Is Your Online Business Safe?

Is Your Online Business Safe?

by | Apr 18, 2018 | Blog

Implementing proper security measures in your business is essential for protecting your intellectual property. Here are my eight tips for keeping your online business safe.

1 – Use Multiple Passwords
It might seem like a hassle, but you’re better off using a different secure password for every site you hold an account on. This way, if one of your passwords is ever discovered, your information on other sites will still be protected. If juggling multiple passwords around in your head feels like too much of a chore, I recommend getting your hands on LastPass, a software that will allow you to have a single master password to protect, store, manage, and access all your others. It also contains a variety of extra features, such as a form-filling function, a password generator tool, and two-factor authentication for added security.

2 – Back It Up!
Your website is your storefront. It represents your brand, sets the stage for your business, and is your primary medium through which you communicate information to your clients. Keep it safe; back it up. For WordPress users, Updraft is an excellent program that will automatically backup your website at a regular interval of your choosing (every 4, 8, or 12 hours, daily, weekly, biweekly, or monthly). It can also assist in moving your entire site to a different domain, and will even trigger automatic backups before major WordPress updates to ensure that your data and formatting is not negatively affected.

3 – Back It All Up!
I highly recommend that you invest in an external hard drive and backup your entire computer on a regular basis. Studies show that only about 5% of people back up their data on a daily basis, and yet over 90% of businesses that suffer major data loss go out of business within a year. Be one of the smart ones; your clients and your future self will appreciate the initiative and added sense of security. Seagate manufactures an excellent and diverse line of external hard drives for any budget. At the time of writing this post, a 1-terabyte drive runs around $80, but if you can set aside a little more, you can score a 6-terabyte drive for just under $200, and even less on a sale.

4 – Own Your Content
All files stored in cloud services such a Google Drive, Dropbox, or OneDrive should be created within your account so that you are the owner. Be careful about to whom you grant permission to modify your files. Finally, be sure to thoroughly read the user agreements of any cloud service you use to ensure that their policy is in your best interest. Don’t trust a cloud service with protecting your intellectual property before you read what you’re signing up for!

5 – Stay Up to Date
Be sure to update your computer’s operating system and software regularly. This will ensure top-notch performance, and in the event that you should run into technical issues, it will make troubleshooting a whole lot easier. Also, be sure to stay current with your security updates. You may feel pestered by being prompted to update your antivirus software on a weekly or even daily basis, but malware accounts for a surprising percentage of data loss cases; up to 7%. Don’t be one of the unlucky few!

6 – Protect Your Network
Ensure that your wireless network and its associated password are protected. Avoid sharing your password with visitors. You can always create a “guest” network for sharing with visitors, but change the password to this one often. For extra security, consider acquiring VPN software. This will help you protect your IP address while browsing. Your intellectual property is valuable; if you’re planning on both running your business and shopping online through the same computer, make sure you take that extra step to keep your network secure.

7 – Standard Operating Procedures
Optimize your workflow by taking the time to document the steps you take to complete tasks. Putting together a set of standard operating procedures will ensure that your business’ daily tasks are managed in a more consistent, closely monitored, and ultimately secure manner. If a team member leaves or is absent, others will easily be able to take over in their place and keep things running with little disruption. Finally, it will bring you great peace of mind to get that flurry of information out of your head, onto paper, and then perfected.

8 – Get it in Writing
All is good – until it isn’t. When you’re starting out, it’s tempting to put together a team made up of a small group of friends and operate on an honour system. While this can work great, it comes with its own security risks. The integrity of your team is critical; even a little bit of disorganization on their part can seriously compromise your business’ security. For this reason, I suggest you have written agreements with all your team members. Delegate who handles what. Set rules for how sensitive information is handled. Make sure everyone understands what is expected of them, and the consequences of not meeting those expectations.

Need help putting these ideas into action? Want to learn even more about how to keep your business secure? Schedule a complimentary discovery call with me, and we’ll get you on the right track! 

Vacation? What Vacation?

Vacation? What Vacation?

by | Apr 11, 2018 | Blog

I’ll be the first to admit that it can be really hard for me to unplug from my business. My phone is with me all the time. I’m checking it at all hours of the day, and if something pops up that requires my attention, I take care of it right away.  

My relationship with myself is admittedly a work in progress, but putting together a team has helped me enjoy a little downtime. Now, with their help, I may finally be able to take a proper vacation, leaving my computer and iPhone behind for the first time in a very long time.

When your systems are all there in your head, it’s normal to be skeptical about bringing in outside help. You might say to yourself: “it would take me forever to teach someone to do what I do. What’s the point?” You might worry about falling behind in your business, and seeing it fall apart as a result. The trick here is to take the time to get your systems documented, and then perfect them. Then, automate what you can, and delegate the rest to others. Delegation isn’t always easy, but once you’ve put together a team that you can trust, and have set systems in place to ensure they know what to do and how to do it, you’ll find that the payoff is well worth the effort.

The next step is, of course, making time for yourself. For most of us, this is the biggest challenge. It may seem contradictory, but the truth is that if you can take the time to systematize, automate, and delegate, you will ultimately end up with more free time to spend with your loved ones and do the things you enjoy.

The solution? Hire someone to help you set the systems in place that will allow you to have the work-life balance you’ve always dreamed of, and that drove you to start your own business in the first place. It’s an investment that will give back to you many times over. Then, you can finally take that vacation, without your laptop and your computer, and enjoy your time away without worrying about your business at all. Priceless!

Did this speak to you? Do you not know where to start? What are you waiting for? Sign up for a discovery call, and we’ll get started on a plan just for you!

Is Your Business Ready for the Unexpected?

Is Your Business Ready for the Unexpected?

by | Apr 4, 2018 | Blog

Would your business continue on without your daily input if you were called away today? Is your business ready for the unexpected?

There are many reasons in life that could cause you to have to leave your business for an extended amount of time – pregnancy, adoption, caring for a loved one and personal medical issues are a few. The thing is, we really don’t know what is around the corner. And being prepared for unexpected events such as these are so often not thought of until they happen, and you are left scrambling around to keep things afloat and running.

Preparing for the unexpected is just good business, and can save you money, time and stress. But where do you start?

Here are three important areas in your business to consider in such circumstances:

I. Customer Communication

Retaining and attracting new customers is imperative so that your business doesn’t atrophy.

Content: Having content that is prepared in advance and ready to go by way of welcome and nurturing sequences, passive product funnels, waitlists and autoresponders keep your clients, established and new, satisfied and coming back for more.

Customer support: Having a system in place where your customers can get support if they need it in your absence is vital.  

II. Workflow

Systems and Guidelines:  The daily workflow of your business should be established with systems and guidelines that allow your team to continue on without your input, and according to your wishes.  

Chain of Command:  So that all team members know where to get the information and guidance they need in your absence, a chain of command should be established and the main contact person designated.

Workflow Distribution:  Having the right people doing the right things for their skill level is extremely important for cost efficiency.

III. Team Members

Training Existing Team Members: At times, it makes sense to train existing team members to take on additional responsibilities, if she or he has the capabilities to do so.  

Onboarding New Members: Part of your preparation could also include onboarding a new team member such as an OBM or a retainer VA to bring in the skills set that you require in your absence.    

Standard Operating Procedures: Having documentation showing the workflow and how-tos for different tasks saves a great deal of time and frustration if one of your team members leaves unexpectedly and others must take over their task load, or when onboarding.   Without proper SOPs, the time spent (and cost) outsourcing and training a new team member can be daunting, and takes many valuable hours away from the core activities of your business. Think of your SOP as an insurance policy, both for your day-to-day business and your sanity.    

Is your business ready for the unexpected?  Set up a complimentary discovery call with me to find out!  

Have any comments, suggestions, or personal experiences you want to share?  Please comment below!

My Top-10 Tech Tools for Online Entrepreneurs

My Top-10 Tech Tools for Online Entrepreneurs

by | Jan 24, 2018 | Blog

These days, technology has really made it simple for entrepreneurs to get online and do their “thang” with a variety of tech tools, many of which are free or very low cost.  Here is a list of my personal recommendations, to help you get started.

  1. LastPass Password Protection

Before you do anything, please get a password protection software such as LastPass.  This will allow you to create individual, strong passwords for each of the sites and tech tools that you use regularly.  LastPass is also available as a google chrome plugin, so once you are logged in, it will autofill any of the passwords you have instructed it to when you visit a site that you have registered.  Super convenient, and protects your important data.   Plus it allows you to share your password with others, for a limited amount of time in a secure fashion, without disclosing the password itself.    Don’t wait to do this – more time is wasted trying to remember and/or reset usernames and passwords, time that can be much better spent catering to your raving fans. And VERY IMPORTANT:  Don’t lose your master password.  Make it great, memorize it and never forget it!  🙂  Bonus – LastPass is also available as an app on your smartphone.

  1. A Digital Calendar

Google calendar and iCal are amazing and versatile tools, that can be used for much more than just appointments:

  • Categorize your appointment types by color, creating timeslots for your business appointments, plus working time, exercise, family time – you name it;
  • Add tasks to keep track of your “to do” list that keeps tasks following you automatically day by day until you check them off as done;
  • Add a reminder, or several, to keep you on track;
  • Keep track of your budget by indicating due dates  as tasks so you don’t forget to pay a bill;
  • Customize your calendar with colors, backgrounds, or even the weather, to name a few.

Your calendar can be your best friend when it comes to productivity.  When you are starting out or in a period of growth, every shiny object is out there sparkling away for your attention, and staying on track with the things you need to do to grow your business can be difficult, if not downright impossible at times.  Do yourself a favor and set up good habits from the beginning, and schedule your work and play time. You can always modify things as you go along!

  1. Website / Hosting Service

First, you will need a domain name (your website URL), and a hosting service – somewhere where your website is stored and allows it to be seen on the internet.  Depending on your chosen provider, hosting can be a monthly or a yearly fee.  BlueHost, my chosen hosting service, usually starting at $7.99 per month, had a special on for $2.95 per month, including the domain – paid in advance for 1 year (at time of posting).

This part can be confusing, and more often than not, something you don’t really want to be dealing with.  BlueHost has a great support team, and are ready and available when you need help.

I strongly recommend that while you are setting up your hosting service and domain, that you do two important things:  1) That you make note of all of the URL addresses of the different accounts, and usernames and passwords you have assigned.  This is something that you will need to access from time to time, usually when there is something urgent to do like update information, and these passwords are often forgotten.  And 2) that you set up a backup service to ensure that your site gets backed up automatically at least once a week.  Safety first as I say – you don’t want to lose all your hard work!  There are many plugins available for this purpose.

  1. WordPress

When it comes to website creation, there are plenty of options out there.  However, for the newbies, especially those that are tech challenged, WordPress is one of the easiest ways to create a beautiful website in a short time.  WordPress is hands down the most popular option for creating your website content and will grow with your business and best of all, it’s free!

Next, you will need a theme.  Wordpress comes with a few themes for free which will definitely do the job.  But Divi is my most favorite and features a visual builder that makes it so easy to create a beautiful website.  Divi is available at a yearly option, which is $89, or $249 for unlimited use (at time of posting). Well worth the cost, and can be applied to all of your sites, as well as those of your clients, if you are a website developer.

  1. Active Campaign

There is no doubt about it – I love Active Campaign.  Active Campaign grows with your business and eliminates the need for funnel software and a migration so many other platforms require when your needs outgrow their functionality.  The cost is only $9 per month for a list of 500 or less, $17 for 1000 (at time of posting).  Building funnels, automations, templates and integrating with a huge variety of other tech tools make this indispensable in nurturing and growing your list.

  1. Leadpages

Create beautiful landing pages that convert with LeadPages – an easy to use tool with a drag and drop functionality that makes it easy to set up lead capturing pages for your website, or sales campaign.

Leadpages also offers split testing with analytics, so you can zero in on the content that is converting best.  Simply put, Leadpages is the leader in landing pages IMO!

  1. Calendly

If you are a service based industry you will want a way to set up appointments with your clients, and Calendly is my favorite.  It is a free service that you can set up to link to your google calendar, ending double booking, and back and forth emails trying to set up a mutually convenient time.  There is also a paid version that allows you to set up multiple appointment types, starting at $10 per month (at time of posting).

  1. Buffer

Posting your content on social media is important so you can continue to reach more people and grow your list. Buffer is only $10 a month for the Awesome Package (at time of posting this article), and integrates with all your favorite social media platforms, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and  Google+.  Buffer also works with Pinterest, making it a one-stop shop for sharing your content.  The awesome package allows you to schedule posts to up to 10 profiles, and up to 100 posts in the queue.  There are a variety of small business packages as well.

  1. Canva

Canva is a little marvel that makes creating graphics a piece of cake.  There are pre-sized templates for any type of use you could imagine. Canva for business allows you to store your logo and branding colors and fonts for quick access.  There is a free trial, and then $12.95 per month (at time of posting).  You can invite team members as well, so all your branding stays consistent.

  1. Support

If this list leaves you sweating out the “how do I learn all of this?” heebie-jeebies, fear not.  There are qualified people out there that can help.  There is no doubt that bootstrapping it and learning the basics is a good idea if you do not yet have the resources to have a team member.  But there will inevitably come a time when “doing all the things” will no longer serve you, and you will need to find a team member or members to free up your time for the things only you can do.  An Online Business Manager, or OBM, can be your best friend when it comes to readying yourself for a team.

I will end this by saying, there are many, many tech tools out there that can do what you need them to do, and more.  This list is by no means a one-size-fits-all recipe – each business will have its own unique needs.  If you need help choosing the best ones for you, click here to schedule a complimentary discovery call and I will be more than pleased to help out!

Full disclaimer:  Occasionally I use affiliate links. If you purchase through my affiliate link, I may receive a commission, at no extra cost to you.