Identify risks — and measure them

The best place to find risks is in your business plan. Comb your plan for risks and make a list of probable threats as well as potential opportunities. Within your list, separate responsible risks from reckless ones. Smart risks are those for which the potential gain is larger than the potential loss. Use a cost-benefit analysis to measure those gains and losses and to find out which is greater.

I recommend: Purchase and download a decision-making tool from BusinessCase.com that helps you measure potential return on investment (ROI). Review a cost-benefit analysis example from About.com.

Manage bad risks

Protect your company from potential losses by minimizing the harmful impact of bad risks. Small business insurance can defend your business against a slew of potential pitfalls.

I recommend: Visit the Hartford Financial Services Group's Web site, which has a section devoted to reducing the risks of your small business. It includes a number of tools and resources, such as an assessment tool to "Test Your Risk IQ" and an "E-Business Risk Analyzer."

Act on smart risks

Once you've identified an intelligent risk, take it. After all, you can't expect to benefit from an opportunity if you don't embrace it.

I recommend: Risk management can help you identify worthwhile risks and implement strategies for pursuing them; learn the ins and outs of risk management by downloading "The Risk Management Standard," which will help you accurately define and evaluate risks and related opportunities.

Evaluate results

Not all risks will prove successful. Analyze a risk's outcome in order to learn from any mistakes you might have made. The more risks you take, the more quickly you'll learn which ones are worth taking and which ones aren't.

I recommend: Risk management consultants — such as Protiviti and Marsh — can not only help you identify worthwhile risks, but they also can also help you measure after the fact whether those risks paid off as you'd hoped they would.