About business risks in the early stages of the small business lifecycle

Economic development today is under uncertainty and turbulence, therefore more and more risks arise in small businesses. Often small businesses fail to cope with them. The aim of the issue is to identify main risks that small businesses face in the early stages of lifecycle. The general scientific and special methods, such as content analysis method, system analysis method, retrospective analysis method, statistical survey methods were chosen and used as the scientific tools for this study. The research utilized analytical developments of the Federation of European Risk Management Associations (FERMA), the national report «Global Monitoring of Entrepreneurship,» materials of the Federal Service of State Statistics. The works of I. Adizes, P. Drucker, V. Avdiysky, V. Besdenyzhny, A. Ilin, L. Leontieva, etc. were used as the theoretical and methodological basis for the study. The basic definitions of entrepreneurship theories and risk management were the basis of the study. The results of the study are to allowed identifying risk factors affecting for small business development. The integration of risk management helps to increase adaptability to the risks resulting from change. The author justifies the need to take a risk-oriented approach to business management at any stage of its life cycle and to consider risks not only as threats, but also as opportunities.