Tag: business
Your Small Business May Be At Risk Unless You Have A Security and Recovery Plan
Taking the time now to at least put together an informal security and business recovery plan will go a long way in the event of a real disaster or other loss. Learn what your small business should think about before the unexpected happens.
Donít think your small business is at risk? Think again. Whether you realize it or not, your business has valuable information and assets that probably are not protected right now. Your business likely has confidential client information, proprietary business knowledge or just internal knowledge that you wouldnít want to be exposed to criminals or competitors. The loss of this information could have a devastating impact to your business. While business insurance is an important part of your protection, it cannot protect clients from identity theft or your business from unscrupulous employees or competitors.
No matter how big or small, your business needs to have a security and recovery plan in place that determines what risks you have, helps protect against those risks and sets plans in place to handle the most likely types of losses you may experience. Your plan should also look at the both the ëphysicalí and the ëvirtualí aspects of your business.
Start by considering the types of risks to which your business may be vulnerable. What if your business information was lost or stolen? Do you have customer files or records, tax receipts, bank statements, business plans, customer work products?
Next, consider the physical aspects of your business that may be vulnerable. Do you have unique office equipment, inventory, computers or trade specific tools?
Finally, look at how you do business. Do you rely on technology, the internet or employees with unique skills? Does your business model depend on repeatable processes that are unique to your business?
Now, consider what would happen to your business if these parts of your business were lost, destroyed or stolen. Could you continue operating if you lost your client files? Could you be sued by customers if their personal information was exposed? Could you be the target of negative publicity? Could your competitors benefit if they gained access to the information? What if you lost email access for a day? What if that key employee suddenly left for another job? What if your office space caught fire or was flooded?
Your security and recovery plan should put in place the safeguards and policies and procedures to prevent some of these risks and the potential to negatively impact your business. Physical access to buildings is relatively easy to control although most small business have little more than a lock on the front door. Should you consider locking file drawers? Is inventory controlled? Does every employee have access, even to things that are not part of his or her job? Could a disgruntled or fired employee return to the workspace after hours with an extra key copy?
Your plan should consider how to protect the ëvirtualí parts of your business also. Do you have backups of any important files? Do you have passwords, account numbers and other ëkeysí securely guarded? Do your computers have virus and firewall protection and is it up-to-date? Do you have internet and email usage policies in place to protect your employees form harassment charges?
What about remote employees or workers who ëtake work home?í In todayís highly mobile environment vital business information can now be easily accessed outside of your physical controls? Do your employees know how to safeguard laptops, cell phones, flash drives or even print outs of business information once they leave your workspace? What if a laptop is stolen from a workerís car or home or hotel room? Do you have a backup of the data that was on the laptop? What if your employees are accessing your information from a coffee shop Wi-Fi? How do you know if your clients and business are protected?
Lastly, your security and recovery plan should consider how you would handle the most likely losses. For instance, if the computer that holds all your sales information crashes, you should probably have a plan to immediately restore that information from a backup. Where is the backup tape or disk kept? Who has access to it and most importantly, who knows how to restore a backup? If you office is flooded, how quickly can you relocate? Can some employees work from home or other remote locations temporarily? If client information is stolen, do you have a way to contact them?
Most small business owners likely have taken first steps like purchasing insurance and putting locks on the front door. Unfortunately, few have taken the time to really understand the potential risks to their business.
Taking the time now to at least put together an informal plan will go a long way in the event of a real disaster or other loss. Even the best planning obviously wonít protect against all disasters but it can certainly lessen the impact to your business once one occurs.
Aubrey Jones is President and founder of Riverbank Consulting, Inc. Since 1996 he has worked to protect internet banking clients for one of the top US financial institutions including serving as a Risk Manager.
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Forms Of Organizations
When writing a business plan, you need to decide what type of organization you are going to have. There are many types. Marquez discusses what they are.
There are many types of organizations. We can separate them into two major divisions: organizations existing to create profits (profit organizations. Includes business entities) and organizations that exist primarily for another purpose (non-profit organizations. E.g: charity organizations).
3 Types of Business Entities and their common characteristics:
1. Sole Proprietorships.
Sole proprietorships are business that are owned and operated by one person: the sole proprietor. The owner and the business, is then the same. For tax purposes, a sole proprietorship is not a taxable entity, and any profits earned by the business are taxed on the return of the individual. The proprietor must develop an accounting system that distinguishes between his/her personal affairs and that of the business.
2. Partnerships.
Partnerships are businesses that are owned by two or more individuals. For small partnerships, the agreement is often an oral agreement between the partners but it is highly recommended that the agreement be formalized as is done in bigger partnerships like public accounting firms and most law firms. In partnering up with individuals in the past, I felt it was important to outline the division of profits and expenses, as well as the expected responsibilities of the partners in a written agreement.
3. Corporations.
A corporation is an entity organized under the laws of a particular state. That means that it can get into contractual agreements into its own name. They are identifiable by the existence of shares.
There are advantages and disadvantages of each of the above types of business entities. And each is suited to the same business under different stages of its growth. For most, arts and entertainment independent contractors, it is probably Sole Proprietorships and Partnerships that are most common for their use.
Non-Business Entities
Most non-business entities are organized to serve the needs of various segments of society. Examples of these non-business entities are public hospitals, public schools, the police and the army. All of these entities are distinguished by the lack of an identifiable owner. Because of this and the non-profit motive to these organizations, their accounting systems are modified to fit their activities. The type of accounting they use are referred to as fund accounting.
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This article was written for OrangesAndLime.com, to help creative individuals ó artists, musicians, designers, illustrators and entertainers ó build their own freelance businesses. Please note that this article serves as a guideline only. You should still seek professional advice regarding the matter because laws and practices change over time and they differ from country to country.
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Joining The Conversation
Brand marketing is all about enhancing the mindshare of one’s products or services. The aim is for your brand name to be at the top of the consumer’s mind at the mere mention of generic terms relating to your company’s services. Arguably the best way of keeping that mindshare is by having a constant presence where your customers are. In this day and age of electronic commerce, there’s no better place to turn to than the World Wide Web.
Markets are conversations, so it is said. And the Web is perhaps the biggest conversation taking place, with exchanges of information going about the world in lightning speed, as people please-whether they be in email messages, forums, chats, or blogs. How people talk about your brand on the Web can make or break your reputation as a company, or your brand’s reputation as a product or service.
This is where blogs come in handy. The advent of the so-called Web 2.0 ushered in a concept previously unheard of in media and related industries-the massive democratization of content. Web 2.0, among other things, basically lets the consumers of information become the creators of content themselves. The Web is moving away from content with central editorial control, such as newspapers and magazines. Today’s most popular websites are not those controlled by one central group, but include mostly community- and enduser-managed sites, such as Wikipedia and DIGG.com.
Blogs let any individual or group join in on the big conversation. You write about anything online, and someone will eventually read your posts. That person can choose to talk back, and if so, a conversation is started. What’s great is that this conversation is open to the public, and anyone can join in or at least read what’s been going on.
In starting a blog, you can talk about your company’s services, or about the industry you are presently in. It would be fantastic for people to read what you write, and to respond by writing on their own blogs, or commenting on yours. You now have a direct line to your consumer-base. Isn’t that great? You are now able to get a feel of what the consumer wants. What’s more, your presence on the Web boosts recognition of your brand.
Consider adding more people to your army of bloggers-employees, partners, clients (or even hired freelancers), and the effect is multiplied. Your company is no longer represented by a stone-cold establishment. Your brand is represented by names, by faces-that of bloggers!
One notable success story in a “brand” blogging endeavor is Microsoft, the software giant considered by many people to be the “evil empire.” For so long, Microsoft has been the epitome of the stone-cold establishment. It had no human face, save for key persons like Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer-executives and officers whom people don’t really know. Microsoft’s brand name had also been suffering because of anti-trust lawsuits being filed here and there. Something had to be done, or Microsoft’s brand might be further associated with “evil.”
In its desire to shift away from all this, Microsoft, in 2004, decided to let employees blog publicly-about their work, about technology trends, about anything under the sun. One mid-level manager by the name of Robert Scoble, stood out, with his profound views and innovative ideas on technology. He was able to successfully communicate with the rest of the world about the inner workings of his company, and along the way dispelling myths about the company. He is now considered to be the persona of Microsoft in the blogosphere. Blogging has now become part of his job description. He is also one of the world’s most popular blogging personalities.
Any business enterprise-no matter how big or small-can use blogs to the advantage of their brand. Whether you’re a startup needing exposure, or you’re an established company that wants to better relate to shed its stone-cold faÁade in favor of a more human approach to doing business, blogging will definitely help your brand go a long way.
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You May Have A Successful Small Business Idea
You surely know that a small idea can lead to a great business success. The first movement is to think of an idea that would be suitable for the business market. After coming up with the idea, the next step is to put that idea into action. Of course, this is a very difficult step and having the idea is only the start of the journey. After that you will have to face many obstacles before being able to carry on with your business project. This is just the beginning of this process and there is a lot of questions you will have to answer before even start.
Some of the main aspects you have to concentrate on when you have business ideas are the abilities and gifts you can pour into the business. It is very important for you to be identified with your business project. Those ideas should be based on activities and actions you take pleasure in doing. For example, if we suppose that you dislike working in the open, landscaping business would not suit you. On the other hand, if you like working with children, setting up baby-sitting or tutoring business would be an excellent idea. In this case, without any doubt you business will be more successful because you will have put your mind, effort and also your heart on it.
Another vital step is to analyze the needs of a specific product or service in your region before setting up your business. Do people of your area need your product? Are there other business like the one you are planning to start? You should ask yourself whether or not you are the only one offering that service or product. If you are not, you will have to analyze the competence you will have to face. You have to think whether the service you are offering is one that customer would repeat, or if it is a one-time specialized service. Obviously, the former are more likely to succeed than the latter.
There are other aspects you have to take into account. These aspects are described below:
– One of them is that if the idea is unique, you will reign the market. But if there is much competition, it will be difficult to enter into the market.
– A second point would be if you can offer quality from the very beginning, otherwise, you won’t succeed.
– Finally, you have to think about your capital to start your own business. There are many business ideas that require little investment and bring great profit. Some demand research, such as daycare service, and others need a large amount of money to begin the business. So take this recommendation into account before investing all your money in a small business idea.
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How To Get Working Capital For Your Company
Do you own a business? If you are like most business owners, you probably have a lot of responsibilities. First and foremost, you have to meet payroll. Every time. You also need to pay rent and suppliers – on time. All this requires working capital.
However, if you are selling products or services to commercial clients or to the government, you are probably painfully aware that they can take as many as 60 days to pay their invoices. Why? Because if you want their business you have to conform to their terms. There is no other way around it.
But this also leads to an impossible situation. You have bills that need to be paid quickly but customers that want to pay slowly. Unless you have a lot of money in the bank, it’s not a sustainable situation. Sooner or later you’ll miss payroll, delay a supplier payment, or turn a large opportunity away.
The solution is simple. You just need working capital. One way to get working capital is to get a business loan. However, business loans are hard to get and can prove to be inflexible. A better solution is to factor your invoices.
Factoring, or invoice factoring as it is most commonly known, is a type of business financing that is ideal for owners who cannot wait up to 60 days to get their invoices paid. It provides you with the necessary working capital to pay rent, suppliers and meet payroll. And, as opposed to a business loan, factoring is easy to get.
Invoice factoring eliminates the usual 60 day wait to get paid by your customers. The factoring company provides you with an advance on your soon to be paid invoices. In effect, it accelerates your invoices. By accelerating your invoices, you get the working capital you need to run and grow your business. And, unlike a business loan, there are no arbitrary limits. The amount of financing you get is only limited by your sales. If your sales increase, so does your financing.
If you are running a business that is growing ñ and you can’t afford to wait up to 60 days to get your invoices paid, consider invoice factoring.
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Action Priority Matrix
An Action Priority Matrix (or Time Management Matrix) is a tool for prioritizing daily activities. There are 4 quadrants to the matrix as shown below:
1 – Important and Urgent
These are the tasks that must be done now. These tasks should be cleared away as soon as possible, as they are often not relevant to the actual work that is most important to us.
- Pressing issues that arise
- Emergencies and crises
- Deadlines
- Scheduled appointments and meetings
2 – Important but not urgent
These are the most important tasks of all. They are the activities that allow us to reach our goals and objectives. They should be scheduled and worked on every day.
- Working on specific projects or goal tasks
- Planning and scheduling
- Personal development
- Crises prevention
3 – Urgent but not important
These activities can take up a large proportion of our time if we let them. They are often avoidable by delegating the job to others, or by ignoring them altogether.
- Daily unscheduled tasks
- Interruptions
- Maintenance work
- General fill-in jobs
- Regular correspondence
4 – Not urgent and not important
These are the activities that we let creep into our day. They are often tasks we shouldn’t be doing at all, but we often use them as an excuse to escape the drudgery of other tasks.
- Time wasting – idle chatting, long breaks
- Irrelevant distractions – internet surfing, socializing online, texting friends, personal phone calls
- Trivial work – busy work, , pushing paper, other procrastination tasks
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