Technology has made it easy to save and access our information. We are instantly connected through our mobile and other devices. The new technology makes it easier to manager and run our businesses and to provide goods and services to our customers.
But what happens when you lose your device or it is stolen from you? Suddenly anyone with your device can access your small businesses information. Securing your business devices is important. With the work that you do for your small business and the information that is accessed your devices can become a treasure trove for hackers and thieves. What are some things you can so to protect your information?
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Technology is changing so quickly that it is changing how we communicate, how we get business, and how we do business. The proof was at the last development breakfast held by the South Chamber and a recent Tech 101 at the Plaza Club.
I am a business person, not a techie, but I try to keep up with what is going on with technology since it can change the landscape so quickly. Changing landscapes can have a dramatic impact to our businesses and if we don't try to at least understand it, we may be come victims of it. Any business can advertise on Google's search engine. Ads can be set up and target web surfers in San Antonio, Texas or the U.S. Cloud technology allows for files to be stored offsite and accessed anywhere. Some website providers allow for self service with multiple widgets so that small modifications or wholesale changes to a website can be make quickly. We have made use of some of this technology and it has provided tremendous advantages both operationally and financially and has helped us to successfully service our clients needs. And the trend will continue towards more mobile computing and self service applications. Processing will occur and software (Office 365) will reside in the cloud and our phones will be become more than our gateway to computing needs. And more innovations are still coming like 3D printers. While some may see technology as a challenge, it is really an opportunity that can help small business gain an edge or make it easier for entrepreneurs to start their own enterprises. Sequestration, a long, funny sounding word with serious implications. With the deadline on March 1st and no resolution in site, there are predictions of dire consequences. Some small business contractors could be affected by reduced business with government agencies.
This is a reminder that challenges to our small businesses can come from anywhere and some may be out of our control. But how would a small business minimize the impact of outside forces? Diversification - it's always a good idea to have a diverse book of business. Providing different kinds of goods, or services in more than one market segment can help prevent catastrophic changes. Small businesses that only have government contracts may be in for a rough time. Cash on hand - it's good to have a reserve. Yes, sometimes it is very difficult to set up a reserve for your small business but you can use a budget to help build a reserve. Want to know how long you can operate on cash reserve only? Take the total cash you have and divide by your average total monthly cash outflow and multiply the result by 22 for the average number of workdays in the month. This will let you know how many days worth of reserve you have. ex. (Total cash on hand/Average monthly cash outflow) x 22=days worth of reserve Keep your customers informed - if the work you perform for your clients includes working with government or federal agencies let your clients know that services may take a little longer. Keeping your clients informed or resetting timelines will help with customer experience. Emergency reduction plan - do you have an emergency plan for your small business? Would you know which expenses are essential to your business and which you can cut or delay? Having a plan for surviving reduced work or business can help if a situation comes up. It would be no different than an exit plan in the event of a fire. You hope there will never be a fire, but you know what you need to do and where to go if there is one. Sometimes you will never know when a threat to your small business can come or where it can come from. But making sure your work is diversified, having a reserve and having a plan for such situations can help you and your small business survive challenging times. We hope that you had a festive and safe holiday season filled with family and friends. The season of peace and reflection now has given way to the start of a new year, new hope, and new opportunities. How can small business owners help themselves get off on to a good start for 2013? Here are a few tips: Budget - Have a realistic budget for your small business and stick to it. How do you go about creating a budget? You need good data and information to start with. Making sure that your business expenses are booked correctly helps. Don't fret if unexpected expenses such as a repair comes up during the year. These are one time events necessary to keep doing business. Get value for your dollars - when you look at your expenses, don't look to cut costs, look to see if there are opportunities to increase the value you get for the dollars you spend. Shop around and find what works for your small business. Remember customer experience matters - take care of the customer's needs first and make sure their experience is positive. Give your customers a reason to come back to you, think of you for other needs or recommend you to others. Stop, start and continue - Take some time to think about your business and make a list of things to stop, start and continue. Stop the things you are doing that are not working or is not providing value to your small business. Once you stop things that aren't working you will have some time to start things that you need to do for your small business. Also, continue the things that are working and are valuable to your small business. These are just a few tips to getting a small business off to a good start for 2013. I recently took on a small client. They were expressing concer about certain expenditures and had some doubts as to how they could be relevant or necessary to their organization.
I listened patiently and then I asked, "Could you humor me and tell me the purpose of your organization?" The client told me the purpose of their organization. I told them that that is their mission, or purpose and that any decision that is made needs to answer the question, how does this support or fulfill the mission? Larger organizations and companies have missions statements or other phrases. For some it's a bunch of words, but it is the foundation and the compass for your business. All businesses were founded with a purpose in mind beyond making profit. I once met a real estate agent who didn't sell houses, they told me that they help families realize the American dream. Car dealers do not sell cars, they sell a means of transportation that reflects the owners status or style and allows a person to earn a living or run a business to support themselves and their family. No matter how large your organization grows or how many years later it may be, your purpose will be your guiding principle and will help keep your business from going too far from its intended purpose. Profit will insure that you open the doors to your business tomorrow, purpose will insure that you open the doors to your business years from now. I recently went on a family vacation to Seattle, Washington. One of the challenges for small business owners is taking time off. There is no vacation pay, no backup for work while you're out of office. In some cases there may not even be a weekend.
This economy is also contributing to a feeling of reluctance in closing the business for any length of time. But it is important for small business owners to take time off to recharge themselves and reconnect with family and friends. Small business owners more than anyone need to be able to have that balance and be able to "go home" at the end of the day and not be preoccupied with work while with family. It can be difficult but it is important to be where you are both physically and mentally. When you are in your small business all of your focus and energy should be on your clients and your small business. But when you are done for the day, you should also have the same focus and energy on your family. Being home thinking about business or being in your business thinking about family is not good and impacts your effectiveness. Mini vacations may be a good way to recharge and have time with family, even if it is a staycation or a day trip to a small town nearby. Schedule potential and current clients a few days out and wrap up projects before time off to minimize the impact to your small business. If you do get a call from a new client schedule them after your time off. This can help keep the balance that small business owners need to be able to continue to run their small business without their small business running them down. "We are in the people business and happen to use money as a way to serve the needs of the people" - former Frost CEO Joe Frost as retold by Tom Frost chairman emeritus.
This was a statement that Tom Frost's great uncle made to him many years ago. What a fascinating way for a leader to see their business. Mr. Frost's great uncle did not say they were in the banking business, or the lending business, they are in the people business. Money is not the object or goal, it was a way to serve the needs of people. People may say this is from a time that has long since passed, that the emphasis is on money, productivity, the bottom line, shareholder value. As small business owners, we are more wary of the bottom line because of our size. But the truth is all small business owners are in the people business. Clients do business with us because they are not an account number, they are John or Jane. Clients don't speak with a customer service representative or a sales agent, they speak to us, the owners. In some cases we can talk about how our families are doing because we have that connection. I have read articles from marketing and sales consultants that emphasize that people don't want to do business with a company, they want to do business with people. They want to connect with the person they are working with or getting services from. This is why Joe Frost's statement may be even more valid today than it was then, and an important lesson for small business owners as well. Some people assume that technology can improve any process that is inefficient or broken. While technology can be a great tool it is not always a silver bullet. The process has to be effective. If the process is producing errors or poor quality end products, technology may only help you make errors faster.
Take a power saw. A power saw will allow me to cut boards in less time with less effort on my part as compared to a hand saw. But the power saw will not prevent me from cutting a board short. I have to understand what the board is for, how long it has to be, and the angle of the cut. If not I will waste a lot of time and lumber trying to make one cut. To improve a process you can follow the DMAIC model.
Penn States recent events present a cautionary tale for any leader. Knowing about a situation and not doing anything about it can be as bad as committing the act itself. Having a mission statement, core values or talking about values based leadership is all good, but as leaders it is up to us to uphold these values.
Our employees and teams turn to us and look to us for direction and guidance, but also to see are we living our values and leading our organizations by its values? In the case of the Penn State matter, leaders either knew and did little or did nothing. Regardless of the reason, the result was the firing of the university president, the ouster of a legendary coach and adverse action from the NCAA. None of these leaders were directly involved with the incidents. But they were aware that something might be wrong. This reminds us that as leaders we can be held accountable not only for doing wrong but also for doing nothing to right a wrong. How many large businesses have lost litigation because an executive had knowledge about retribution against a whistle blower or knowledge of a hostile working environment? As leaders we must ensure that we have mechanisms in place to help uphold our core values: Do the right thing Encourage others to do the right thing Ensure there are channels for feedback Make sue to fully understand the feedback and its implications. The sad part of this is that some people forgot that they were not just a football program; they were an institution of higher learning. They prepare the leaders of tomorrow, which was part of their mission. It would appear that the university's leaders wanted to protect the money and fame they received from the football program instead of protecting the institution or the victims. Core values were never designed to protect wealth or fame; they were designed to protect institutions from the negative effects of wealth or fame. How many of you have seen the story of the lessons of the square watermelon? It is difficult to trace the original author of the article but I have seen this several times on various blogs and websites.
The article does bring to mind my own experiences in providing solutions when I was a staff employee for large businesses. It is very relevant and provides a methodology and thinking that is critical to creating solutions to business questions or needs. The story goes as follows; Japanese grocery stores had a problem, they are smaller and do not have large amounts of real estate. You would be hard pressed to find the large super stores that the U.S. has throughout the country. Watermelons took up a great deal of space, space that the Japanese grocery stores did not have. Most individuals would tell the stores that watermelons are round and there is nothing that can be done about it. But a few Japanese farmers asked the question, if stores want a square watermelon, How can we provide one? The answer came from out of the box thinking….or shall we say into a box thinking. It turned out the solution was a simple one, grow the watermelon inside of a square box. When the watermelon was still small they were placed inside of a box and as they grew they took the shape of the square box. The solution not only made the grocers happy but it made consumers happy. It became easier and cost effective for grocers to ship watermelons and consumers found that the square watermelons took less space in their refrigerators which are smaller than ones in the U.S.But if we look very carefully, there are lessons in the story and some simple takeaways that anyone can apply to any part of their lives, not just business. Don’t assume: Because people have seen watermelons in only one shape they automatically assumed that you cannot make a square watermelon. How many things do we do in our lives because we assume that there is no other way to do it or that it is impossible to do it any other way? How many things could be accomplished in your business if you did not assume that they are impossible? Question habits: The best way to deal with assumptions is to question your habits. Why are we doing it this way? What if….? How can we….? If we begin to question the reasons and processes behind what we do or what we carry out it is the first steps to finding a better solution or a creative solution. Be creative: This takes some work. Some individuals don’t have time or don’t understand the creative process. Look at the question from all angles. In the story above, some people viewed the question as one of how to genetically grow a square watermelon. Don’t over think the question or solution and no matter how off the wall a thought for a solution may be throw it out there. How many people would have thought that placing a growing watermelon into a square box and letting it grow that way was way out there? Look for a better way: You should always have a mind set of how can things be improved. Are there better options? Is there a better solution? Improvements and innovation cannot happen if you’re not always looking for better ways of doing things. Impossibilities often aren’t: IF you assume something is impossible you will most likely not question it or question if there is a better way. This is the first road block that people usually run into. Yes, there will be trial and error and consistent learning. But never assume that anything is impossible. As you can see, innovation and improvements come from never assuming that anything is impossible or that anything cannot be improved upon. Applying the above principles to any or all aspects of your life (business or personal) can constantly improve all aspects of your life. |
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