Part 3: Content Websites & Social Media for Business

By Eugene Bekker in Business Protection 1 Comment

Part 3: Content websites & social media 

Content Websites & Social Media 

Last month, we discussed the basic tools needed to stand up a business website. Here’s a quick overview of what we covered: 

  • Small businesses often face a dilemma between moving business online and weighing business costs. 
  • Wix, SquareSpace and Shopify are three user-friendly web-hosting providers that offer both free and paid service options. 

This month, we’ll be focusing on websites and other online platforms ­– specifically social media – that can be leveraged by your business for marketing and informational purposes. Now that you have the basics, it’s time to start thinking about the goals you want your business website to achieve. 

Your business goals will ultimately determine if a content-based website is right for you. Stay tuned for Part 4 of this series if you believe your business would benefit more from an eCommerce website. 
Continue reading

Part 2: Secure Websites on a Small Business Budget

By Eugene Bekker in Business Protection 0 Comment

Part 2: Secure websites on a small business budget 

The Small Biz Conundrum: Staying Current Online 

There’s nothing wrong with taking a proactive approach to cutting costs where you can within your business. But even with your small business budget, cutting costs around web hosting services could end up harming your business more than it would help. 

Let’s look at ways you can work smarter instead of harder when it comes to creating or updating a website for your small business. 

Business Website Security Tips

• Determine what you want your business website to do.
• Do your research on reputable web hosting providers.
• Don’t risk the implications of a misconfigured website to cut business costs.
• Consider the information your website will collect.
• Determine how the information you collect will be stored and shared.

Continue reading

Intro: How To Establish a Secure Online Presence

By Eugene Bekker in Business Protection 0 Comment

Introduction: Creating an online presence for your small business  

Small Business Owners: The Unsung Heroes

Small business owners can be considered the unsung heroes of the business world. Even with a fraction of the resources and budgets that larger businesses have, small business owners still face the same challenges that all businesses experience.

One of those challenges is strategically aligning your business offerings with consumer trends. And with more than 4 billion users on the Internet (80 percent of them using smartphones), businesses are feeling the pressure to move online with them. Continue reading

Lessons Learned From Data Breaches in 2017

By Laura Bruck in Business Protection 0 Comment

Same Problem, Different Landscape

Reading about data breaches on paper never does the concept justice. Hearing that data breaches in 2017 were – and continue to be – “big problems” for all types of organizations can desensitize us to the true implications of a data breach event. 

The inevitability of data breaches can leave companies feeling defeated, and the monetary losses tied to these security incidents only adds to the damages. Throw in the thought of unhappy complaints from customers or clients about protecting their sensitive information, dealing with the legal consequences and hits to your business’ public reputation – and you’ve got yourself a perfect data breach storm.

The truth is that a data breach will impact more than just the business itself. It affects customers, clients, employees and vendors too. Let’s review some of the data breaches that occurred in 2017, see what we can learn from the mistakes that were made and improve overall data breach prevention and response in the new year. Continue reading