10 Habits on how to Build Self Confidence by Shaa Wasmund

How to build self confidence? Can you fake it til you make it or is it something you are just born with? What happens if you were short changed in the genetic confidence gene pool? Simple, you create new habits to build a rock solid, inner confidence that other people can’t shake and here’s my starter for ten:

1. Focus on what you really want, what you really love, who you really want to be … and become world class at it. Stop trying to please everyone. You can’t. No one can. Focus on the people and things that really matter. Less energy. More results.

2. Stop slouching. Seriously. Stand up tall. Hiding in the background isn't for you. Your posture says a lot about you. Makes sure it says the right things: “Hi, I’d love to talk to you. I bet we've both got something interesting to learn from each other.”

3. Be your own cheerleader. You can’t expect anyone to have confidence in you if you don’t have confidence in yourself first. If you really struggle with being your own cheerleader … repeat point 1 and I GUARANTEE that will change.

4. Exercise. It’s not about losing weight (although that might be something that holds you back) its actually the endorphins that exercising produces in the body. It’s like a happy drug. And when you’re happy, you are naturally more confident. Strong, lean muscles also help with standing tall!

5. Take care of yourself. Dress well (in your own style, not someone else’s). Wear clothes that make you feel confident. Get a hair cut regularly. Throw out old clothes. Buy nice shoes.

6. Prepare. Now, I’m a kinda ‘lastminute.com’ kinda gal BUT I know I am ALWAYS more confident when I am fully prepared. So don’t do as I do, do as I say – prepare! When you know what you are talking about, what you’re going to wear, how you’re going to make the presentation, who you are meeting, what their background and interests are, when you have the ‘inside track’ and have done everything in your power to prepare; you deserve to be confident. No one can ‘catch’ you out. You've done your homework.

7. Practise slowing your voice down. When we are nervous, our voices naturally become faster and more high pitched. Practise slowing it down – it might sound strange to you at first, but trust me, speak 25% slower and it will help your breathing and ground you.

8. Smile. It naturally helps people connect with you. When you connect, you feel more confident.

9. Ask for help. We typically feel less confident about the things we’re not so sure about. For example if you’re asked to do a business presentation, but hate doing PowerPoint or Keynote, you will spend time and energy worrying about using the clicker, whether the fonts will look right instead of the content itself. But, if you are an expert in using mind maps, you come into your own and are happy to help anyone with creating theirs. So, now it’s your turn to ask for help on the things you need to feel more confident about.

10. Start! Yes, that’s it … just start! Nothing changes until you do, so start changing some habits today.

What habits work for you?

Shaa Wasmund
info@shaa.com

7 Mistakes Small Businesses Must Avoid by John Hawthorne

If You’re A Small Business, Do NOT Make These Mistakes...

Many small businesses find themselves struggling to stay on top of all their tasks, from accounting to marketing to sales. They know that branding is important, but find it difficult to set aside the necessary time to systematically create their brand.
As a result, their branding is often slapdash and last minute, which is understandable but can also create significant harm. For small businesses to thrive, they need to avoid some very specific mistakes which can create big problems.

Bryony Thomas of Watertight Marketing says this:
Many small business owners I meet think that brands are something that only large companies need or can afford. But your company name, the way you answer the phone, what your customers say when they’re asked about you – these things all build to create an impression of your company and what it’s like to do business with you – and that is your brand. So, you can either just let whatever impression you give happen haphazardly, or you can take control and manage it to your advantage.

How do you manage your brand to your advantage? By avoiding these key mistakes.

1: FAILING TO DEFINE YOUR TARGET MARKET

The first step to building a powerful brand is establishing your target market. Knowing your target market allows you to know what your brand should represent. Are you targeting athletes who do intense workouts? Are you hoping to work with elderly adults who want a secure home? Are you a financial institution offering investment opportunities?
Your target market will shape everything from your logo to your tagline to even your social media presence.
Consider Rolex. They are a luxury brand targeting those who want an elegant lifestyle. They gravitate toward clean typefaces, significant amounts of whitespace, and pictures of handsome men.

As Michael Kaleikini says:
Once you know who it is you’re going after then you can begin to design a plan around how you will market to them so they can see you, begin to learn who you are and get to liking you so they come and buy from you.
If you try to blanket everyone with one marketing message you’ll lose over half of your audience simply because it doesn’t apply to them.
Target who you are after and you will know how to reach them easier and find that you won’t have to invest so much into your marketing to get the results you want.

You can’t establish a powerful brand until you clearly define your target market.

2: FAILING TO ESTABLISH CRYSTAL CLEAR GUIDELINES
The most effective and successful corporations have clearly defined guidelines on everything from colors to font styles to logos to taglines.

Nike has retained the same Swoosh logo for years and it is now almost universally recognized.

Coca-Cola has used the same color scheme and font for decades and you can recognize it from a mile away.

Facebook has been blue and white since it was called “The Facebook”.

When you fail to establish clear branding guidelines, you end up with a hodgepodge of competing and clashing designs, color schemes, and even logos.

As  Cameron Chapman says:
Style guides can also help ensure that work you’ve done for a brand isn’t ruined by some new, less-skilled designer who doesn’t understand how your design is supposed to work. The last thing you want is for your perfectly-constructed logo to be used way too small or placed too close to other elements, effectively killing its impact (or worse, having elements created with negative space be ruined entirely).

3: USING VAGUE, GENERIC, IMPRESSIONLESS BRANDING

What sticks in your mind more:

• “The relentless pursuit of perfection.” – Lexus
• “Making good cars.” – Joe Cool Car Company (est. 2016)

The Lexus slogan is catchy, powerful, and instantly memorable. It also says something very distinct about the brand: they sell high-performance cars that are designed to perfection.
Or consider these two slogans:

• “Find your beach” – Corona
• “Tasty beer that goes down smooth” – Boring Beer Co.

The Corona slogan tells you that they’re not just a beer, they’re a lifestyle. Those who drink Corona are fun-loving people who love to relax on a beach.
Branding can’t be generic, cliche or forgettable. You can’t be overly afraid of offending people with your brand. Your branding should blaze itself upon people’s minds and hearts, telling them who you are and what you’re all about. There is no room for bland branding.

4: OCCASIONALLY CHEATING ON YOUR BRANDING
There may be times when you feel like you want to step away from your brand. Maybe you want to create a clever campaign that’s outside the box. Maybe you want to test something new. Maybe you’re just feeling a bit rebellious.
Whatever the case, do NOT depart from your established brand guidelines. You’ll only hurt yourself. Your brand is who you are. Your identity. The essence of your business. When you cheat on your brand, you dilute it’s staying power.
If an idea doesn’t fit within branding guidelines, it’s an idea problem.

5: FAILING TO PROPERLY POLICE YOUR BRAND

As your business grows, you may need to work with freelancers or contractors in order to meet marketing demands. If you’re not careful, these situations can cause significant problems.
The contractor may not have been properly briefed on your branding guidelines, leading to minor (or perhaps major) departures from your established guidelines. These changes may then be pushed live without the proper approvals.
Dan Monroe puts it this way:
Think about all the people who have the opportunity to share your brand with others: employees, subcontractors, customers and clients… But, are they all telling the same story?…Develop your elevator pitch. Develop the language you use to describe your company and your why. And then share that language with your brand ambassadors.

6: USING YOUR EMPLOYEES TO PROMOTE YOUR BRAND
While it’s essential to police your brand, it’s just as important to use your employees to promote your brand. Your employees can be a powerful extension of your brand and represent a huge opportunity for small businesses.
Consider how Disney uses their employees. For starters, they don’t call them employees, they call them “cast members”.

Or consider how they help  disappointed children:
Despite the efforts made to inform customers of height limits, often a young child will wait with a parent to go on a ride, only to find out he or she isn’t tall enough. Disney noticed that this was a major complaint from parents and, more importantly, ruined the experience for children. They have given staff permission to hand out a special pass when this happens that allows the child to skip to the front of the line on his or her next ride.
Disney knows that their employees represent their brand and do everything they can to make their employees powerful brand ambassadors.
Don’t make the mistake of failing to leverage your employees. They can be your biggest promoters.

7: BLUNDERING BRAND CHANGES

There may be times when a legitimate branding change is needed, such as when your company is making a major pivot, a new division is unveiled, or even when you need to distance yourself from an unfortunate incident.
When a brand change happens, it needs to be done clearly and in an understandable manner. The customers should understand why the branding is changing, what the new brand represents, and what the change means for the future.

For example, several years ago, Tropicana decided to ditch their classic logo in favor of something “new”.

Not only was the new design unnecessary and even a bit confusing, it dramatically hurt their sales, causing a drop of 20%.
A brand change should be done smoothly and clearly. It should be understandable and it should continue to communicate the heart behind your company. The customers need to know why you changed.

As Renuka Rana says, “Branding is not a science, it’s an art. And the cardinal sin small businesses may commit is assuming that they own the brand. In the real world, it is far from the truth. Your customers are the drivers of your brand.”

CONCLUSION
Branding for small businesses is essential. It can’t be ignored or thrown together in an ad-hoc manner. Your brand is your business and your business is your brand.
If you’re not careful, you can easily make what seem like small branding mistakes that have exponential results. Don’t neglect your brand. Cultivate it. Guard it. Treat it as sacred.
While this may seem extreme, it’s crucial for your business.



Originally published on dtd. Click to access other articles for SMBs.

Other Articles to read:
6 Cringeworthy Branding Mistakes That Could Ruin Your Small Business by Rebuke Rana

How Disney Creates Magical Experiences (and a 70% Return Rate) by GREGORY CIOTTI

I'm a small business - why  do I need a brand

Cybersecurity Guide for Businesses

Cyber attacks are sky rocketing! 

The question that should take top priority  on every business owner's mind is "Are We Secure?"....."Is My Business Protected?"

Image from express.co.uk

In this day and time, ignorance is no longer bliss. Not knowing is an open door to disaster. It takes less than a second for everything you've worked hard for to disappear, for your clients and their details, your confidential files, secure data to be in someone else's hands.

According to wiki, Cyber security, which is also known as computer security or IT security is the protection of computer systems from theft and damage to their hardware, software or information, as well as from disruption or misdirection of the services they provide.

These days, every business (small, medium and large) is at risk of one or more of the above. A lot of companies like Barclays, Talk-Talk and even HMRC have also reported being victims of cyber attack. This makes "cyber attack" and "cyber security" a topic very close to the hearts of every business and business owner.

Unfortunately, a lot of business owners are not aware of these threats, the fact that it has become a huge problem and even more business owners don't know how to protect their business from cyber attacks. 

Today, I received an emailed from Kelly Strottman who like me, cares about helping SMBs (Small & Medium Businesses) and wanted me to share an article written by Sarit Newman titled "The Complete Cyber security Guide for Small and Medium Businesses".

Before I do that, I would like to share a snap information about Sarit. She is an experienced internet security writer who believes everyone has the right to online privacy. She is also an editor at Hometalk, has written for many companies and has proofread numerous texts, including 300-page manuscripts.

Image from the hindubusinessline

The cyber protection guidelines for businesses and business owners below are for everyone but written with the non-techy and busy business owners in mind.

According to Sarit, reading through the guide below and working with your team  to implement the security measures outlined should help you sleep better at night.

Here are Sarit's complete guide to cyber protection:

1: Determine your vulnerabilities:
Identify the most crucial data that your company holds e.g. intellectual property, customer and client details, inventory, financial information etc; where they are stored; the risks to which they are open.

Map out all the processes that you and your staff go through to collect, store, and dispose these data. Identify all the transit points along the way at which these data could leak or get stolen.

Consider the consequences of a cybersecurity breach for you, your employees, customer or client and partner relationships.

2: Protect your computers and devices:
As your business computers and other devices are connected to the internet and to a local network, they are vulnerable to attack. The following guidelines should boost the security across your company’s computer systems.

A. Update your software:
Ensure that all software used by your business is an updated version. This is because hackers spend their time searching for bugs in popular softwares and exploiting loopholes to get into the system, stealing highly confidential data e.g. customer’s credit card numbers or passwords etc from your computer.  This kind of intrusion can cause untold damage to your business. As a result, software companies constantly lookout for vulnerabilities in their software. When they find one, they release an update for users to download.

Where do I start?
- If your system is managed by a system administrator, make sure they are aware of software updates as soon as they come out and are on top of updating your system.
- If you have a small business where you manage your computers yourself, simply enable Windows update. Once you update your system, reboot your computers.

B. Protect against viruses:
Viruses are malicious programs that infect your computer without any warning, gain access to your files and delete or change them. Viruses spread quickly by replicating and sending themselves to the people in your contacts list. If one computer in your network gets a virus, it can quickly spread across your company, causing significant data loss. If you communicate with your clients and customers via email, you run the risk of infecting them as well.  Malware and ransomware are the two most dangerous types of virus in circulation today. 

Malware stands for “malicious software”. It works by tricking the victim into downloading certain software, thereby gaining access to that victim’s computer. It can trace what you access on your computer, steal sensitive information, or spread spam via email.

Ransomware is a specific type of malware. It locks your computer and blocks you from accessing important files until you pay the ransom. Ransomware works by encrypting your files using a private key accessible only to its creators.  Paying the ransom doesn’t necessarily help: there is no guarantee that the hackers will actually unlock your files.

To avoid infecting your computer with viruses, install antivirus software on all office computers to scans incoming email messages, as well as files currently on your computer, and then delete or quarantine any viruses it finds. Hackers always put out new viruses, update your antivirus software regularly. The best software providers automatically  downloads any updates.  Ensure your staff do not open suspicious files and deletes any email attachments from sources they do not recognize as trustworthy.

Using a virtual private network (VPN) to access the internet can also give you an extra security boost because VPNs allow you to access the internet anonymously, encrypt all of your data and make tracking your computer very difficult for hackers. Good VPN providers send you a security warning when you try to access suspicious URLs.

*** Read up on how to foil a ransomware attack in case you need to refer to it.

C. Set up a firewall:
Hackers randomly probe computer networks and when they find a valid computer address, they exploit any and all vulnerabilities to get access to the  network and to individual computers on that network.

Installing a firewall is the best way to prevent this kind of attack. Firewalls work by separating different parts of the network from each other, allowing only authorized traffic to pass through the protected part of the network. If you run a small business, your firewall will fence off your local private network from the wider Internet. A good firewall examines each packet of data that flows into your network to make sure it is legitimate and filters out packets that it deems suspicious. In order to prevent hackers from targeting individual computers on your network, the firewall obscures the individual identity of each computer.

Installing a firewall is complicated and should only be done by a trained professional so speak to your system administrator and make sure your network is protected.

D. Special precautions for laptops and other mobile devices:
Staff laptops and smartphones, especially those of more senior staff, more than likely contain sensitive information that could be damaging to your business if it falls into the wrong hands. So you and your staff must always make sure laptops are within sight when in public, kept in carry-on luggage and never left in baggage storage areas in hotels or airports.

As hackers can easily access data on a laptop or mobile device if the connection is not on a secure network, we recommend you use a strong password, backup all the work you’ve done on your laptop before a trip and encrypt your data.

If you use a cloud solution for any of your software needs, look into your provider’s mobile device management features. The major cloud computing providers allow you to wipe an account from any device that goes missing.

One of the best ways to protect devices – whether laptops, smartphones, Amazon’s Alexa device, or even your office PS4 is by installing a VPN directly on your office router to encrypt all of the data moving through these devices. That way, all of the devices that use the office internet connection will be protected.

Include in your company policy which devices you allow staff members to bring with them to work.

If your staff bring their own laptops and other devices to the office because doing so is far cheaper than providing each employee with company equipment, ensure that all personal devices that are used for any work purpose has antivirus software installed and are updated regularly.

*** This guide specifically for iPhones will take you through the steps to secure company smartphones.

3: Protect your data:
As your data (customer contact information, your inventory, your proprietary data, etc) is at the very core of what you do, insure yourself against data loss by taking precautions against its worst effects e.g. hardware damaged or break down, hackers taking data in your system, or being hit by a natural disaster.

A. Implement a procedure to backup critical data:
There are two different types of backups -
1: a full backup where you make a copy of the entire data you selected and put it on another device or transfer it to a different medium
2: an incremental backup where you simply add the data that has been created since the last time you backed up your system.

The most efficient method is to perform a full backup periodically and an incremental backup every day in between or, perform a full backup every night after work hours. As losing all of your data and finding that your backup systems do not work would be a tragedy, it’s crucial to actually test that your backups are working by restoring a test portion of your data to a new location.

Backup your data by putting it on a physical device like a USB stick or a second hard drive, or in a shared folder on your network. Keep backups at a secure offsite location. However, it is strongly recommend that you invest in a cloud-based backup system as backing up your data to one specific physical location won’t help you if natural disaster or theft strikes.

Where do I start?
- Evaluate your company’s data retention policy. Is all your crucial data backed up? If so, where do you keep that data?
- Work with your system administrator or IT staff to implement a weekly backup plan.
Test your backup system to ensure that it’s working

B. Encrypt sensitive company data kept in the cloud:
Many companies keep some or all their data on a cloud-based platform e.g. Dropbox or a SaaS (software as a service) platform like Salesforce. Because of the term “cloud”, we tend to imagine that our data is kept safe in some abstract, virtual space. In reality, all it means is that your data is stored on a remote computing facilities provided by your cloud-based service.
It is therefore essential to carefully look into what kinds of security measures your cloud provider has put in place and whether your data is protected at an appropriate level.
There are more and more providers on the market, and some of the smaller and less-known ones actually have more robust security features than the big names. Some of these services will automatically encrypt your files before they are uploaded to the cloud.

You can ensure your files in the cloud are secure by encrypting your files manually, and there are a number of programs that can help you do so. This means you don’t have to rely on your cloud provider’s security, and you can use it without worry. Just make sure not to upload your encryption keys.

Another option entirely is to use BitTorrent Sync, which is a totally free service. BitTorrent Sync was designed as a replacement for cloud-based systems but does not actually store files in the cloud. Instead, it enables you to collaborate on documents through a peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing platform. These services tend to use the highest-grade AES-256 encryption and enable two-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security.

**** This ultimate guide to online privacy explains it even more.

C. Protect your passwords:
Unlike other high-tech authentication systems like smart cards and fingerprint or iris scans, passwords are useful because they do not cost anything and are easy to use. However, passwords are also open to attack. Hackers have developed sophisticated, automated tools that enable them to crack simple passwords in just a few minutes. They can also use various fraudulent methods to access your company passwords, like a phishing attack, in which they disguise themselves as an official entity (like Google) and trick people into providing their passwords.

Passwords can become ineffective for a variety of reasons. Often, we neglect to password-protect our sensitive documents, meaning anyone sitting at one of your office’s computers can gain access to that document. In order to avoid forgetting their passwords, many employees write them down in plain sight. And, most crucially, people tend to use weak passwords that are easy to remember, use the same password over and over again, and never change their passwords. All of these mistakes leave the door open for hackers.

These seven steps to creating a strong password will help prevent hack attacks:

- Create different passwords for different services
- Change your passwords regularly
- Choose a strong password
- Opt for two-step verification
- Disable autocomplete for usernames and passwords
- Use a password manager, an app or program that securely stores all of a user’s passwords
- Don’t send your password out via email or give it out over the phone

Use a password tool, like this one, which tells you how good your password is and how long it would take for a hacker to crack it. You can also use a secure random password generator that will create a completely randomized password.

Educating your staff about the importance of strong passwords is crucial if you want to make passwords a key tool in your cybersecurity arsenal, rather than a backdoor that hackers can walk through.

Where do I start?
- Have all employees check their passwords with a Password Meter tool.
- If their passwords are crackable within a few minutes or even hours, require them to change their password to something more secure.
- Enable two-step verification for all employee accounts wherever possible.

D. Establish permissions:
Restrict access to your system so that only those staff who are authorized to manage your system and to install software have administrator accounts.

Allowing multiple staff to share one login and password makes it impossible to determine how or when a breach in your system occurred. Give each user his or her own account, enabled with permissions specific to his or her job. If you’re using Windows, you can assign users different permission levels based on their roles within your company. If a staff is absent for a long period or has left your company, revoke their access and permissions as soon as possible.

Where do I start?
- Work with your system administrator to assess the level of access each staff member has.
- Change your permissions so that each staff member only has access to the software and settings required for his or her job.

E. Protect your wireless networks:
As Wi-Fi networks use a radio link rather than cables to connect computers to the internet, all it takes is moving within radio range of your network plus a few free software tools for hackers to break in.
Intruders who can gain access to your network can steal your files and damage your systems. While Wi-Fi devices are enabled with security features to prevent this from happening, most have these features switched off by default in order to make the setup process easier.

If you’re using a Wi-Fi network, make sure you have these security features switched on. You can also restrict wireless access to office hours so that hackers can’t get into your system overnight. And you can prevent passers-by from accessing your connection by restricting Wi-Fi access to specific computers by setting access points.

Where do I start?
- Ask your IT person to make sure that your Wi-Fi has the highest-level security features switched on and that WiFi access is restricted to office hours.

F. Browse the internet safely:
Your activities are being tracked in a multiplicity of small, subtle, and unnoticeable ways as you and your staff browse the internet. These activities can then be aggregated by third-party agents without your consent. Your employees could inadvertently browse to dangerous websites that steal your company’s data.
And your personal or business information could be compromised if it is entered into websites over a non-encrypted connection.

The best way to encrypt your connection and ensure both your businesses’ privacy and the personal privacy of your individual employees is to install a VPN (virtual private network) which masks your company’s IP address and encrypts your browsing data. They also anonymize your browsing, which could be important if your business frequently does research on your competitors, or if your aggregated browsing history could reveal proprietary information to your competitors.

The downside to using a VPN is that trustworthy and feature-rich VPN services cost money for a monthly subscription. Many individuals and companies have opted to use a free web proxy as an alternative. The problem is, we don’t know who exactly is operating the proxies available for free online; they could very well be hackers themselves, or they could be used for intelligence gathering by various public or private entities. While a proxy hides your identity and activity from the sites you visit, it can potentially see everything you are doing online. That’s one of the reasons that we recommend investing in a VPN rather than a proxy, for truly secure browsing.

You can also bolster your security by adding a number of security features to your browser. Because the Firefox browser is open-source, a robust group of security add-ons have been created for it over time. These include multipurpose ad blockers, encryption extensions, browser data protection, cookie and cache managers, and more. For more information, check out the full list of 20 Firefox security add-on recommendations.

Where do I start?
- Consider subscribing to a VPN service that offers business solutions.
- Start using the Firefox browser with security add-ons as appropriate to your company.

G. Protect sensitive data created by remote workers and workers-on-the-go:
Many small businesses employ remote workers to perform a wide range of tasks.  However, it comes with some cybersecurity pitfalls. You may have implemented all of the protections that we have outlined above, but many of them are rendered ineffective if your sensitive data is accessed by remote workers operating outside of your protected company network, especially if they are using a public WiFi hotspot.

A mobile device management solution, as we described in section 2.D., could help you manage your remote workers, as well as your employees who travel for business. Most importantly, you should ensure that if remote workers are accessing sensitive company data, they do via your protected company network with a secure connection.

Windows offers a remote desktop connection feature, but this in itself is not enough to secure your data. If you rely on remote workers, and if you cannot afford for the data to be leaked or stolen, it is wise to implement a specialized VPN which allows the remote users to first get into the office network, after which they can connect to their machines using the remote desktop connection feature. This can get complicated, so talk to your IT person to see if he or she can arrange to configure a VPN especially for your office network.

Where do I start?
- Assess your remote worker policy. How do your remote workers access company data, and is that company data sensitive?
- Speak to your IT administrator to set up a safe and secure way for remote workers to connect to your office’s private network.

H. Protect your customers’ data:
There are serious legal consequences involved if your clients’ or customers’ data is compromised, so it pays to treat your customer’s sensitive information with the utmost care.

Typically, customer data is in transit through multiple points. If you run an ecommerce site or otherwise process payments through your website, the first transit of sensitive information (including names and credit card details) is from the customer’s web browser to the ecommerce web server. The best way to protect this data is to make sure that your website uses an SSL certificate and the HTTPS protocol, at the very least on pages that collect sensitive data. This will ensure that your client’s data is encrypted as it moves from their server to yours. If you are transferring client data within the company, you should apply all of the security features we have described above, especially those relating to cloud storage and transfer.

Where do I start?

- Speak to your ecommerce provider or in-house developers to make sure that credit card and other sensitive information is collected in the safest way possible.

4: Instill a cyber security culture in your workplace:
The measures outlined in this guide are comprehensive, and if you follow all of the guidelines that are relevant to your business, you will significantly lower your risk of a cyber attack. All it takes is one employee to send client data on an unsecured connection or click on an unsafe link and download malware, causing all of your security systems and all of your well-meaning efforts to come crashing down. That’s why the single most important measure you can take is to educate your staff on the importance of cyber security.

On the flipside, if you instill a cybersecurity culture in your workplace, explain your cybersecurity policies and why they are there, train staff to manage company hardware and data safely, your employees will become your first and most effective line of defense against cyberattacks.

The best way to get your employees to buy-in to your cybersecurity plan is to design it collaboratively with them. Involving them in the plan will increase their motivation in implementing it. Your staff members are also the experts in your business, in its weaknesses as well as its strengths. They are the ones who work with your sensitive company data all day long, so they are best placed to tell you where vulnerabilities lie and which systems need to be strengthened or improved.

Start holding regular training sessions with your staff on cybersecurity issues. This is the place to methodically work through important security techniques, like the ones outlined above. Ensure that their passwords and permissions are up to date and that they use passwords that are impossible to crack. Make sure that they do not leave passwords lying around on physical sticky notes or sitting on their desktop. Show them how to avoid getting tricked by phishing attacks via email and the risks of malware from dangerous websites. Teach your employees the many and nefarious ways in which hackers may try to get information out of them. Encourage them not to discuss any confidential company information in public – you never know who you could talk to, and who could be listening.

Make these guidelines easy to understand and follow. We’ve created a printout that includes simple steps your employees can take to stay secure. You can hang this on the office bulletin board or fridge, or customize it to suit your specific needs.

Enshrine cyber security principles in a written policy and have your employees sign a copy of this policy, making sure they understand that cyber security is a serious issue. You can even have cyber security elements written into staff contracts.

Above all, remember that cyber security threats are constantly morphing and changing. Hackers are constantly coming up with more creative and more sophisticated ways of breaking into computer systems and stealing your data. Keep up to date with developments in cyber security and make sure to educate your staff on these developments too.

Where do I start?
- Hang our cyber security guideline printout on your office bulletin board, and send out this email template to all employees.
- Start to formulate a cyber security training program for all of your employees.


This is a slightly condensed version of Sarit's original article, to read more from Sarit Newman, click here. I hope you found this article as useful as I did, to add more to it, put in comment box below.   Finally, a big thanks to Kelly Strottman who brought this to my attention and made it possible for you to read and benefit from this article. If you want to contribute to this blog, please email your article to me. Thanks and happy reading.

ErOkaWorld

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Why Launch Your Business

image from businessnewsdaily

People launch their own business for a variety of reasons, whether it’s spotting a gap in the market, moving on after redundancy or pursuing a hobby. Some motivations are better than others and it has been said by many “successful” business owners that one of the worst reasons to start a new business is just to make money – there are far less painful ways to do that! Don’t get me wrong, a business obviously has to make money but setting one up for that reason alone could be setting yourself up to fail.

Don’t Chase Money, Chase Your Dreams

Surely you have a greater goal? A goal that having the money generated by the business will enable you to achieve: retiring early so you can go travelling, spending more time with your family or making a real difference to the world in some way. Money can certainly enable you to do these things but shouldn’t be the main focus and as Colin Wright says, “Chase your passions and money will come. Chase money and you may never find your passions”

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People trying to make a “quick buck” or looking for an overnight formula to get rich are missing the point. Unless you are chasing something more than just money, you will give up easily. Running your own business is one of the hardest things you can do and the road is challenging so you need to have a “mission” to guide you and get you through the tough days.

Business is a Game

Plus, you miss out on the fun of running your own business: the challenge. I see my involvement in our business like a game, a game where I am both creator and player; there are some loose rules and paths to victory but ultimately it’s fluid and up to me. This is the essence of why I love running our business: I dictate the terms. I decide who plays this game with me, how we play and how we win. And taking this concept a step further, if you lose the game (your business fails), you can start again and try another business.
Some business owners can forget why they started playing the game because they get ground down by the pressure of running their own business. It’s not difficult to lose your way and forget why you started your business, after you wade through bureaucracy, accounts, marketing and everything else in between – plus, you still need to deliver your goods and services to customers. And then there’s competitors, the economy and technological changes!

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Ironically, you may have set up your own business to give you freedom and control in your life, however, the very opposite is now the case – the entity you set up to help you achieve your goals now consumes you and prevents you from doing so! Instead of spending more time with your friends and family, you see them less. Instead of travelling the world, you are unable to take even one day’s holiday. Instead of doing what you want to do, you are at the mercy of your business, which dictates your actions. But it doesn’t have to be this way!

Remember why you set up your business. It may not have been obvious or explicit at the time but there will be a reason. Check in with yourself, is this still your desire? If so, figure out how to change the rules of your game to make it more fun and so you can win; if not, maybe it’s time to find a new game.

What’s Your Purpose? What’s your “WHY”?

I like hearing peoples’ stories and, more importantly, why they do what they do. Yes, I can read their website and marketing literature, but that doesn’t give me the full story – where have you been and where are you going?

You don’t need to have a “mission” per se and global domination isn’t for everyone, regardless of what the current rhetoric is on “businesses of scale” however, it is important to consider why you’re running your own business. What’s your purpose?

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One of the thought-leaders in this area is Simon Sinek, author of the Book, “Start with Why”, and he argues that people buy “why” you do what you do and not necessarily “what you do”.  One of the many examples Sinek cites is the Wright brothers, who successfully pioneered the first manned-flight. He argues that the odds were stacked against them: their rivals were better funded, received much more press attention and had a “better” qualified team, however, despite all of that, it was the Wright brothers who achieved their goal first. Why? Because they had a burning passion.

Sinek suggested that they’re better funded competitors were only doing it “for the money” and proof of this is that they gave up the day after the Wright brothers achieved the goal, as opposed to finding out how they did it or wanting to improve on their method. He condenses a lot of these ideas into this excellent 20 minute TED talk, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action” and we highly recommend it: https://www.ted.com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_action?language=en  

We launched Acorn Enterprise because we felt there was a gap in Fife with respect to startups, a real need for a focused, intensive approach to help new businesses to grow and thrive. Almost three years on we know there is a wider need to grow Scotland’s startup business culture, both in the mainstream and in Further and Higher Education, and that’s exactly what we’re working towards every single day.

image from acornenterprise

“The two most important days in your life are the day your are born…and the day you find out why." – mark Twain.

So what about you, what game are you playing? And more importantly, why? Why did you launch your business?

About Kallum

Kallum “with a K” Russell is a young Dunfermline-based entrepreneur. In 2013, just two years out of university, Kallum founded Acorn Enterprise – a free business acceleration programme for business founders across Fife. Acorn aims to help over 500 entrepreneurs in the next three years. Kallum is also Fife area board member of Young Enterprise, helping deliver the company formation scheme in schools across Fife. Kallum is one of StartUp Britain’s Local Champions and in 2016 was recognised as on the 2016 List of the Maserati 100 Index, a definitive list of 100 of Britain’s most successful philanthropists, investors, mentors and advisors, and, ascending entrepreneurs who are supporting the next generation of up and coming business talent

 Article By Kallum on StarUpBritian