Fight Cyber Attacks in a Big Way

Fight Cyber Attacks in a Big Way

As a small business, if you’ve been keeping your fingers crossed hoping that you won’t become target of a cyber attack, your luck may be running out. Just because big corporations, such as Target, have been hit hard, who’s to say that you’re immune? Sure, you are a small business and maybe you think you’re just a blip on the radar in the business world, but if someone wants to get access to your information they will find a way. If you are a business of any size, you have private customer and employee information that should never get into the wrong hands. Regardless of the size of your company or the number or your employees, it’s vital to protect yourself against cyber attacks. Here are a few ways to stay a little bit safer without losing sleep at night.

Amp Up Security

 

Many big businesses, avoiding a cyber attack or after the unfortunate success of an attack, move to amp up their security by hiring a privacy analyst. Unfortunately, small businesses may not have the financial means to hire an expensive but valuable employee for their business. Does that mean you should just hope for the best? Not unless you consider yourself a good gambler.

 

Even though a privacy analyst may not be possible for every business, cybercrime prevention must be a step in any type and size of business. So, maybe if you can’t afford a full-time privacy analyst, you can hire someone to help you implement a cyber attack plan.

Employees You Can Trust

 

A problematic employee can make or break a small business. In addition to having a good employee that understands and shares your passion for your business, he or she must also be a trustworthy individual. For instance, if your business handles a lot of confidential information, you need to know that your employees will respect and commit to privacy. Additionally, you need to know that all of your personal and professional information will be kept private and not shared with the wrong people.

 

Educate your employees about cyber attacks and encourage them to have a smart and safe online presence. It may seem like a “no brainer”, but people often forget about online security, particularly if they’ve never been attacked. Teach your employees (and remind yourself) to be cautious when using social media, change and have multiple passwords for accounts, and pay attention to fraudster-like activity such as suspicious customer complaints.

 

Stay in the Loop

Once you build up your cyber security and have your cyber attack prevention plan in place, don’t think that the work is done. Cyber attackers evolve as quickly as technology and they continuously find ways to retrieve sensitive and confidential information that can destroy even the smallest of companies. One of the best ways to avoid your chances of becoming a cybercrime victim is staying up to date on security technology and other news in the cyber world. If you can’t have an employee solely dedicated to your security, consult with a professional every couple of months to make sure you are on track.

5 Ways to Avoid Startup Failure

These days it’s not uncommon for someone to change career plans and decide to start up a small business. The great thing is that it’s socially acceptable. Everyone is cheering each other on, saying “go for it!” and “what have you got to lose?” and in reality, some startups succeed and some fail. Maybe you’re ready to ditch corporate America and open up that specialty shop or maybe you finally decided to be an independent consultant rather than rely on being part of a company. If you’ve got the patience and the drive, there’s no doubt you can get started. In order to stay on the right track and be successful, there are some things that you should avoid doing that often lead to the failure of a start up. Make a couple of “right” moves to avoid failure and you’ll be happy you went after your dream job.
Be Confident, Even When You’re Not

Once you begin to establish your startup, it’s important to have familial and friend support, but you need to be confident in your startup and your ability to succeed. If you constantly second guess every decision, how do you expect to sell your ideas and promote your business to others? Sure, a startup is a big, scary, and often times risky decision, but you need to be confident for the sake of your customers, your employees, and yourself. If you fail to be confident, your startup is likely to fail.
Ask For Feedback and Advice

Startup businesses can be intensely personal; a part of you. Unless you have years of experience running your own business, you may need a mentor or consultant. Find someone who you respect and trust to bounce ideas off of, yet someone who is not part of your personal circle (spouse, family, best friend).
Hire the Right People

The beginning stages of a startup are often a whirlwind. You may not expect needing employees right away, but then all of a sudden you do. Eager to keep the business moving forward, you hire the first person who seems qualified. Hiring the wrong people can break your business. Choose people who understand your plan and vision and show potential for having the same passion. It may take a while, but it’s worth the search.
Be Original

Many new startup business owners want to own a business, but rather than choosing something they are passionate about, they base their plan on what’s trending. While this is important to do to some extent, don’t “copy and paste” another existing business. For example, if you are really interested in making specialty cakes, you need to create a style or a product that will set you apart from every other trendy cake shop in your city. The most successful startups are a perfect balance of originality and trend.
Listen to Your Clientele

Your customers will make or break your business. If you don’t care how your customers perceive your business or your products, then you probably don’t care whether or not your business will succeed. Ask for feedback, even if you may not want to hear the truth. Whether customer feedback is positive or negative, listening, learning, and taking action can help your startup grow and have a better chance at returning customers.

Benefits of Joining Professional Networking and Advocacy Associations

Benefits of Joining Professional Networking and Advocacy Associations

178915467As is true in most professional industries, many benefits are available to attorneys who opt to join professional networking or advocacy associations. Having your own practice, or even practicing at another attorney’s law firm, is hard work. While you alone may be able to accomplish a great deal, joining a professional networking association or legal advocacy association allows an attorney to tap into a legal resource pool and coalition of alliances he or she may have never dreamed possible. This can be beneficial to your clients, as well as go a long way towards protecting clients’ rights.

Attorney Makes a Difference as President of the NC Advocates for Justice

Elizabeth City, N.C., attorney Danny Glover Jr. has been recognized as one of his state’s top car accident attorneys, having received a 10.0 Superb Rating on Avvo. In addition to all of the legal publications and Continuing Legal Education (CLE) manuscripts in which his writings can be found, Glover’s work has been highly praised by his clients and colleagues.

As he has learned first-hand the benefits of joining professional networking and advocacy associations, Glover values his membership with the N.C. Advocates for Justice (NCAJ), National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers and AVVO. Having been a proud member of the NCAJ for close to two decades, Glover was recently elected president of the organization.

In his experience, he finds that what he (along with the 3,500 members of the NCAJ) has been able to accomplish in recent years far exceeds anything he could have done on his own. In fact, Glover not only believes membership in the NCAJ has been extremely helpful to his clients, but he also credits the NCAJ with organizing meetings and events, where attorneys from all different fields of law can openly converse and gain valuable insight into their own fields of law.

The Value of Developing a Network of Colleagues to Offer Input and Support

While every state has different types of professional peer-based organizations individuals can join to help them develop a network of colleagues capable of providing valuable input and support, not all attorneys avail themselves of these groups. This is unfortunate, particularly due to the fact that neglecting to build a network like this can actually hinder your rate of success as an attorney. It can also deny you many other benefits including:

  • Access to expert witnesses
  • Assistance with gaining an understanding of certain laws and legal jargon
  • Important business connections
  • Advocates for legislative changes
  • Peer community you can turn to for guidance
  • Like-minded associates
  • A stronger voice in state legislative issues
  • Continuing legal education
  • Ability to remain informed about the latest legal developments
  • Promotion of your services, through the organization’s directory

If you are a practicing attorney, who has not yet developed a network of colleagues who can offer you input and support when you need it, we recommend you take the time to do so. Research organizations in your area and find those which have similar goals and objectives to yours. The rewards available to you by being part of a professional network and advocacy association are many.