Along with my friend eth3real (and some pitching in from our new friend Brian), we teamed up as DefCon828 and won the Capture the Flag contest at BSides Asheville today. The loot was some cool WiFi Pineapple gear.
Last month, Jess and I won 1st and 2nd place respectively at BlueRidgeCon. I do feel bad about missing out on the lectures, talks, and socialization at these awesome conferences, but I can’t stay away from the CTFs. It’s bad.
Whatever kind of business you might happen to run, one of the major things you will always need to consider is how you can try to keep your finances in tact. No matter what else, you need to make sure you focus on this, otherwise you will easily have no business at all before too long. By making use of certain technology, fortunately, you can easily make it much easier to do this, so that is something that you might want to think about in future. To help you with that, we are now going to take a look at some of the top ways to use technology to keep your business finances in tact for as long as possible. As long as you consider the following, you can be sure of your business finances being in a much better situation on the whole.
There will always be times when you need to bill people, whether that is because you are running something like a medical practice and need to bill patients, or because you have any kind of public service going on. Billing, however is fraught with difficulties, and they are things that can lead to some genuine financial worries later on if you are not careful. That’s hwy using official and professional billing software such as http://www.openpracticesolutions.com/solutions/statement-processing/ is likely to make a huge difference, as it will enusre that you can much more easily keep control of all of these figures. That will mean your customer feels more secure in their transaction with you as well, so it is definitely worth doing for a number of reasons.
If only you could predict the future – then you would know where to put the money in the organization. Wlel, while you can never genuinely predict the future, you can use special software to get a generally good idea of what is likely to happen with your business, or at least a few options which might be worth considering. Using predictive software in this way will ensure that you are able to make the right decisions much more often, so it might be one of the best uses of technology that there are in business. It will mean knowing what to do with your money early on, so that you don’t need to be hit unexpectedly by anything that might happen.
Using technology to help you budget is always going to be a good idea as well, but only insofar as you look over everything yourself as well. Nothing should be signed off without human eyes looking over it at least once, but the truth is that computers can sdo most of the hard work for you these days. If you input exactly what you need to have spent money on, and what you are getting in, you will find that even a simple spreadsheet software will be able to be a huge help here. This will definitely lead to a better-run business if you use it in the right way, so it is a good idea to look into it. See https://www.capterra.com/budgeting-software/ for the best budgeting software.
When you started up your business you understood from the very beginning how important security is. So many businesses fail because they are hacked into or exposed by geniuses behind screens. Security can be the one essential thing that is letting your small business down, so it’s time to get to grips with it. Whether you’re a technological wizard or a technophobe, there are several security measures you need to have in place when you own a small business. This will prevent anything untoward from happening to your company and will ensure that you private details are kept under wraps.
Perfect Privacy
The way in which your internet is connected will make for a safe or unsafe environment for your business. You absolutely need to invest in a VPN, (which stands for Virtual Private Network) if you value your online privacy at all. When a VPN is used all of your internet traffic is diverted through a private tunnel, so that meddling eyes can’t view your online activity. This is especially important for business owners because you need to keep your personal and business information secure. Look online and compare vpn providers, so that you can feel fully at ease with your internet connection.
Password Protection
Your password might be something as simple as your dog’s name or the name of the street you live on. Hackers can put together a jigsaw of information from everybody who operates online. If you are using an obvious password like this, then there is a high risk you are going to get hacked. It can be a pain to remember long numerical passwords containing several cases and special characters, but it is so important to adhere to these guidelines. You will be putting your business and your clients at risk if you don’t have solid, strong passwords for every piece of software and online programme you use. Never share your passwords with anybody and don’t write them down in an obvious place. Try and use different passwords for varying programmes too so that if one gets compromised the others will be safe.
Financial Fall-backs
All of your financial information is going to be stored online in some way. If a hacker manages to get their hands on this you will be majorly in trouble. If you receive a text or an email from your bank asking for personal details and passwords, make sure you do not reply to it. Report it to your bank straight away and let them know you have been a victim of a phishing attack. The more people who come forward with these cases the better, as it will stop the hackers in their tracks.
You want your business to survive and thrive in the current economic climate and the only way to do this is by keeping your data safe. Not only is your private and confidential information important but your customer’s information could be under threat too. That is arguably the more important aspect of your business to protect; otherwise you will be compromising their personal privacy. Make sure your finances are secure and your data is all covered and you will be set for success in the business world.
Running a business can be very stressful these days, especially when you are often still learning things as you go. So it is important to look at what you can do to improve your chances of success in the corporate world. One of the best things you can do is focus on getting better qualifications. This is going to give you a much better chance of running a successful business.
You need to look at doing what you can to enhance your experience and use it to take the company forward. Getting better qualifications is important for improving yourself personally, and it’s something you need to look at moving forward. So, these are some of the things it’s worth keeping in mind when you look to expand your business acumen with better qualifications.
You might be wondering why getting better qualifications matters in a business sense. Well, the first thing to consider is that it improves your knowledge and experience of a particular area of business. If you are looking to improve your business, then you need to improve your knowledge and skill set. This is also important even if you don’t run a business because it helps improve your job prospects in the future. Employers want to hire people who are knowledgeable and have experience over other candidates.
But, before you think about advancing your qualifications and trying to improve your education and knowledge, you also need to think about what is right for you. There are loads of different qualifications you might consider getting that would be pertinent to the business world, but they have to be right for you. Improving your IT knowledge would be a good idea, but perhaps you’re thinking “Is computer science for me?” Well, this is an important question because not every qualification is suited to every person. The best thing to do is think about what parts of business you are interested in, and the areas you feel are most important and try to learn more about those.
Currently, if you’re being honest, there are probably quite a few things that are letting your small business down. And one of them might be that you are lacking in confidence as a leader. By getting better qualified, you’re going to be well-placed to ensure that you broaden your knowledge and skills and that you improve your confidence at the same time as well. The more you learn, the better your confidence will become, and you will improve your ability to do your job. Becoming a more confident business owner is so essential for putting you on the path to greater success.
These are some of the things you need to consider when it comes to improving your business and enhancing your skills as a business owner. You need to make sure you come up with as many ideas as you can to help you be a more confident and able business leader, and this is something to consider in that respect.
Running a small business isn’t always easy. Although it can feel like a total dream to set up your own business, it can often be a lot harder to manage than you’ll ever know. But when you want to work from home, for financial or lifestyle reasons, then you’ll often be okay with that. As long as you’re thinking of the bigger picture, and you know that this is going to take time and patience, then you’ll be okay. But at the same time, if you do know that you’re struggling, and you’re not sure why, you’ll often need some help to figure it all out. Because when you’re not doing so well, and your mind is in the business at all times, you won’t always know what you’re doing wrong. So you have to be able to change that.
First of all, one of the most common issues is that you’ll experience a lack of direction. You may not know where you’re going, or what you need to do to succeed. Sometimes this is down to passion, and not really having your heart in it. When that’s the case, you may be better off finding a different business idea to work on. But at the same time, you may find that you absolutely adore your business idea, you just need some tips on how to move forward. When that’s the case, you’ll want to go back to basics and do your research (particularly on point five’s topic).
But maybe that’s not it. Maybe you know exactly where you’re going and exactly what you want to do, but you’re just not organized enough to execute on it. And that’s okay, because this is easy to fix. If you’re not good at organization yourself, then you need to bring someone in. You’ll want to work on diary management, email management, and storage. Stop what you’re doing and nail this first. When you do, you’ll find that you can execute much more efficiently.
You may even find that it’s something like you’re equipment that’s been letting you down. When this is the case, you’ll want to bring in something such as ProviDyn, Inc. to assist you. When you have your equipment managed and serviced, you’ll be less likely to experience issues and they’ll be resolved when you do.
Sometimes, you’ll just have unreliable staff or suppliers and this is always going to hold you back. So, you’ll want to spend some time seeking out the best. Even if you have to pay more, it’s always best to know that you’re hiring someone reliable.
Finally, you’re going to want to look at your marketing efforts too. If they’re non-existent, then you really need to be able to change that. Look to key resources, such as The Balance, and freshen up your ideas. When you go at this aggressively, you’ll be more likely to see results.
Running a business is one of those things that is never going to be plain sailing. There is so much you have to think about and to keep things moving, you need to think about a lot of things and this is when technology can really help you. With so many of us in our daily lives turning to technology and the likes of the internet to keep our lives running smoothly, there is no surprise that we need to be able to utilize tech in our businesses to remain current and to make things accessible for our customers. So how can we take advantage of advancing tech? I wanted to share with you some of the ways.
Having the best website
One of the solid ways to improve your business is to consider your website. So much is done online these days that as a business owner, we need to be available to the masses who use it. People shop online, they share their lives through social media, so a decent website that has a shop facility, holds all of the right information and is quick and easy to use will really do your company some good. If you don’t feel confident designing a website, a digital agency will be able to design and even manage one for you.
Using an app for your business
The next thing you might want to think about is creating an app for your business and your online shop. Many people spend a huge chunk of their time scrolling their phone for one reason or another, and if they want to use you regularly, then a smartphone application could make things much easier. Developing an app could be the next step for your business venture. It could be something separate as an addition to your website or an easier option to use for buying.
Outsourcing IT issues to keep things on track
Not everyone’s strong suit when it comes to running their business is things like IT. When things go wrong we want a quick solution to ensure the business is not effected. However, if you don’t have the necessary skills to make it right it can mean your business or website has some downtime. This is when outsourcing things like this to companies like Error Solutions could be the answer. Outsourcing can be smart as it takes the pressure off you and allows you to focus your time and energy on the things you want.
Online chats and customer service
Maybe you could advance your customer service by taking advantage of other tech available to you. Customer service is paramount these days because consumers have more choice than ever before. Live web chats can be a real convenient way for customers to get the answers they want without needing to spend time on the phone on hold.
Engaging online through social media and scheduling updates
Finally, social media is the future and so you may want to look at scheduling apps to ensure that these platforms stay up to day. It can be a great way to also engage with your customers and humanize your business and brand.
I hope that this has inspired you with some of the ways tech can improve your business.