Short-Term Insurance
Entrepreneurship – Here be dragons
The 1570 Theatrum Orbis Terrarum map showing monsters in unknown areas .
There are many unknowns entrepreneurs might not consider before stepping out and finally getting their business going . One of these is the risks associated with running a business . Wilma van der Walt , Executive for Customer Experience and Operations at PPS Short-Term Insurance , discusses what entrepreneurs should remember when starting out .
During medieval times , there would be map inscriptions “ Here be dragons ”. It was a practice to put illustrations of dragons , sea monsters and other mythological creatures on uncharted areas of maps where potential dangers were thought to exist . In short , it refers to dangerous and unexplored areas .
Business risk can probably be described as such a “ dragon ” that many entrepreneurs are unaware of or ill-equipped to handle . Such risks may be a global health pandemic or war . COVID-19 and the Russian-Ukrainian war – which have put global supply chains under pressure and contributed to widespread energy and food crises – are perfect examples . Other risks include climate change-related disasters , such as the floods in various parts of the country in the past year and crippling cyber-attacks . Or even worse , in some cases , employees syphon money off the company or the entrepreneur , who is often the business ’ s sole owner . Another crisis could be that the owner falls ill and cannot attend to their business .
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