Having a profitable business is the source of your livelihood, providing a way to put food on the table for the family. Securing a business is of paramount importance just to keep things afloat and balanced. Learn more about to improve the security of your business.
1. Get on social media
Let’s face it, the internet is an integral part of people’s lives to the point it has completely taking over the way humans communicate with each other all across the world. People spend more time online than with their own families. If you want to solidify the security of your business and create a new clientele that stretches to every part of the globe, open up a Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Instagram social media accounts to push your business to the masses. This is the ultimate form of advertising, so use it! More exposure means more customers.
2. Protect all data
Users’ sensitive information is getting exposed by the millions because a corporation failed to take proper digital precautions. It is very easy to underestimate criminals in the cyber world, but your business would truly flourish if you implement proper security measures ahead of time. Customers will learn to trust their credit card information, addresses, email addresses, and phone numbers in your system. Moreover, you could get sued if your system is not secured properly and that can be proven in court. One way to protect your business is by improving your knowledge about cybersecurity and teaching it to your employees so they can also take the proper precautions. Employ IT directors or white hat hackers who will monitor vulnerabilities. Get SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encrypted technologies, so when customers input data on your website the protective measures are already in place to prevent hackers from penetrating the server.
3. Reach out to communicate with customers
Always be in the business of reaching out to your customers and communicating with other businesses in the same industry. You can learn a lot from them both! This is a basic rule of marketing. The more you talk about your products or present your business to the masses, the more customers will become familiar and choose your company over the next when they need the service. This is why booking commercial time on television or buying ad time online are so important. The word about your business could reach hundreds of thousands to millions of people if promoted on the right medium. Studies show that targeted ads can make customers change the way they feel about themselves, which translates in the way they feel about the products they buy. Always be in the business of advertising your business. Also send emails, physical letters in the mail, and hand out flyers. Do whatever it takes. The more you advertise the better. The more people who know about your business, the more they will most likely buy something from there.
4. Bookkeeping
Always keep track of all the paperwork of every transaction your business makes. You will need them later. You can use filing cabinets to keep physical paperwork or use a cloud server like Google or IBM to keep digital copies. Always create a copy or backup of all paperwork. Certain expenses could be written off during tax time. You would need to prove to the IRS that you purchased these items specifically for your business. Moreover, proper bookkeeping keeps scammers from trying to pull a fast one on you. Paperwork will prove what happened and when.
5. Do not hire unqualified family members.
Many business owners have bad habits of hiring their own family members to work in their company. Obviously, hiring family members during the beginning stage is a good idea because they might work for free temporarily, which could help get things started. It’s human nature to want to take care of loved ones. They mean the world. It is only natural to hire them as an employee or make them a business partner. On the flip side, however, this is a huge mistake because if an incompetent family member is in charge of management duties, they can literally run a business right into the ground. If you happen to have a fall out with the family member over a non-business issue they might take their anger out on the business and literally destroy everything you have worked so hard for.
6. Implement physical security measures
Thieves seek out places that are vulnerable and have valuable items just sitting around that they can easily get. Some basic security measures are having CCTV cameras, reinforced steel bars on the door, and a controlled locking mechanism that only be accessed from the front desk. Get anti-shatter or bulletproof glass if the business is located in a rough area. It’s better to be safe than sorry! Have a security guard on site, not only to monitor the CCTV cameras but also acting as doorman or chauffeur. Just having a security guard on site can deter criminals.
7. Do what works
There was an art vendor who was making a steady amount of money in a certain area. However, a customer told the vendor about another area where there would be a big function with a lot of people. He wanted to go there for the potential to make even more money than his usual area. He invested in some t-shirts to go sell at this function. After the function ended, he only had $30 to his name from 2 customers. One art print with glass and frame costs $50 to $300 and he gets an average of 5 customers a day in his usual area.
The moral of this story is if something is working, keep on doing it! Never switch it for something new unless you know without a shadow of a doubt you will increase profits. Testing a certain product or system is good temporarily way to see if it works. Never leave your main source of money for something new that has not proven its worthiness.
8. Be open to new ideas and knowledge
Business owners are very busy. You become a machine forced to deal with hundreds of problems. When someone makes suggestions sometimes the first reaction is rejection. You just don’t have the time to listen. Understandable. However, just calm down and fall back for a moment and listen to them because hey might have some powerful information that you don’t know about. If a business is suffering, listen to all the advice that you can get from other business owners, friends, and family. It will prove valuable!