This character is a regrettable reality with whom a small business owner is bound to cross paths—in some cases, repeatedly.
I’ve chosen the burglar to represent an entire class of characters with the same objective in mind: ill-gotten gain at the expense of a small business.
Unpleasant as it is to contemplate that your business is a target for unsavoury characters lurking out there with evil intent, you cannot afford to stick your head in the sand. You absolutely need to understand the extent and potential sources of the threats, and then you must take the appropriate countermeasures.
Shapes, sizes and disguises
The burglar’s gang of cohorts includes a wide range of characters in various shapes, sizes and disguises, from mindless and desperate shoplifters to technically sophisticated and ruthless hackers, and an assortment of characters in between. And all are intent on victimizing your small business.
They might be employees, customers or strangers; they might be dressed in three-piece business suits or ragged jeans and T-shirts; they might intrude in person, by phone, or online; they might be beautiful, ugly or faceless; they might be rude, crude, or charming; they might be armed or disarming; and they might brazenly appear in broad daylight or skulk about after dark. There is neither a stereotypical burglar nor a prerequisite for this occupation other than perhaps a psychopathic personality.
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