Category: business coach

5 Cybersecurity Slip-Ups To Avoid In Business

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Most of us understand the basics when it comes to cybersecurity, but these basics often aren’t enough. Cybercriminals are getting smarter and a simple password and security software isn’t always enough. Here are some of the most common mistakes that businesses make when fighting cybercrime and how you can strengthen your security to fend off these online thieves.

Failing to back up files

Ideally, you don’t want cybercriminals getting to your files in the first place. But in case they manage to slip through your defenses, it’s always worth backing up files as a secondary precautionary measure.

A growing number of cybercriminals are now using ransomware to hold files hostage – this could involve locking files and threatening to delete them unless a ransom is paid. By having all these files backed up, you can afford to give in to cybercriminal threats without having to pay out any ransom – they may delete your files, but what does it matter if you’ve got them all backed up.

It’s important to choose a secure backup option. Storing files on the cloud is a popular option – there are business cloud servers available that are guarded by the most advanced security, making them a safe option. Another option could be to put your files on an external hard drive. Make sure that this hard drive isn’t left plugged into your computer, otherwise cybercriminals will be able to access it during a hack.

Using out-of-date security software

Security software that hasn’t been regularly updated will likely be ineffective against modern cyberthreats. Many security programs automatically update themselves, although this may require restarting your computer – if your computers are completely left on standby, this software may never have a chance to update.

Keep an eye on your security software for updates so that you’re always running the most secure version of the software possible. It’s worth updating other general software too as some of these updates may be security related.

Using the same password for everything

A lot of people are guilty of using the same password for everything because it’s easier to remember. The problem is that if a hacker does find out your password, they’ll then have access to everything.

You’re best having a few passwords in circulation as a result. You should change these every so often to keep them fresh (this can also prevent bitter ex-employees leaking passwords).

On the topic of passwords, it’s worth ensuring that you’re using strong combinations – a mix of lower-case letters, upper-case letters and numbers will made your passwords harder to crack. Try to stay random and not use dates of birth or the name of your company or anything else that’s easy to guess. You can even throw hackers off by using incorrect security question answers.

Falling to filter emails

Many cybercriminals will try to break into your system via emails. A common way of doing this is to provide links in emails leading to websites filled with viruses. It’s worth having an email filter in place that can check each email for dangerous links and warn you against opening certain emails.

Whilst it’s sometimes easy to notice a suspicious email, cybercriminals are getting craftier by using email addresses and templates that make them look like official organizations – by having a filter in place, you may be able see through the lies more easily.

As well as not clicking on links, you should make sure that you don’t ever reply to these fishy emails – especially if they’re asking you to provide personal details, which never be given out via email.

Not training your staff in security protocol

It’s no use having security protocol in place if your staff aren’t trained in how to implement it. It’s possible to get your staff professionally trained up by looking into cyber security certification training – this could be useful if your job requires handling a lot of sensitive data. Alternatively, you may be able to take a course yourself and then relay information to your team.

Make sure that every new customer is filled in on your company’s security protocol. You may want to provide a handbook as an easy reference, but it’s worth investing some time into in-person training just in case they do skim over this documentation.

The Benefits Of Second Hand Food Machinery For Your Business

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A lot of people are skeptical about purchasing second-hand products. However, there are many instances when this can be the most beneficial route to go down. In this post, we are going to take a look at buying second-hand food machinery and the various reasons why this is a recommended option.

Cost savings

There is only one place to begin, and this is the fact that you will make cost savings if you go for a second-hand machine. All businesses recognize how vital it is to keep their costs as low as possible and by opting for second-hand food machinery you can certainly make significant savings. This also enables you to free up money to spend on more important aspects of your company, for example, food & beverage packaging. You will be able to invest in marketing and branding to ensure your packaging stands out and sales are made.

Better machines

Another key advantage associated with this option for your business is the fact that you may be able to benefit from food machines that you would not be able to afford if you had to buy them outright. This allows you to take advantage of better makes and models, and you will undoubtedly reap the rewards of this in terms of increased efficiency and quality at your business.

Quality

A lot of people fear that purchasing a machine second-hand means they are going to suffer from a lack of quality and that they are only going to spend more in the long run when it comes to repairs and such like. However, this does not have to be the case – it is all about where you buy your food machinery. If you go for a provider that checks out all of the machines beforehand and services them, then you can be confident that your machine will be as good as new.

Guarantees are available

There are a lot of companies that also offer warranties and other types of guarantees. So, this should certainly put your mind at ease if you buy something second hand. If you buy off an action website or directly from an individual, then there is no guarantee of quality or a return. Nevertheless, if you go for an official machinery provider, you can be confident that you will not fall victim to such scenarios.

On a final note, the only thing you need to do now is start looking at the various options that are available to you in terms of food machinery. There are so many different machines available nowadays, not can you choose between various types, from mincers to bowl cutters, but you have different capacities, features, and volume levels as well.

How Can The Right Tech Save A Failing Business?

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When you’re growing your business, you can throw everything within your financial remit at it to ensure the company flies, but this isn’t necessarily going to work. When your business begins to make its inevitable descent, either due to poor planning, insufficient action, or both, thoughts turn to how to save a failing business. Believe it or not, the one main component that could encourage your company to grow again is the tech. How can it do this?

It Saves Your Business Money

It’s a great way for you to streamline certain processes. When you’re looking to cut corners, but without compromising the integrity of the company, technology is a godsend in this respect. Going digital can reduce the amount of paper you use of course, but it can reduce your equipment needs, and if you have the means necessary, you can encourage your workers to stay at home and work remotely, therefore minimizing your need or a physical office.

It Protects You

These days, data breaches are more common regardless of how big or small the company is. If you are insufficiently prepared for a data breach, you could lose so much information, not to mention trust from your customers. It’s vital you have an appropriate infrastructure plan in place, and Ntiva’s strategic IT consulting services is one of many that can help you re-evaluate your framework. We have to ensure that our company’s needs are met, and it’s not just in relation to the technology we have, but also in making sure that our staff know the best practices so that the technology is put to good use.

It helps automation

From social media to Customer Relationship Management systems, automation is one of the best approaches any company can take advantage of. Automating a handful of processes can save you time and money. This leaves your staff open to working on other areas of the company. If you are struggling to keep yourself going, automating so many processes that work out, financially speaking, as the equivalent of one member of staff means you can save quite a significant amount of money. Automation is a process that can make life easier for businesses, but not so the workers become complacent. Automation is one of those things that can encourage your workers to perform better in other areas so they don’t make themselves expendable. As this is a very handy by-product of implementing automation; if your workers perform better, you will directly see this in the results.

The right technology can save a failing business, but it can sufficiently protect it as well. As any company will attest, the right piece of tech is a godsend. And when your business struggles to keep itself going, technology might not be the first thing you would turn to, but as technology can fulfill so many different roles, you need to give it the attention it deserves. Technology is fast becoming the most essential business component, but even the smallest system can turn a business around in a short space of time.

Go For Growth

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You’ve been cruising along with your business for a while and though you’re turning over a profit, you know that, deep down, you’re playing it safe and taking zero risks.

And why would you want to? After all there’s nothing wrong with staying put and turning over a profit each month. What if your business could grow? What if, with a little careful planning, you could double that profit margin? Wouldn’t that be an achievement?

While growing your business can be frightening, it’s almost always well worth doing. It doesn’t have to be done in such a way that it leaves you feeling out of control but instead can be planned and executed with the greatest of detail.

We look at some ways you can grow for success.

Plan to succeed

Before you even consider the how’s and why’s, you’ll need to take a look at what you might need to change in order to accommodate extra growth. If you’re limited by certain restrictions on your website and worry it couldn’t handle the extra commerce, have a chat with your platform provider or web host and see what you can do to ensure a sustainable performance.

How about staffing? If you run your show solo, you might have to think about investing in taking on an assistant or two. Start by doing some research into how to make hires in your industry and checking out on business blogs what you might need to consider in terms of potential salary and other employee benefits.

Finally, stock. If you are a business that sells physical products can you guarantee that you’d be able to fulfill shipments should you increase in orders and will your current storage facilities adequately meet the need for extra room? Planning to succeed now will save you rushing around in a panic as your business makes the transition from small to a growing concern.

Hit marketing hard

Now is the time to get that killer marketing strategy in place. If you’re serious about making it big, then consider bringing in an established and reputable company to help you. Let them take the strain and help you find your perfect customer base and produce for you the perfect plan guaranteed to draw in more and more trade.

You’ll want to consider your social media outlets, direct mail options and web advertising options such as Walmart Performance Ads and other web-based promotions.

Have your marketers research who you are aiming your products at and creating advertisements and offers that speak directly to your ideal base.

Growing and succeeding in business can be a tough challenge so be realistic as well as ambitious. Set objectives that are practical and achievable, within time frames that, while giving you a clear cut off point, also give you time to reach your goals.

A little investment now and you’ll find your business soaring off to new heights that you never thought would be possible. Start planning for success today and see greater profits tomorrow.

Making A Large Office Feel Nice And Private

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There are few things worse than feeling like you are being watched when you are trying to work. Often making it harder to focus on what they are doing, most people much prefer to feel as if they are in their own space when they are doing their job, reserving time spent with other people until their breaks. Of course, though, modern offices have to fit more people into them than ever before, and this makes even having cubicles into a challenge. To help you out with this, this post will be exploring some of the best ways to make a large office feel nice and private.

Headphones & Privacy Films

Being able to put yourself into your own bubble while you work is a great way to make yourself feel alone. When someone can hear everything around them, though, they will struggle to achieve this goal. By providing your employees with good sound cancelling headphones, you will help to eliminate this issue, enabling them to block out the world around them as they get on with their jobs. Along with this, you could also consider the idea of privacy screens for your monitors, as this will make them impossible for other people to see.

Barriers

Having walls between your employees may sound like a bad way to make an office feel friendly, but this sort of approach can often be the best when it comes to keeping people focused. Decorative window frosting film can make a great tool when you’re doing this, enabling you to use glass dividers which won’t take up much space, while still blocking vision and sound from passing through. Having something like this set up in a modular way enables your team members to choose whether they’d like a barrier or not.

Smart Layouts

Even when you have a very busy office, ensuring that people aren’t looking over one another’s shoulders can often be solved by creating smart layouts for your offices. When people are behind each other, they should always have their backs facing, as this will ensure that they can’t watch their colleagues at work. Some people will be fine with having their work on display, but others will find it very stressful.

Signs & Warnings

It can be hard to stay focused on your job when you have other team members talking to you. People don’t often stay busy all the time in an office, with everyone going through their own busy patches throughout the day. This can create a mess of communication when some people are working and others aren’t, and this is something to be mindful of. To help to solve this issue, giving your employees warning signs which they can use to let others know when they are handling serious work can be a great approach to take.

With all of this in mind, you should be feeling prepared to take on the challenge of making a shared workspace feel like a private one. Of course, your teams can’t expect dedicated rooms for their work, but they should be able to focus on their work.

Getting to Grips With Data and Data Storage

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As a small business owner, you’re going to deal with a whole lot of data. It’s an inevitable part of running a company! But you really do need to remember the importance of storing data correctly. Hopefully, the following information will help you to get to grips with everything you need to know on the subject!

Understanding Data

So, what actually is data? Well, it’s essentially “information”. Data can be a word, a number, a fact, a figure, a measurement, or an observation that can be noted down. When you run a small business, the type of data that you will generally deal with includes customer names and addresses for shipping purposes, payment details, email addresses for mailing lists, and occasionally phone numbers. If you are an employee and have members of staff working for you, you are also likely to hold a lot of their data too! From a copy of their passport (to prove their right to work) to bank details for payment, and their phone number or email address to contact them.

Storing Data

In the past, small businesses stored their data in paper files. But nowadays, small business owners tend to store their data on a tech device such as computer, a laptop, a tablet, or maybe even a smartphone. Now, it is extremely important that you store any data that your business takes securely and in accordance with data protection law. Data protection law is mainly concerned with protecting your customers’ data and personal information. If you were to leak this data or the wrong person were to get their hands on this data, your customers could find themselves victims of theft and identity theft. Perhaps the most effective and safest way to store your data properly is to hire someone to take care of it on your behalf. Just take a look into Data Storage recruitment to find the right person for the job. They will know the ins and outs of data storage and data protection law and can lift the weight of responsibility from your shoulders.

Disposing of Data

If you have any printed data, make sure that you dispose of it by placing it through a shredder. This will prevent people from picking anything out of the trash, as they would have to reassemble multiple pieces to find anything legible.

Keeping Up to Date

Data protection law is constantly being updated and improved upon. So, make sure to keep up with any changes that are made to ensure that you are following the right rules! Generally speaking, these new rules are made very clear and well publicized, so this shouldn’t be an issue!

While there are other ins and outs to data and data storage, these basics should help you to manage yours as effectively as possible! Incorporate all of this information into your business as soon as possible!

Why Your Office Space is Your Most Important HR Tool

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As a small business owner, you might think about your business premises as an asset. However, what if you were told that it is actually a marketing, branding, and HR tool at the same time? Just imagine that your office workers are spending more time during the week at the office awake than they do at home. Some of them treat it as a second home, and – if you can create the right culture – a second family. Below you will find a few tips on making your office an effective human resources tool.

Temperature

The first thing you want to get right is the temperature of the office. You might not be able to please everyone, but allowing your employees to control the temperature in their zone or open the windows when needed can help them feel more comfortable and in control. It might be a good idea to have a chat with an air conditioning service company to have a look at your current system and recommend user-friendly upgrades.  

Health and Safety

If you want your employees to look after you, it is crucial that you respect them and look after their health and wellbeing. You will need advanced policies to prevent injuries and accidents, and it is also recommended that you monitor the air quality of the office, so you can make adjustments and keep your workers healthy. Appoint a health and safety representative, and you can manage employee wellbeing better.

Facilities

If you would like to attract the best people to your office, you will need to offer more than other companies. From free parking to an on site canteen, gym membership, or just a kitchenette, maybe food delivery services, there are several ways you can make them feel more at home and supported at the office. Create employee surveys to find out what your office workers are most keen on seeing in the business premises.

Breakout Areas

It is important that you provide breakout areas for your office workers where they can take a step back from the screen and the desk and socialize with each other. This is a good way of making the most out of the space and building a community at work. Get some games, a TV, or anything your employees recommend, including a sofa, a reading nook, or even a space where they can have a power nap during their lunch break and recharge their batteries.

Sharing Environment

It is also a good idea to create a sharing environment where information and knowledge flows in every direction. You will not only improve the culture of the office, but also increase your organizational knowledge and provide more value for your customers.

Your office is more than a facility; it is a place where your workers share ideas and knowledge, and spend eight hours at. Turn it into a human resources tool and you will see your organizational productivity rise. Engaged and supported employees are generally better at doing their job.

Growing Your Small Business By Outsourcing

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In business, you don’t have to keep every procedure that you do ‘in-house.’ You can outsource specific assignments, or even whole departments of your company to other businesses, when it comes to work that you can’t (or don’t want to do) yourself. Businesses don’t always need to be in direct competition, and can work side by side for mutual benefit. Here’s what you need to know about outsourcing.

Why would you send work to other companies?

There are certain tasks in business that require specific tools, materials or expertise. Purchasing your own equipment and hiring your own employees comes with risk. What can be quicker, cheaper and less hassle can be sending the work to a company that already has these things in place. For example, instead of manufacturing your own products (that would require factory space, warehousing space, vehicles, machines and more) you could hire a company which already has this set up to manufacture for you. When it comes to IT services, companies like www.cyberjaz.net will have employees with experience and expertise, and the right equipment. In the long term, you might consider setting up these processes yourself, but it’s not something a small business can necessarily afford (or have the skills to do) in the beginning. Therefore, outsourcing allows your business the chance to grow but with less pressure on you to oversee every task, and without being held back by money for upfront costs.

Be sure to sustain business connections.

Outsourcing work to another company requires trust. Your business is of course important to you, and you need to know that everything being completed on your behalf is done to a standard that you’re happy with. For this reason, you need to maintain good business relationships, with good communication and regular meetings to ensure the standard is being met. Outsourcing benefits both companies- they have a regular client and regular work coming in, and you have a company who is able to complete the work that you can’t. So it makes sense for you both to nurture this relationship.

Evaluate frequently

If you find that the standard slips, or that another company is able to offer you a better deal then it could be worth making the switch. If you attend trade shows or business expos, you’ll come across lots of other companies who may be able to offer you a better or more tailored service. To keep your business moving forward you need to ensure that the outsourced company is doing the best work possible. So it won’t always make sense to stay loyal to one business, especially if another is able to offer you something better.

Outsourcing is a way for your business to grow when you don’t have lots of money upfront to create new departments. In some cases, it will make sense to continue outsourcing long term, and others you will be better off creating your own in-house departments when you can afford to do so. Either way, it’s something that can be highly beneficial to most kinds of businesses at some point in their journey.

4 Things Millennials Expect From Your Business

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Reaching out to millennials is a smart move. Apart from only boosting your customer base, it helps to modernize the business. Plus, it’s a fantastic boost in many ways. Did you know they spend 25 hours a week online? Considering a digital presence is a huge part of a successful, 21st-century company, they may be your target audience.

However, to target them isn’t a walk in the park. They expect a lot and will bounce if they don’t get it. Here are four things to concentrate on if you’re interested in the millennial vote.

Mobile Payment Options

Because they use their phones a lot, they’re not going to put them down in the store. Instead, the majority of millennials use cells to supplement the shopping experience. For example, they’ll use an app to make a payment rather than taking out cash or pulling out a card. It’s quicker, easier, and less hassle. Therefore, an Apple and Android credit card reader is essential. Otherwise, they’ll find the process difficult and go elsewhere as a result. Thankfully, plenty of point of sale systems use this technology so it shouldn’t be too hard to incorporate it into the store or online.

Social Media Convos

A massive 63% of millennials stay up to date with their favorite brands via social media. Without Twitter, Facebook, and Snapchat, your business isn’t part of the conversation. So, a myriad of account is vital if you’re going to reach out to them through a variety of platforms. However, it isn’t only about brand awareness; customer service is important too. 35% of the demographic prefer to communicate via social media. Those that aren’t live on the platforms won’t be able to interact and figure out what they want. In fact, there’s no need to work it out because they’ll tell you if you ask. Millennials are empowered that way.

Pricing

It’s the most important thing to 62% of millennials, so it’s wise to keep it in mind. In essence, they want something affordable which is of a high-quality. If they get it, 70% of people said they would be likely to stay loyal because the brand plays a big part in their life. What this means is that it may be better to appeal to millennials as long-term partners. Lowering the rate a little in the beginning will get them on board for the future, and then you can begin to cash in.

Morality

Although the price is the main factor, there is still their morality to consider. Millennials don’t like products or services that harm the planet as they are environmentally-conscious. They call it “woke.” Nobody wants to feel guilty about enjoying a materialistic lifestyle, and that’s why it’s savvy to green the supply chain where possible. Go into partnership with eco-friendly suppliers and let people know. Millennials will be more likely to use your services as a result because their conscience will be clear.

This is by no means an exhaustive list, but it is the stuff they seem to find the most important. Provide them to millennials and they reward you with their custom.

Top Tips On Building A Reputable Eating Establishment

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Over the years the standards that eating establishments such as restaurants and diners must have has risen dramatically, and not just the quality of food either. Starting an establishment that’s going to serve food isn’t as simple as hiring a few chefs and providing them with a kitchen either: you need a lot more up your sleeves to open a successful eatery. So, to ensure that you get off to the best start and maintain this, we’ve come up with the top tips on building a reputable eating establishment.

Work on your dining area

Whether you like it or not, first impressions make a whole lot of difference. If potential customers walk into your restaurant and aren’t impressed by your decor or layout, it’s likely that they will turn around and find somewhere else to eat. So, it’s important to ensure that your decor is bang on, especially your dining area. Here are some tips on creating the perfect eating atmosphere:

  • Lighting is extremely important when it comes to eating. Think about when you’re sitting down for a meal at home – you don’t eat in the dark do you? It’s important to ensure that there is sufficient lighting in your restaurant so that your customers can see what they are eating without straining their eyes. However, lighting that is too bright can bring on headaches and strain your customers eyes too.

  • Creating an eating area that goes with the theme of the rest of your establishment can be difficult, but it’s a good idea to keep the flow going throughout so that it makes sense to your customers. However, some items of decor simply don’t belong in a restaurant such as decorations that hang down from the ceiling. Keep your table areas clear of clutter and clean and you’ll be onto a winner.

  • Make sure that you’ve got a clear greeting area for your customers to book themselves in. Having a cluttered area will make your business look disorganized and it can come across as unclean.

  • Choose your furniture wisely. Much alike decor in a restaurant, having the wrong kind of furniture to sit on and eat your food on will leave a lasting impression – and not a good one either. RC supplies online have perfect examples of furniture for all different kinds of eating establishments, so take a look to give yourself some inspiration.

  • Decor and furniture isn’t always the only thing that can put customers off. Have your staff members in matching and neat uniform will create a sense of professionalism and also help determine who is a member of staff and who isn’t. You should also encourage friendly and upbeat attitudes with your staff members, as the opposite will give your business a bad name.

Demand qualifications

Speaking of staff members, filling a kitchen full of chefs isn’t as easy as you may think. Anybody can walk into an interview and claim they’ve got experience in a kitchen, but for the sake of your business, you should demand qualifications in the field to ensure you’re hiring experienced chefs. Not only that, your chefs will also make your life easier by already knowing the routine and expectations that a kitchen demands. Jobs such as cleaning, food hygiene, and even presentation of food won’t be something you have to worry about as much.

Fine dining or casual

One thing that you need to decide before opening a restaurant, is what kind of eating establishment you want to run – casual or fine dining. It’s important to know the difference between the two so that you can make a decision based on the type of eatery you want:

Fine dining requires better than the best service. You can expect many food critics to want to check your food out, and this will involve punishing tests throughout their visit such as cutlery being placed on the floor to see if your servers notice. This kind of restaurant will also require a higher standard of food in the sense of both presentation and quality of food. In fine dining, there is also practically no limit on food times, as long as it comes out the quality your customer is expecting. Fine dining restaurants often receive michelin stars from critics because of the standards that are upheld. You can expect to charge more for this kind of service though, so it’s definitely something to consider.

Casual food is much more relaxed. While you will still need to ensure that your food is cooked to standards and that your chefs are following correct rules in a kitchen, you won’t have to worry as much about presentation with your food. This is because you’ll be expected to have fairly priced food that’s on your customers tables faster than if you were running a fine dining restaurant. You will still have to impress critics, but not to the standard of fine dining.

Use HOTS service

No matter what kind of eatery you’re planning on running, good service is always a priority. In the catering industry, maintaining a reputable service can be difficult, especially if you’ve got a particularly difficult customer. A great routine to follow when it comes to service is the HOTS service:

H – Hello
O – Offer
T – Thank
S – Smile

A simple premise that won’t let you down in regards to providing service to be proud of.

Build excitement

One thing is for sure, you can’t expect people to pile into your restaurant if they don’t know you even exist. Sure, you’ll have some customers from passersby, but you need to make sure that you build excitement to keep people coming in and also coming back for more. In this day and age, the best way of building excitement is through social media. With approximately 215 minutes per week, per person being spent on social media, it’s no wonder that it’s the most efficient and easiest way of getting your message across. Excite people by posting regular updates, pictures of your food, awards or achievements that your restaurant or staff have received and most importantly, free food. Offering a free meal in the form of a competition will excite and entice people.

Act on feedback

Feedback from your customers is another extremely important factor to take note of. While you might feel like your service is up to standard, and that your food is second to none, you need to look at the overall reviews of your restaurant. If the majority of customers aren’t impressed with what you’re serving, it’s time to make a chance. After all, the customer is always right.

It’s always handy to keep a review box where your customers can write an anonymously leave reviews for your restaurant. You should also welcome reviews on your social media pages so that you can take note of them. Not only that, if someone leaves a bad review of your restaurant, you’ll be able to rectify it much easier.

Clue up on food laws

Lastly, but certainly not the least, it’s imperative to clue up on your food laws. Depending on where you live, there might be different laws that need to be abided by. Make sure that yourself, your front of house staff, and your kitchen staff are well versed so that you can practice top standards of food hygiene and not risk having your kitchen shut down.