5 Lessons A Small Business Can Learn From Pixar

It’s no secret that the Pixar company has a long history of successes. Today’s businesses, both big and small, can learn a thing or two from looking at the ways Pixar has succeeded and even failed. The hard-earned experience of Pixar can be turned into lessons and techniques for enterprises to learn from and adapt to suit their purpose. Below are five adoptable lessons from Pixar.

1. Make sure you’re hiring the right people

If you have a mediocre team, they won’t be able to turn a basic idea into something great. However, if you have a great team working for you, they’ll be able to take the very beginning of an idea and turn it into something amazing. One rule of thumb from Pixar is to hire people who are smarter or more talented than you are. When everyone’s working for the same company and toward the same goals, you’re not hiring a threat, you’re hiring talent that can take the company to the next level. Everybody has unique experiences that they can teach everyone else.

2. Be open to all types of inspiration, from all different places

Everyone at your company should feel free to suggest ideas, whether it’s about how to make administrative activities more streamlined to your app’s enterprise gamification updates. When people aren’t comfortable enough to give you their ideas, you end up missing out on a lot of inspiration that you won’t get from anywhere else. Sometimes the most unexpected sources have the best suggestions; be open to them all. If people are having a hard time being candid, try to figure out why and then fix the problem.

3. Don’t run away from problems

When you carefully craft messaging to downplay issues, you end up looking like a liar or someone who doesn’t care about the company or other people. As a leader, share problems with your team, face them head on, be honest about them and try to come up with good solutions. Talk to your employees about the issues the company is facing. You never know who’s going to have a great idea. The people who deal with the ins and outs of the business often have ways to fix problem areas.

4. Show trust in employees

Tell your employees that you trust them, especially when it comes to moving forward with new ideas. Clarify that by trusting them, you don’t expect them to always succeed. Instead, tell them that you trust them to use their best judgement and do their best. Explain that sometimes failure is inevitable, but that sometimes failing leads to even better, smarter risks in the future. Your employees should know that they have the reigns when it comes to certain projects, but they shouldn’t be afraid of what’s going to happen if they fail.

5. Share the process with the rest of your team, not just the final result

Things can take a long time to come to fruition. Share each step of the way with your employees. It’s important for people to see how ideas go from thoughts to implementation. It’s also good for your employees to see how management handles setbacks. If something isn’t going as planned, you can shift your tactics mid-process to get it onto a better track.

Most of all, Pixar loves taking chances.

Never be afraid to take a risk. If you fail, you’ve at least learned a few lessons that you can apply to your next venture. If you succeed, than the risk was more than worth it.

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[Event] An Post’s Grow My Business 2015 – Dublin & Cork!

An Post’s Grow My Business 2015 event is taking place again this year in both Dublin and Cork, tickets are reduced to €30 until the 31st of October, after that date they are €39.

Why Attend An Post’s Grow My Business 2015 #GrowMyBusiness

With the commemorations of 1916 just a few short months away, we’re reminded of how surviving and thriving are part of our DNA. And nowhere is it more evident than with businesses, just like yours, who’ve fought their way through the recession and come out the other side.That’s why, as the global economy recovers, this year’s Grow My Business conference from An Post is an unmissable event, bursting with invaluable advice and practical ideas for your business as it enters into a new chapter of opportunity. With four of Ireland’s top business and marketing experts lined up to divulge their most innovative techniques that guarantee to capitalise on every facet of your business, you’ll be geared up for sustainable, strategic and smart growth right into 2016 and beyond.

Dublin

WHEN: Tuesday, 10th Nov 2015
TIME: 7.30AM – 12.30PM
WHERE: Croke Park, Dublin 3

Cork

WHEN: Thursday, 12th Nov 2015
TIME: 7.30AM-12.30PM
WHERE:  Radisson Blu, Cork

Tickets: €39* Each OR 2 for €60 (**Includes breakfast, refreshments and free parking)

Learn from the experts, who’ll help your business grow:

GARY BROWN:

Chairman of ad agency Target McConnell’s, Gary is one of the country’s top marketing experts. With his unique ability to understand the challenges faced by Irish business owners, Gary will offer practical tips and new perspectives on how to grow customer numbers.

ENDA MCNULTY:

Motivational Speaker to the 2015 Ireland Rugby Team, Enda will be coming fresh from the Ireland rugby team camp where he was tasked with keeping the minds focused of the Irish 2015 RWC squad. He’ll be providing the skills needed to keep you motivated when it comes to tackling the opportunities of 2016.

JOHN CONCANNON:

Head of Ireland 2016 – John will reveal the plans for Ireland in the coming year, and explain how the increase in tourism will impact Irish business owners, in particular by identifying the locations and likely spending habits of visitors next year.

ELVERYS SPORTS:

Elverys will give an insight into shopper behaviour. Looking in particular at spend, they will discuss their views on whether, after years of value brand domination, is there is a return to premium? They will also look into online shopping trends on elverys.ie and discuss the best approach to selling online.

COLLETTE FITZPATRICK:

As news anchor and presenter on TV3, Colette is no stranger to taking the lead. The Tipperary native will be doing just that at Grow My Business 2015 as she acts as your MC for the day for the second year in a row.

If you have any questions please feel free to contact us:

01 – 7057494
post.media@anpost.ie
@PostMedia_Irl
www.anpost.ie/growmybusiness

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3 Tips to Drawing up a Business Plan for your Startup

Starting up a business maybe exciting but it isn’t a piece of cake! You are bound to come across obstacles and problems, and that’s why a drawing up a business plan for your startup is useful, but missing even a few important points could turn it into a confusing puzzle.

Drawing up a Business Plan for your Startup

Big and small businesses need business plans to attract potential investors and keep their team updated. Don’t even think about venturing into the market without a business plan, if you can’t make one then ask a consultant to do so. Stay active and on top of the market game and under no circumstances let yourself slack off.

If you forget to include these key points, then you risk losing investors and turn your business plan into a puzzle with missing pieces. Nobody likes putting together an incomplete puzzle.

Let’s talk about the few things you miss when drawing up a business plan for your startup!

1. “What If” situations

Prepare for the worst and expect for the best. I think it’s obligatory that you draw up some hypothetical “what if” scenarios in the business plan. They should include anticipated problems and possible solutions; this approach will come handy especially when your company hits big money in profits. Here are some standard scenarios:

  1. “What if” one of the co-founder wants to leave? Is he allowed to sell his part of the business to anyone or current partners will be a priority.
  2. “What if” one of the partners dies?
  3. “What if” business needs another round of funding?

You could allow your devilish mind to conjure up hundreds of unfortunate situations. The more solutions you have, the higher the chance of survival for your business. This will make your business tougher and teach your team to be thick skinned.

2. Mind your Language

It’s funny how people forget the vital role language plays in our lives. I’ve seen too many people look past this and sadly they suffered its consequences. You might not think that it plays a huge role in the beginning of your startup, but trust me somewhere down this road you’ll thank me! Once your business starts flowing and you monitor results of capital investment in marketing, you will see why this actually matters.

Write whatever you speak. This means that use the language you use on a daily basis (in your business execution and interactions) on paper and in documents too.

For instance, let’s assume you handle digital marketing and PR separately. If your business plan is titled as “Marketing Plans”, this could be problematic especially when you try to gauge which channel is giving you more returns and which one needs better marketing budget.

So make life easier for yourself and be particular about wording and language. Make things simple and write in the same manner of speaking. Avoid using jargons or terminology that is out of your speaking routine.

Goals other than profits
Another missing piece to this business puzzle is additional goals to the ‘plan’. I’ve seen too many business plans ignore the inclusion of goals. Of course investors love to see sales growth patterns and revenues, but there’s more than just numbers and profitability.

3. What are some of these goals?

  1. Why are you in the market?
  2. How your product will change the way people think?
  3. How your product is making your customers life easier?

These goals will help your team stay focused and diligent. It will serve as a constant reminder to strive for betterment and this vision ensures quality control and talent within the market.

If you add three of these missing pieces to the puzzle, your business plan is complete. Now you’re ready to entertain investment and experience noticeable success in your business.

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Are You Doomed to Fail?

On the 5th of November Alan Jordan and Ron Immink will go on stage and deliver the log awaited Bookbuzz MBA in a day.

You can still book here.

The Network Always Wins

At Bookbuzz we are huge fans of Peter Hinssen. “The new normal” was one of our anchor books for quite a while.

We have been looking forward to his second book and it does not disappoint. It will become another anchor books in our stable when we work with clients.

VUCA

It touches on a 3 core topics that our clients are struggling with; VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity), innovation and organisational structures.

Are you doomed to fail?

We can safely say that some of the largest corporations are totally clueless about where to go next, suffer from horrible internal politics and inert boardroom cultures, and have given up the hope of transforming their bureaucracies. Companies are no longer smart enough, fast enough, or innovative enough to survive on their own.

New Normal

In “New Normal”, Hinssen talked about how digital will transform everything. That ship has now sailed. The consequence of digital is that everything gets connected. Which means that everything is networked. Once everything is networked, a lot of things happen. Everything goes faster and network dynamics come into play. Which brings you into the realm of complex adaptive systems.

Networks make things complex (and faster)

Information, intelligence and innovation flow fast through networks.The dynamics in the era of networks seem to be very close to the world of complex adaptive systems structures and organisms found in nature. The key to understanding complex adaptive networks is to focus on understanding the nature of the connections, the strength of the relationships, and the intensity of the information flow in a network.

  • Complex systems don’t have a master plan—they evolve, they emerge
  • Complex systems are built on connectivity.
  • Complexity arises from the interrelationship, interaction, and interconnectivity of all the elements within a system and between a system and its environment.R
  • Complex systems evolve in coevolution.
  • A complex system exists within an environment, but it is part of that environment.
  • Complex systems are not perfect. They are suboptimal.
  • A complex adaptive system does not have to be perfect in order to thrive within its environment.
  • Complex systems are not designed for optimal efficiency, but are based on the concept of perfect enough.
  • Complex systems favour variety and diversity. The greater the amount of variety and diversity within the system, the stronger that system can become.
  • Complex systems are self-organising. There is no hierarchy of command and control in a complex adaptive system.
  • Complex systems evolve on the edge of chaos.

Culture is too slow

A while ago we wrote a post, talking about culture being too slow and that organisational structure is the key to success. Hinssen brings it a lot further then that. You need to become fluid. Fluid strategy, fluid people, fluid organisation. Using network dynamics, the theory of relativity, adaptive and complex system theory, biology, cities, religion (Shiva), Schumpeter (creative destruction), silicon valley, start ups, Taleb (anti-fragile) and entropy.

Become fluid

The key message; the static structures of today will have to be reinvented for the age of fluidity. To deal with VUCA we will have to learn the aerodynamics of the era of networks, and understand how to build organisations that can thrive in a world that speeds up. Companies will have to get in touch with their inner innovation networks, understand how to turn them into fluidity, and avoid becoming rigid corporate structures. If your market is a network, you need to become a network. A fluid, networked, flat, agile organisation.

Anchor book

The reason it will become a Bookbuzz anchor book in our sessions with clients, is because it touched on so many books we have covered:

Generation N

He classifies the millennial not as generation Einstein, Y, E, Z or G (=gaming, those for whom the world is too slow), but generation N. The networked generation.

So what do you need to do?

Network

If your markets are turning into networks, your organisation needs to turn into a network. The hierarchical network is the least important network. In a world of six degrees of separation, nobody care about your title, they care about what you do.

Vacine

You need to apply VACINE

  • velocity
  • agility
  • creativity
  • innovation
  • network
  • experimentation

You need to fail forward

Failure is a manifestation of learning and exploration. If you aren’t experiencing failure, then you are making a far worse mistake: you are being driven by the desire to avoid it. And, for leaders especially, this strategy—trying to avoid failure by outthinking it—dooms you to fail. It makes you rigid and that is business suicide.

You need to stay at the edge of chaos

For example, Netflix deliberately and “unexpectedly” sabotages its own systems with the Chaos Monkey algorithm, which kills processes randomly. It haphazardly disables production instances to make sure that they can survive common types of failure without any customer impact. So, by being constantly under fire, its processes grow stronger. And the more frequently failure occurs, the more the organisation learns.

You need to know the the clock speed of your company

The phrase “Here today, gone tomorrow” has been replaced by “ Here today, gone today. There is an accelerating external clock. So he asks the key question. “What is the internal clock speed of your company?” How fast does it cope with change? Inside your organisation, how quickly does an idea evolve from a brainstorm into a marketable service or product? Internal clock speed itself is irrelevant nowadays. All that matters is whether you’re moving faster than your market: Is your internal clock outpacing the external clock?

You have to find your hidden innovation network

The first thing most large companies will have to do is to rediscover their hidden innovation network and unlock its potential. Industrial Age structures, mechanisms, and strategies aren’t helping them win the hearts and minds of networked workers and customers.

You need to unfreeze your own thinking first

For anyone in a large corporation, in an Industrial Age construct, we wish you all the best in unfreezing your company, your structures, and, perhaps most important, your own thinking. Bookbuzz can help you do that.

Bookbuzz MBA in day

We will be covering this book at the upcoming Bookbuzz MBA in a day. Your opportunity to get a full overview of the latest business thinking from hundreds of the latest business books. Book here.

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Personal and Professional Insights from Business Women Leaders

As part of our “Inspiring your Success” series of events, the Business Women Can Dublin Ambassadors held a very successful morning event in association with Mason Hayes & Curran, Solicitors at their offices on Barrow Street. It was an early start for all but we were rewarded by the view of the beautiful sunrise which was in full view from the meeting area where there was much networking going on among the c.100 guests in attendance.

The event was organised by Tracy o’Sullivan, Maria Norris & Claire Kennedy, all Ulster Bank Business Women Can Ambassadors who worked closely with representatives from Mason Hayes & Curran co-hosts of the event.

The Speakers

There was a panel discussion facilitated by Jennifer Hughes, Head of Commercial Planning & Service Delivery in Corporate Banking and a BWC Ambassador also. There was a panel discussion made up of 3 speakers who gave their insights on the topic, “Transitioning through Change”, from their own experiences in their respective careers.

Frances Kavanagh, Board Member of the Irish Sports Council and Senior Director of Sport with Special Olympics Ireland and also served as Director of Sport and Competition for the 2003 Special Olympics World Summer Games.

Frances started out her career as a teacher and coach and in later years progressed to her current position where she has seen many changes over the years in the organisation.

Their business like many in recent years had to make some tough decisions and implemented a restructure of their business resulting in job losses and reorganisation of divisions. Their focus at all times was delivering best results for the Athletes who are at the forefront of what they do.

Maeve McMahon was recently appointed as Ulster Bank’s first Director of Customer Experience and Products. She is tasked with developing customer focussed products as well as the underpinning customer strategy and insight , marketing and customer interaction programmes. Maeve sits on the CEO’s Executive Committee of Ulster Bank.

Maeve is no stranger to change having lived and worked in 6 different countries. She also worked with 11 different line managers in an 8 year period in former roles.

Emer Gilvarry is Chairperson of Mason Hayes & Curran and a partner in their Litigation Team. Her practice primarily involves dispute resolution. Emer specialises in project management and acts as a legal advisor to corporates and boards with a particular emphasis on governance issues as well as providing corporate compliance and due diligence support where needed.

Emer was promoted to Managing Partner in the firm on the 1st April 2008, and was thrown in very quickly to a role very involved in managing change in the firm and making tough decisions.

Key Quotes

Some important Nuggets and quotes from the speakers :-

Frances Kavanagh
“ highlighted the importance of making people feel valued , effective communication to allay fears, transparency and being open and honest with people when delivering hard messages. Good team working is paramount and the Athletes are at the core of what they want to achieve.”

Maeve McMahon
“Try new things. Maeve’s motto is “If you don’t try new things you won’t know the outcome and you may have missed out on something great”.

“The bank that gets to the bottom of what the customer needs and delivers on this will be the Bank that succeeds “.

“Communication, Vision and immobilising people for success is important.”

Emer Gilvarry
“importance of Ethical Intelligence in the workplace, reputation and trust – important attributes for any organisation.”

“How you make people feel through your interaction with them is very important”

“Leadership is about hiring people that are much better than you”

Quoted WB Yates
“Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.”

After the discussions there was time for Q&A and more time or networking. There was a great energy in the room afterwards and from the feedback from guests this was a very enjoyable and thought provoking event.

So if you would like to receive information on future Business Women Can events such as this one, please drop an email with your details to businesswomencan@ulsterbank.com and we would love to hear from you. We would also welcome ideas on topics you would like us to cover for future events.

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thinkbusiness

5 Reasons Cloud Communication Is Vital For Business Prosperity

There is more to running a successful business than just having a good niche in the supply and demand market. Keeping customers satisfied and maintaining a high level of quality customer service is the key factor in how many customers come back. But what allows a good business to meet these demands in a highly competitive and global market? In today’s market economy, technology is the make or break point. Having up to date technology that is easy to use will keep your business running smoothly and more optimal. Today’s up to date technology is cloud based communication systems.

What Are Cloud Based Communication Systems?

Communication systems that utilize the internet as opposed to a computer’s hard drive for accessing programs and data are known as cloud based communication systems. These cloud based systems basically do all their work in the ‘cloud’. This process is known as cloud computing. Cloud computing can take place over various systems; some can be accessed through applications from purchased subscriptions such as Google Apps, Microsoft Office 365 etc. Further, you can smoothly integrate Office 365 with cloud based phone system to enhance your peer-to-peer and clientele communications. Others can take place from a custom created application designed and implemented by the company for everyone within the network to access.

A few of the more commonly used business cloud computing technologies are:

  • Software as a Service (SaaS): these are purchased subscriptions
  • Platform as a Service (PaaS): these are the custom made ones
  • Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS): these can be rented out from much larger corporations such as Google or Microsoft.

Cloud communication systems are a huge business in and of themselves, generating billions of dollars a year. Here are 5 reasons why you should consider looking into a unified cloud communication system for your business like many others already have.

Advanced Features are More Affordable

Advanced features are often the most sought after in the industry as these features integrate your business’ technological capability. By providing easy access to integrated capacities such as conferencing, presence, phone, messaging, and even mobility, you are putting your business at a greater advantage over others in your market area. Buyers do need to know up front that some cloud based systems utilize storage of some data in the devices there on-site so some mobility issues may need some working through. However, the best unified communications systems are those that are 100% cloud-based with no on-site data storage. This means no on-site IT maintenance.

All Communications Can Be Managed Online

Unified cloud communications system is the term used to incorporate all aspects of technology used in running your business. Unified cloud communications systems allow online portals for easier access from off-site IT specialists to address any troubleshooting needs. Online portals allow greater productivity and help to keep costs low because IT functions are able to be delegated and streamlined in a much more simple and efficient manner. Employees are also empowered to have a greater level of control, maintaining their devices and making communication for all involved much less complicated.

The User Holds the Power

Users covet the ability to have flexible access and more control when it comes to the tools they need to maintain a high level of professionalism with their colleagues and their clients. Being able to have the same resources in and away from the office increases dexterity of the business as a whole and productivity levels of all involved. Not all cloud based systems are able to offer this level of flexibility. Only the 100% cloud based telephone system are designed with the user in mind and not the devices.This also allows technicians to troubleshoot most problems “in the air” rather than on the actual device.

Minimize Downtime Risks

The coined phrase, “time is money and money is time,” rings true for every business. Utilizing a unified cloud communications system reduces lost time from downed systems that may otherwise be experienced from on-site repair needs, power outages, severe weather or other emergency related downtime. This strategic type of entrepreneurial foresight puts the business with a unified cloud communication system at a major advantage over the competition; not only in time saved, but also the costs to address these on-site risks.

On-site Systems Are Cost Burdensome and Complicated

On-site systems require the use of on-site IT staff for maintenance and repair work. These added operational costs decrease a profit margin. The increased risk of communication errors and the technology to become obsolete quicker make choosing a cloud based system over an on-site system the simple and economical choice.

The benefits of utilizing a cloud communications system is a game changer. Increased productivity, decreased overhead costs, higher customer service as a result of more effective technology all help to give your business the competitive edge.

Businesses have changed over the years from when our parents and grandparents were in the market world. The use of rapidly evolving tech is what continues to propel businesses into the future. How far do you want your business to go?

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thinkbusiness

3 Questions to Ask Your Inner Leader

Business, in today’s world, is more about bringing people together than ever before. With such global interconnectedness, advanced technologies and high-speed communications, leaders have been relinquished of some of the leg-work that has vanished with the past. Similarly, our world has shifted away from mainstream culture toward niche markets and tight-knit communities.

Combine the two, and leaders now face a new objective: to support team players in their endeavours whilst keeping an eye on the prize. What’s the prize?: infiltrating the niche markets that now have more access to your company’s product than ever before.

As a leader upholding your business’s vision, you play a central role in connecting the many ways that innovative employees might contribute to building networks of support to your company’s overarching goals.

With this shifting role of the leader, it might be time to reassess your inner leader to see if he is up to the challenge. Here are 7 questions to ask yourself, to keep your inner leader on-track for the 21st century:

1) Are you investing in the relationships between you and those you lead?

Every day, the lines between the personal and professional, the virtual and the actual, get blurrier. Online social networks like LinkedIn and Google+ provide virtual platforms for our professional lives; e-mail inboxes are meccas for both casual conversation and official exchanges. As the boundaries of workplace culture transform, you don’t want to be stuck behind hard lines of what we once thought of as professionalism. Now more than ever, good relationships between co-workers make for good business.

2) Are you open to learning and listening?

As small networks and communities come into focus as targets for business, it is crucial to remain open-minded and open-eared. Business leaders are no longer working for the masses: Our visions, goals and products are now intended to reach specific groups of people with unique and tailored concerns, visions and goals of their own.

Not only do business leaders need to listen to their audiences, but likewise to their team members. In today’s world, perspective is everything. Where there is a consumer who wants a triple-shot non-dairy cappuccino with fair trade nutmeg served in a mason jar, there is someone who knows just how to give it to them. You cannot be everything, so use the resources you have by staying open-minded and listening to those you lead.

3. Are you taking risks?

While these fast-changing technologies and sub-cultures are daunting at times, they also provide us with some wiggle room for taking chances. Today, it’s the innovative who succeed big, because they are willing to risk a certain amount of failure. Think about your comfort zone, and the willingness of those you lead to take risks, to see if you’re taking advantage of the trial-and-error mentality of this technological age.

Most importantly, don’t let your inner leader get bored or complacent. Ask yourself questions that make you think about your decision-making strategies, your motivational skills and your ability to conjure up support for your own business endeavours and those of your team members. Ask your inner leader to consider new ideas and perspectives that will bring people together to succeed.

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Award Winning – What’s the Point?

This was my thought process prior to today – what is the point of awards and do they really benefit my business? I have seen many businesses flaunt their award winning this and their award for that and even some businesses who claim that they are award winning without stating what their award is for.

Well I have now joined the ranks of the award winners myself – not for export, not for sales and not even for the amount of businesses I have grown. This wonderful scene on the left is the winner of the Tourism NI Picture Perfect award for 2015!

Whilst not really relevant to the benefits I provide for my clients – it has changed my perception about them. It is my belief that benefits coming from awards fall into 2 main areas, independence and recognition.

Independence

Awards are really only of value if they come from an independent and reputable source – “employee of the week” or awards based on the size of your membership fee creates only scepticism and doubt over your product or service. But if your awarding body ticks the independence box it brings great credibility to your business.

Recognition

It’s great to be recognised and this was a major influence in my change of heart. I always believed I had “a decent eye” but when the judges chose my image, it confirmed my belief. You may believe your product or service is excellent but your potential clients are more likely to take someone else’s word for it. This recognition can also have a major influence upon your staff, building confidence and pride and these have a major impact on productivity.

Words of Warning

IMG_3827Awards are like my image – a snapshot, a moment in time and all because your product or service is award winning in 2015 there is no guarantee that it will be in the future. Plaques and certificates fade and gather dust and if left hanging around your receptions and marketing material without being up to date will lose their effectiveness and lustre. So if you are not striving for those awards annually make sure they don’t hang around as a sign post of past glory days.

So bring on the perfect picture award 2016!

As always I appreciate your comments, your feedback and the sharing of any of my blogs.

The Business Therapist – making your business better.

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Affordable Internet Security Tips for Small Businesses

When you’re a business owner, you hold the responsibility of ensuring that all of your data remains protected. If a security breach occurs, it could mean the loss of customers and important data, or even the reputation of your business plummeting beyond repair. Hackers can steal the identity of your customers, employees or even yourself, so it’s important to know how to properly secure your business’ data.

Security mishaps are not uncommon, even amongst the largest companies, but avoiding them can be quite simple. Even common activities, such as using an unsecured WiFi network, can be the beginning of a major security breach. Here are a few affordable internet security tips that could save your company a lot of trouble.

Start With Your Accounts

One of the most common ways people leave themselves open to cyberattacks is by forgetting to, or being unaware of how they should, secure their online accounts. The main problem lies in the passwords that are used. Sometimes they are too basic and easy for others to guess, or they are being used for more than one account.

Each of your passwords should be changed every few months and consist of numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and symbols (whenever possible). They should also be at least eight characters long and be sure to exclude any personal information (any name associated with your company would make a weak password, for example). If you have a lot of passwords and remembering them all is difficult, you might want to consider using specific phrases combined with numbers as your passwords.

There’s also the option of saving your passwords on a service, such as Blur, which will save your login details for websites and even create strong passwords for you if you choose. Blur encrypts the information stored and also syncs them to all of your devices. Another useful feature Blur has to offer is the ability to mask your email address when filling in online forms.

Though Blur is a great option, you are sharing your personal information with a company by using it and security vulnerabilities are a possibility as well. However, even if you don’t store your passwords on Blur, you can still take advantage of the other internet security features it has to offer, which can definitely help you to protect your business.

Lastly, when dealing with company accounts, you might have to share login details at times. When doing so, you might want to consider using LastPass Enterprise, which will assist you with securely sharing passwords and accounts with your employees and business associates.

Secure Your Internet Connection(s)

It’s not always possible to avoid public WiFi, especially if you tend to travel somewhat often, but every time any of your devices connects to an unsecured network, you’re leaving the information of your company open to hackers. Unfortunately they can hang out nearby and access anyone’s device that is connected to the internet without encryption.

Luckily you can encrypt your connection, which will keep your business much safer whenever you or your employees are using the internet. To do this, you’ll need a Virtual Private Network (VPN). Using a VPN not only encrypts your connection, but it will also mask your location by hiding your IP address, as well as unblock geo-restricted content online (which is very useful when traveling).

According to SecureThoughts.com, ExpressVPN in particular offers the most secure connection and the best customer support out of all the other VPN services available. ExpressVPN is priced at $12.95 per month, but can be purchased for as little as $8.32 per month if you pay for 12 months upfront, making it a very affordable option to secure all of your devices that connect to the internet.

Use an Anti-Virus Program

Even the most tech savvy can inadvertently download or acquire malware on their computer or mobile device. Since it’s likely that you’ll be using the internet a lot while managing your business, it’s wise to use an anti-virus program. Some of these programs will warn you if a website if suspected of containing malware, but most importantly, they will allow you to scan your device for viruses that could wreak havoc if left unchecked.

Depending on the anti-virus program you choose, you might also be able to utilize anti-theft features, which will help you to locate your device if it’s stolen or missing or even wipe the data off of it so it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. As far as options go, there are many anti-virus programs to choose from, which can be free if you don’t decide to upgrade for additional features. Be sure to install them on all of your devices that connect to the internet and complete a full virus scan at least once a month.

Backup Your Data

If by chance your business’ data becomes compromised, you might end up losing a lot of important information. Backing up all of your data will allow you to restore your files if this ever occurs. For this purpose, you’ll want to back up all of your crucial files as soon as possible.

When you do, be sure to store the backup on more than one device or piece of hardware (such as an external hard drive, thumb drive, or SD card). If you need help doing this, refer to your operating systems’ website for instructions. You can also store your files on cloud based storage services like Dropbox if you choose.

Either way, don’t forget to keep backups of your company’s website as well (tutorials should be available on your web hosts’ page)!

Internet Security

Keeping your business secure online doesn’t have to hard to do, nor expensive. When you utilize the aforementioned tips, your business will be much more secure overall. Though gaining complete immunity from security breaches is never guaranteed, implementing online security measures will make it rare for cyberattacks towards your business to occur.

Most importantly, don’t forget to educate and train your employees about these internet security tips in order to better protect the personal information of both you and your customers. Great business practices are what create repeat customers after all!

Many of us dream of starting a small business, and thanks to SmallBusinessCan.com, those in the process of starting or managing their own business have a great resource to rely on. I appreciate SmallBusinessCan.com allowing me to publish this article on their blog. When you’re done reading, I recommend you read one of their many helpful posts, such as “Online Business Data Tools for Small Business.”

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Reward to Retain: The Effects of Loyalty Schemes in the Insurance Industry

Three quarters of people would change insurers to a company offering the same product at the same price – as long as they gave them loyalty schemes too.

The figures were revealed in a major survey carried out by M&S for Business that looked into the way companies in the financial sector attract new customers – and keep them.

As well as surveying customers it spoke to insurance industry figures to try and discover what makes a successful acquisition and retention strategy.
While 95 per cent of respondents said price was one of the most important factors when deciding what policy to buy, only 55 per cent said price was the sole reason. It suggests that in such a competitive industry a loyalty or reward scheme to add value to a policy could improve chances of take-up.
Experts agreed and most insurers quizzed said they already ran some sort of reward scheme.

But the survey also revealed that almost half (45 per cent) of respondents did not know if their insurer offered a reward scheme or not.
It suggests that communicating the scheme on offer to customers is just as important as the scheme itself.

Increase Customer Acquisition

The report concludes: “Implementing a reward scheme for loyalty, referrals or signing up to an insurance policy is a great way to increase customer acquisition, retention and satisfaction. However, it is important that the offering is relevant to the individual and offered at the right time.

“Allowing customers to earn points and rewards makes them feel involved with your brand and gives them the feeling that your service is worth more than that of the competition. As with any relationship in life, the one between business and consumer needs to be nurtured and approached delicately.

“That is why research and planning are imperative to the success of a reward scheme. If you get it right, you can build relationships and create brand advocates who will stay with you for a lifetime.”

Encourage Customer Retention

Stuart Lawrence, Head of M&S for Business said: “We know that the insurance industry is one of the sectors where it can be most difficult to encourage customer retention. With insurance usually being an annual purchase and most people hunting for the best priced policies, it can be hard for an insurance company to offer a unique service.

“With this in mind, we have carried out some research to discover what qualifies as a successful customer acquisition and retention strategy within the industry and found that reward schemes are something that is seen as value for a customer.

“We feel that the results of this research are transferable to other sectors within the financial industry and provide an interesting insight into a customer’s perception.”

To look at the complete findings, visit M&S for Business’ website.

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