Setting up a physical business is no easy feat. This is why so many people opt for online retail and services instead. It offers them the chance to sell their wares, products, and services without the effort of finding a physical location, paying rent, bills and other overheads. It also means they don’t need to decorate or focus on the interior design of their branded building. But there are so many benefits to setting up a physical business. You place yourself in the real world. Customers can communicate with you face to face. They can try out your products before taking them home, meaning fewer returns and unsatisfied customers leaving negative reviews. You can place your store somewhere that your potential customer base frequents. This means you will draw customers in before you even start advertising. Essentially, a tangible business space is a brilliant move in terms of accessibility, reputation, and the resultant incoming profit. However, once you’ve set up, you still have a little work to do. You need to protect your business. This is easy in store. You can employ security to keep an eye out for potential thieves. You can install security systems and tag your stock. You will have staff members ensuring that members of the public aren’t damaging stock or fittings. But protecting your store from the outside is a little more complicated. You can’t have someone there watching from outside twenty-four seven. So here are few tips and tricks on how to protect your store from the outside in.

Security is key to protecting your store. You may already have CCTV inside your business, but you should also ensure that you have a camera outdoors. This will deter potential thieves from attempting to break in at night. The prominent camera will indicate that they are being watched at all times and will be more easily identified when it comes to court if they do attempt a break in. It will also make people wary and less likely to urinate up your store front. This sounds silly, but it happens and the cost of clearing up will be on you. Make sure that people are aware of the CCTV too. Have a bright yellow sign near your storefront noting that CCTV is in operation, all activity is being recorded and any illegal or anti-social activity will be prosecuted. After all, prevention is always better than cure.

Shutters

Invest in shutters for your store front. When you or your employee manager shuts up, you can lock up for the night and pull the shutters down. This way thieves and vandals are less likely to succeed in breaking your windows or damaging your shop front. The shutters will act as a protective barrier, protecting your store front from harm and the elements. So if there’s a heavy storm or hail overnight, you’re much less likely to come back to a store with broken windows, cracked panes or aesthetic damage in the morning. Electronic shutters are the best option, so get these if possible. They are longer lasting and reduce the risk of human error in not fastening shutters properly.

Concrete Stain

Vandalism such as graffiti is a big problem for businesses. Wherever there’s a blank concrete wall, there’s a vandal or graffiti artist ready with a can of spray paint and a mindful of words or imaged to mark your walls with. Businesses spend millions of dollars every single year clearing up the effects of vandalism. But there’s good news! There is a relatively cheap and extremely effective way of making the clear up job easier and cheaper for yourself. Invest in a concrete stain. This is an anti-graffiti coating that has proven extremely popular in areas such as shopping malls, warehouses, schools, and offices. It gives a neat and high-quality finish to the exterior of your building and graffiti can be washed off it much more easily than from bare concrete or alternative building materials.

Exterior Lighting

Crime is more likely to happen in dimly lit or dark places. So invest in bright exterior lighting for your store. Not all of us are lucky enough to have a shop on the high street with bright lamplight throughout the night. But you can easily get security lights which turn on when there is activity nearby. These are environmentally friendly and economically efficient. If someone with bad intent approaches the store and finds themselves quite literally in the headlights, they are more likely to reconsider their actions and scarper.