Acknowledge and identify risks
The first step to identifying risks is to sit down with your management team and discuss where things can go wrong. You want to identify mishaps that will prevent you from achieving your goals. For example, what could prevent you from producing a quality, healthy product and making a profit? By working as a team, each member can become an advocate of risk management and learn to spot potential hazards.

Evaluate and prioritize risks
Look for ways employees or customers can be injured or ways your business security could be threatened. Then develop sound methods to protect against those potential problem areas. For example, do you control the amount of access to your roadside market? Do you keep keys hanging on a wall by the register? What if someone loses a key? Will you change the locks? What about that faulty ladder? Could a customer fall from it? A pothole in a parking lot? Could an elderly customer wrench an ankle or hip and become disabled? How would prospective customers react to the injury? Could the accident have a long-lasting or permanent affect on your business?

Evaluate results and revise strategies
Risk management is a continuous learning process. Periodically evaluate which strategies work and which do not. Find ways to improve your results. How could a loss have been prevented? Were you adequately insured? What about an injury to a customer? What caused the accident? Were your walkways clear? Did your staff know how to help? Your state department of agriculture and many other organizations offer seminars and publications that cover a wide variety of risk management needs. Or turn to the Internet for tips on all aspects of risk management, from insurance to safety.

Do you have a personal risk management plan?
We are not talking about market risks or safety procedures. Instead, we’re talking about something a little more practical for your personal life.

• Say hello to your doctor When was the last time you visited your doctor? Women should see their doctors yearly, as should men over the age of 35. Have your blood pressure checked and your cholesterol. Drink moderation and eat fruits and vegetables.
• Take a hike. As a farmer, you’re probably getting all the exercise you need. Or are you? Women who walk three hours per week can lower their risk of heart disease by 30 percent. Men can achieve the same results by spending three hours a week sitting on the sofa working the remote control. Just kidding!
• Take time off! If you haven’t taken a day off in years, perhaps it is time to start. Time off reduces stress and helps you gain perspective.

By proactively managing life’s risks, we can improve the quality of our lives — and the success of our businesses, too

Some material excerpted from The Risk Management Center's Web site www.nonprofitrsk.org.

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