
Book a Discovery Call and explore how our program can help you de-risk, test, and iterate like the best do. Your future business will thank you.
