I still get buck fever and have a tendency to want to shoot when a big buck walks out. I really have to do some talking to myself. One must learn how to quickly size up a deer in his riflescope evaluating beam length, mass, tine length and age of the deer. Ground shrinkage is very embarrassing. You can expect to be ribbed pretty hard if your trophy buck doesn’t score well. Furthermore, you could be fined. There’s a whole lot more to it than non-hunters imagine.

At all times you must keep safety in mind when you’re carrying guns - that’s rule No. 1! In addition, you must camouflage yourself the best you can, be scent-free, consider the direction of wind, make sure you’re not visible in your blind or stand, have your rifle sighted-in, and have packed all necessary gear for the field. There’s a multitude of things to think about.

“Due diligence” comes to mind, regardless if you’re hunting or at work.

While driving the 4-wheeler to check on feeders last weekend, I realized the similarity of running a business and hunting for trophy whitetail. Hunting is truly like running a business, as finding that trophy buck can be as daunting a task as finding success in business. Luck and timing always seems to play a part. You know, without serious planning and a lot of hard work in the field that’s really all you can count on in is luck and timing. That’s not a good strategy and hunters don’t think much of other hunters who don’t do their fair share of work in the field.

There’s a lot of exaggerated bull around the fire pit at night, but daybreak brings a serious determination of purpose knowing that every hunt must be entered into safely and well equipped. The same is true for the operation of companies from the white-collar with a staff of five to the blue-collar company hiring hundreds.

Before a hunter ever wanders out in the field, there’s a lot to be learned. Hunters listen to the “old sage” learning all the intricacies of bagging a huge buck, a firearms safety class is attended, money is spent on the best firearms and ammo, and scent-free clothing and snake-proof boots are acquired.

Similarly running a business and hunting both need to be SNAKEPROOF.

To be successful you must achieve optimum workplace safety and efficiency. Hiring a team of experienced employees to take care of these things is time consuming and expensive. Most businesses operate on a wing and a prayer hoping things run smoothly, without an accident. That’s running the risk of a venomous attack paralyzing your company for years.

To make sure you hit the bull’s-eye, you need a staff trained in all areas of one’s business, including; risk assessment, writing safety manuals, providing ongoing safety training, recordkeeping, and more than sufficient accident investigation procedures.

Most leaders do their best educating their employees about workplace hazards and safety issues. However, sometimes doing your best isn’t good enough. OSHA can levy fines on businesses. Government and state laws and regulations change almost on a daily basis increasing the odds of a violation. Who’s watching over your business? What do you have in place to SNAKEPROOF your business?

Similarly, in the hunting fields you’ll easily prove how stupid you are if a rattlesnake bites you and you weren’t wearing snakeproof boots.

Experts predict the price of everything is going up. How can you afford to hire a multitude of experts with various degrees of education and years experience to cover all the areas of risk with regard to workplace safety and HR compliance?

Normally, the first financial sacrifice to be taken in any business is headcount. So how do you cover all this? There is an answer.

It’s hard enough just to find time every day to effectively grow your business. If you outsource your HR you’ll have help with your ancillary issues such as payroll, human resources, workers’ compensation insurance, health plans, and of course – safety and compliance. Outsourcing can lighten the load, cut costs, and allow you to focus on the strategic and revenue producing aspects of your company.

Many business leaders expend time and capital personally addressing these issues while not wanting to hire additional personnel for HR administration and safety management. Driving revenue production must be your priority, leave the other stuff to the pros.

A PEO or professional employer organization plays the key role in assisting small to medium sized companies reduce the risk of on-the-job injury, safety violations, and failure to properly address employee issues, and they assist with regulatory compliance. To make certain your business is SNAKEPROOF unite with a highly qualified PEO. Whether a company works with a PEO or not, all of these vital issues must be addressed.