The different business risks of small and medium enterprises and their impact on business performance require certain activities that reduce their impact, therefore an assessment and management of business risks is important. In order to successfully manage business risks in a positive direction in enterprises, it is first important to identify them, followed by an assessment and management. For this element of management and each element within it there are various techniques that can be used to successfully implement it, and it is also important to act preventively by preparing and creating a plan for assessing and managing business risks in the enterprise. On the territory of the Republic of Croatia a survey was conducted through an online questionnaire on entrepreneurs that have small or medium-sized enterprises in the territory of the Republic of Croatia on the assessment and management of business risks in the Republic of Croatia. Research has shown that a majority of respondents do not have a risk assessment and management plan and they do not educate themselves about this element, although they are aware of the multitude of risks they encounter and that adversely affect their business operations. This paper seeks to raise awareness about the importance of assessing and managing business risks in small and medium-sized enterprises and encourage current and future entrepreneurs to educate themselves and seek information about this element of management in order to do their business as successfully as possible.