Avoiding Security Expenses Is a Dangerous Risk

As business owners, we think of everything in terms of cost. How much will it cost to stock this item, and how much can I sell it for? Sometimes we look at optionable costs and decide the money saved is better for the business, but there’s a hidden price tag in avoiding some of these expenses.

It may seem cheaper to avoid installing a security alarm system and subscribing to an alarm monitoring service, but how much will you then lose in stolen stock or vandalized property? Sure, opting out of fire alarms and sprinklers saves money in the short term, but how much will it cost to repair or replace the building when emergency services don’t arrive in time?

The hidden cost associated with a lack of security systems installed in your business can be anything from a monthly loss in product to a complete shutdown and an early end to your business. For most small businesses, their first tragedy is almost always their last.

How Security Systems Save You Money

They Reduce Petty Crime

Graffiti is more than just an annoyance; it harms your business’s image and reduces the chances of random visits from new customers. It’s also incredibly difficult and time-consuming to remove. You can do it yourself, but you’ll need a lot of elbow grease and the right chemicals to remove the specific kind of paint that was used.

Alternatively, you could hire professionals to remove the graffiti, but this will cost you at least $100 every time it happens. If your business becomes a repeat target, these acts of vandalism could become prohibitively expensive to fix.

There’s also shoplifting to consider. A single bag of missing drinks might not be a big deal, but small ticket items repeatedly stolen eventually add up. Shoplifters that get away with their crimes are also more likely to return and do it again.

Unfortunately, 2022 was a very good year for shoplifting. In 2022 alone, shoplifting rose by 26.5% from 2021. Covid absolutely plays an agitating factor here, but 2019 also saw a 3% increase in shoplifting from the previous year. It’s smaller, but no matter how you cut it, that’s not a positive trend for small business owners, and it started before Covid. Shoplifters primarily focus on small items that are easily hidden and carry a larger ticket price, like:

• Batteries
• Jewelry
• Video Games
• Alcohol
• Makeup

Why Your Business Needs a CCTV System

Most Insurance Companies Will Give You Discounts

Security alarm systems don’t need to be expensive, but if you’re worried about the cost, it might be worth talking to your insurance provider. Many will offer discounts anywhere from 5-20% just for owning a security system.

Why? Because security systems inherently reduce risk. Your business is less likely to burn down if you have sprinklers installed. Your stock is less likely to be stolen if you have cameras watching over it. There’s also the very real and very expensive reality of false liability claims. Without a monitoring system, a customer could easily take advantage of the lack of eyes on them, slip, and “hurt” themselves. Without proof, you have no defense.

Alarm monitoring services and security systems reduce the risk of insurers needing to shell out a lot of money to repair your building or replace your stolen stock. From their point of view, a business owner that has a security system installed is a responsible one, therefore reducing that financial risk. If your insurance company won’t offer you a discount, it could be worth it to shop around for a new provider.

They’ll Save Your Business From a Sudden End

Suffering a fire has a lot of consequences beyond the damage itself. The loss of stock is bad enough, but the damage to the building can be prohibitively expensive, and the costs don’t stop at destruction. There’s also the increased fees from your insurance company. Once you’ve proven in their eyes that you can’t be trusted, your insurance provider will be almost assured to raise your monthly rates.

There’s also the local marketing to consider. By allowing your business to go up in flames, your customer base in the area will always and forever consider your business, “the place that almost burned down.” That’s not the kind of thing people forget.

The same is true of robberies. As a personal example from the author of this article, I used to go to a specific pancake-theme restaurant with my family for years. However, at some point the management changed, the mashed potatoes suddenly had soap in them, and we stopped going. Some months later, the place was robbed at gunpoint. Over 15 years later, well after the restaurant had gone out of business, my mind still immediately recollects that armed robbery whenever I drive past the property. It’s safe to say we also never went back.

What’s the point of this story? To illustrate that your customers will never forget that your business almost burned down, and that’s going to follow your establishment until the end of time or until you move locations. Some will refuse to ever shop there again, and you better believe they’re going to tell all their friends and family about it as well.

That’s part of the reason why so many more businesses fail years after the fact. It wasn’t the fire itself but the after-effects of it.

Central Florida Security Monitoring & Fire Alarms

Take your security into your own hands! A business takes years to nurture and only one bad day to destroy. With the right equipment in hand, you’ll render yourself virtually invulnerable to tragedy.

Millennium Fire & Security is a security system installation and fire alarm company located in Central Florida. We’ve serviced the entire region since 2006! We install everything from CCTV to sprinkler systems, and we provide alarm monitoring services from our headquarters in Maitland.