Founders: Behind the Hustle is a video series highlighting small business owners as they share their unique stories and tell us why they’re driven to run their own businesses. Each episode provides a personal perspective on the hard work that goes into running a business, as well as the rewards that come with it.
In this episode of Founders: Behind the Hustle, we’re taking a closer look at Impact Kitchen, a Toronto-based restaurant founded on the belief that food has the power to shape our daily lives. Josh, co-founder of Impact Kitchen, highlights how his business’ success rests on its customer-first philosophy.
Tiago stresses the importance of being properly equipped to ensure he and his team won’t make any mistakes when applying vinyl wrap to vehicles. “One mistake on one of these vehicles is not just a couple of hundred bucks, it’s well over thousands of dollars of damage that could happen,” Tiago explains.
“Seeing how [Impact Kitchen] has evolved through word-of-mouth, and the trust our customers give us, has very inspiring.”
As a former personal trainer and nutritionist, Josh was inspired by his clients. After noticing there was an opportunity to open a healthy marketplace in the city, Josh and one of his clients decided to take the leap with Impact Kitchen.
“Experience and time give you the ability to see everything and take that in, and that has alleviated a lot of risk factors here.”
Running your own food establishment can be challenging. Mistakes can arise when preparing food, cutting ingredients, and serving baked goods. Here are three circumstances you might come across when you work in the food and restaurant industry, along with tips on how to handle them.
Contamination and food-borne illness
Food products move quickly: you could be taking hundreds of food or beverage orders every day, and while we’re certain you’re applying the highest degree of quality control, we know problems can arise despite your close attention.
Imagine that you serve homemade baked goods in your restaurant, and one day you learn your go-to coconut oil brand has been recalled due to contamination. Your customers start to get sick, and the next thing you know, you’re getting phone calls and complaints.
If you want to limit the negative consequences of such a situation, you’ll want to consider product liability insurance for your business. Product liability insurance protects business owners from the costs associated with damages caused by their products. Having adequate product liability coverage can help mitigate the losses you experience from liability lawsuits, even if it’s not the direct fault of your business.
Out of the frying pan, into the FIRE!
When it comes to running a food establishment, it’s not only the physical business space that matters. Have you considered all the things inside your space that your business also relies on?
Here are just a few examples of important assets you’ll want to protect:
- Tables and seats for your customers to enjoy their meals and drinks.
- Counters and glass cases that display your freshly-made goods.
- High-tech kitchen equipment that helps craft your culinary masterpieces.
Now, imagine these and other things inside your building are damaged due to something unexpected like theft or vandalism. Despite your safety measures and routine inspections, your business could still experience a sudden loss.
The right commercial property policy can help with the repair and replacement costs and get you back to running your business quickly. There are many benefits to covering your business with commercial property insurance – here are a few to keep in mind:
- Fewer out-of-pocket expenses. This type of coverage can help with keeping your repair costs down and speed up the repair process to help limit your downtime.
- Financial support while you’re closed. The right coverage can mitigate your loss of income to help you keep up with expenses like payroll and bills until you’re back in business.
- Long-term security. Commercial property can also help keep equipment replacement costs low if the damage is too extensive for repairs.
No business is too small to face unexpected risks and challenges. These situations are often beyond your control and can significantly impact your bottom line, but the right commercial property policy can help minimize your loss and get you back to business quickly.
Protecting your delivery vehicles!
If, like Impact Kitchen, you’ve extended your service beyond your workspace with a food catering service, you’ll need some transportation to move around. Whether it’s serving a small party of close friends or a corporate lunch for 50 people, chances are you count on at least one commercial vehicle for delivery purposes.
If your business uses vehicles, you’ll need commercial auto insurance. There’s a common misconception amongst small business owners that their cars and drivers are protected under their personal auto policy. This is a dangerous assumption. It’s important to understand the differences between the two types of auto coverage to avoid leaving yourself vulnerable to the consequences of an accident. The last thing you’d want is to have your insurance claim denied after a car accident, simply because you weren’t protected with the right auto policy.
Not sure if your small business needs commercial auto insurance? Here are a few questions to ask yourself:
- Who owns the vehicle?
- How is the vehicle used on a daily basis?
- What type of vehicle do you operate?
- Do you drive for a ridesharing service?
For businesses like Impact Kitchen that offer food catering services, the right commercial auto policy can help protect their employees, their vehicles, and their operations if something happens on the road.
Coverage that makes a positive impact!
Small business owners are inspired, motivated, and filled with ambition. You put a lot of energy into perfecting your restaurant’s menu, but it’s just as important to focus on protecting your business. Small business insurance can protect your bottom line, reputation, and everything you’ve worked so hard to build.
We want to thank Impact Kitchen for participating in our series Founders: Behind the Hustle! Be sure to visit their website, and follow them on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter to stay updated with what they’re up to. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Founders: Behind the Hustle series. Stay hustlin’!
Ready to protect your business?
This blog is provided for information only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information and will not be responsible for any loss arising out of reliance on the information. Terms, conditions and exclusions apply to coverage. See policy for details.
“I jumped into it because I knew it was going to be a big thing. I haven’t looked back since.”
Running your own business can be stressful, especially when one small mistake can lead to costly damage to your business and your reputation. If you run a specialized business like Sekanskin, here are three situations you might come across, along with tips on how to handle them.
What if you’re late for a very important date?
Typically, before you start any work for your clients, realistic timelines will be discussed and agreed upon. Various factors are considered when determining these timelines, including other current projects you may be working on, and the estimated amount of time required for the specific project. In most cases, you probably have enough previous experience with similar projects to provide a realistic deadline. But, as we all know, mistakes can happen, and everything may not always go according to plan.
No matter how careful and meticulous you are with your planning, unexpected events may pop up, mistakes happen, and oversights can be made. And while you may be able to ask for project extensions, sometimes a missed deadline could lead to financial ramifications for your client. If your client suffers a loss due to an error or omission in your work, it could expose your business to costly lawsuits.
Imagine you’re a freelance graphic designer and an editor from a local fashion magazine has asked for your help to edit several sponsorship images on their upcoming issue. A contract has been signed, specifying the deadline for work to be delivered by. The day before your work is due, you accidentally drop your hard drive down several flights of stairs, irreparably destroying your hard drive. As a result, you’ve lost all of your work that is due the next day. Because of your accident, the sponsorship images won’t be published in the magazine, which means the sponsorship companies aren’t going to pay your client, the magazine, their fee. The next thing you know, you receive a lengthy email from the magazine saying they’re suing you for their financial loss. Could your bank account handle this?
This is where professional liability insurance can help. This type of coverage is designed to help small business owners who provide a professional or creative service to clients in exchange for a fee. It can often act as protection from unexpected mistakes. It can even help cover legal costs in the event that your business does face a lawsuit. We trust that you’re careful with your work, but sometimes things are out of your control. And while the right insurance policy can be a strong safety net, here are a few other tips to help avoid errors or omissions in your work.
- Organize deadlines, and make sure both you and the client sign-off on the timeline for any project.
- Triple-check all your project requirements before, during and after work has been done.
- Update your clients on a project’s progress along the way. This will help keep expectations as realistic as possible.
- If your work is stored electronically, always back it up to an external hard drive or the cloud.
For more information, check out this infographic on professional liability coverage for small businesses.
Could you finish a project without your equipment?
If you run a specialized business, you know how valuable your equipment is to your operations. Sekanskin is no different—their business relies heavily on state-of-the-art equipment including their industrial printers that print the vinyl wraps and the heaters that help install their designs on vehicles. Without this equipment, it would be challenging, if not impossible, for their business to continue operating.
And this isn’t just a concern for businesses like Tiago’s, many other small business types rely on their equipment for their day-to-day operations. Imagine a baker trying to function without his or her electric stove. Or a contractor trying to complete a project without his or her electric saw. Industrial equipment and machinery are expensive to repair or replace. And if your bank account doesn’t have enough to cover those costs when an unexpected breakdown occurs, your business may need to shut down temporarily, which would lead to a loss of income. It will also interrupt your customers’ experiences with your business, which can be bad for publicity.
That’s where equipment breakdown insurance comes in. While this coverage is typically only seen as necessary for large manufacturers, it’s actually important for businesses of all shapes and sizes. If your business’ day-to-day operations are dependent on equipment, then you may want to consider getting equipment breakdown insurance.
Many small business owners feel equipment breakdown insurance is unnecessary because they believe they’re protected by warranties—this may not always be the case.
We know expensive equipment typically comes with a warranty. We hear it all the time from small business owners when they’re shopping for insurance options, and we’re here to debunk the myth of warranties. It’s very important to read what is and what isn’t covered under your warranty when purchasing equipment. There are a number of things that aren’t covered under most equipment warranties, including operator error. Operator error means that the cause of the breakdown was the operator using the tool improperly. For example, if you have an expensive electric saw for your contracting business, and you pull on the cord to unplug it one day and cause the cord to break—your warranty likely wouldn’t cover the cost of repairs.
Having their vinyl printer breakdown suddenly and without warning just before they finish an install is the last thing a business like Sekanskin wants to deal with. If you rely on your business equipment to get the job done, then you need to consider equipment breakdown insurance.
Slips, trips and falls—oh my!
There is no business too small for insurance. Every business faces risks from the minute they start operating. If your business has a physical business space like Sekanskin does, chances are you will have clients walking in and out of your property on a regular basis, which puts you at risk for third party liability claims. If someone slips, trips or falls at your business and suffers an injury, they could sue your business for any resulting damages. Even if you operate your business from home and don’t necessarily see your clients or customers on a regular basis, this is still a concern. Delivery persons or maintenance workers could injure themselves while visiting your home-based business, which could also lead to a lawsuit in the end.
Some small business owners don’t know they need liability insurance, or they think it’s too expensive, and some think they can mitigate the risk on their own. But the truth is every business faces liability risks, and insurance could be the safety net you need to protect your bottom line. Mitigating risk is great, but you should always be prepared in case the worst happens.
There is no business too small for insurance.
The good news is a TruShield commercial general liability insurance (CGL insurance) can help! In the event that your business is found legally liable for an injury to a third party, a CGL policy can help protect you by mitigating some of the costs associated with these types of lawsuits.
Thinking about getting insurance? Don’t Sekan guess it
It’s important to understand the risks that go hand-in-hand with operating your small business and have proper insurance coverage in case things go awry. For a business like Sekanskin, working with tight deadlines, operating state-of-the-art equipment, and keeping their business environment safe for anyone who visits it are just a few of the risks they face daily.Running a small business is not always easy, but knowing the risks that come with it and having the right insurance coverage can help make things easier.
We want to thank Sekanskin for participating in our series Founders: Behind the Hustle! Be sure to visit their website, check out their shop, and follow them on Instagram and Twitter to see the projects they are working on. Don’t forget to check out the rest of the Founders: Behind the Hustle series. Stay hustlin’!
Ready to protect your business?
This blog is provided for information only and is not a substitute for professional advice. We make no representations or warranties regarding the accuracy or completeness of the information and will not be responsible for any loss arising out of reliance on the information. Terms, conditions and exclusions apply to coverage. See policy for details.
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Terms, conditions and exclusions apply, see policy for details. The services described on this website are not insurance policies and not all policies are eligible. For more information on our services and for information on our insurers please see Terms and Conditions.
Certain content used on this website are trademarks or tradenames of Northbridge Financial Corporation (or its affiliates) and are used under license by our insurers. For more information please see Trademark Information.
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