Should Your Business Invest More in Physical Security?

If you're a small-business owner, you no doubt have a lot of valuable equipment and data under your company's roof. Even a relatively small security incident can put your employees, customers, clients and assets at risk.

For that reason, you may be wondering exactly how to tackle your ongoing security issues. The simplest way to do so is to invest a little more heavily in your building's physical security in much the same way you do for cybersecurity.

With that in mind, the following are just a few reasons why investing just a little bit more in your physical security can go a long way.

Limit access to your space

First and foremost, you only want people in various parts of your building — whether it's a retail store, industrial space or an office — where they are allowed to be , according to Entrepreneur magazine. This helps ensure that no one has access to potentially valuable equipment or sensitive information they aren't allowed to handle.

If you can in some way restrict access, such as with a keycard scanner or a knob that requires people to enter a combination before opening it, the security of whatever's behind that door is far more likely to remain intact. The good news is that a lot of these security options can be quite cost-effective and pay for themselves quickly.

Basic changes to your security plan can bolster your company's efforts in several ways, so it's best to do your due diligence.

Keep tabs on who comes and goes

Especially if you're not running a retail space, a low- to no-cost method of ensuring everyone is who they say they are is asking them to check in with a front desk before they enter deeper into the building. That way, you can easily verify that their business with your company is legitimate.

When you do so, you have more information about all comings and goings under your roof.

Reduce after-hours break-in risk

Of course, most businesses can't have people on site 24/7/365, but more investment in physical security can easily increase your peace of mind. Kabbage notes that when you have better doors, windows and locks , you can head home each day assured that even if someone were to try to break in, they would have a difficult time doing so, and other aspects of your security (such as an alarm system) further deters serious risk.

Burnish your reputation among customers, clients and workers

Finally, when you have a solid physical security plan in place, you're immediately deterring the risk of a breach. While that's the most obvious benefit to your efforts, you can't discount the benefit it has for word of mouth , according to Neatly.

If your building is the site of a break-in or other type of physical crime, that can harm your reputation even if you have not specifically done anything wrong to cause it. As such, tightening security can be a great way to passively ensure your venture's reputation speaks for itself.

If you need extra financing* to fund appropriate security upgrades at your small business, reach out to a local representative from Vectra Bank. We can show you the options that are available to your company and help you understand the impact they can have.

^{* Credit approval required. Terms, conditions and restrictions apply.}