Tag: small business

  • The 5 Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Technology

    The 5 Biggest Mistakes Business Owners Make With Their Technology

    Running a business requires wearing a lot of hats. You must dabble in a little bit of everything – accounting, management, human resources, technical support.

    We’re all told the best leaders know how to delegate but that can be hard when you’re talking about the business you’ve painstakingly built with your time and effort. Most business owners don’t clock out when the 9-5 day is over, a Gallup poll found that 39% of business owners work more than 60 hours per week.

    Tech News #12

    It’s not just about time logged either, there’s more stress and more on the line. You can’t simply find another job if your business fails, once you’ve owned your own business it can be impossible emotionally to untick that box and work for someone else. That’s not even considering the fallout of a business failing and the mess it leaves behind.

    But enough of the doom and gloom, as a technology company we’re here to support the businesses we take on as clients and lead them down the best possible path. That includes guiding business owners to smarter decisions when it comes to their technology.

    Here are the 5 biggest mistakes we see business owners make from a technology standpoint.

    1. Not keeping your hardware up to date. Look, we get it. Hardware is expensive, especially if you’re making a larger purchase for multiple employees or investing in a new server. However, this is not something you can put off until later. Waiting until your hardware fails will leave you with both the expense of new hardware and the expense of the downtime while you’re waiting for that new hardware to be deployed. We don’t think it makes sense to wait and be double billed, do you?
    2. Not keeping your software up to date either. Updates can feel like a hassle (especially if you’re performing them yourself) but it’s not a good idea to put them off until later. There’s a cumulative effect when you wait. What was once a simple update becomes a complex package of updates that will take longer and leave you with a gap in your coverage that could leave you open to the negative effects those updates were trying to prevent.
    3. Speaking of negative effects, ignoring cyber security. We get the “it will never happen to me” line all the time, and equally as often we hear from those same people later when it The phrase “Don’t be a statistic” is used frequently in cautionary tales and this is no exception. 76% of businesses will experience a cyber-attack and we personally don’t recommend rolling the dice and hoping you’re not part of the majority.
    4. Forgoing any kind of training for employees. In the same vein as #3, some training in technology and how to use the equipment you’re providing employees is a must, and even if you operate on a BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) model you’re not off the hook. Most cyber-attacks happen due to human error. By not training your employees you’re not just giving hackers the keys to your office, you’re holding the door open for them.
    5. Thinking you can do it all yourself. Like we said, the best leaders know when to delegate. If you’re not a technology expert but you’re performing most or all of your own IT services what are you doing? How often does a technology snafu turn into an all day (and night) event? Are things in your business being neglected because you’re the only one that knows how to maintain them?

    There is a better way. Outsourcing is a scary word to many business owners, but the truth is help is out there and it’s local to you. We help business owners across the Central Valley who find that once the technology headache is taken off their plate, they have more time and energy to put back into growing their business. If you would like to find out more, reach out to us for a free consultation here.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these tech articles from the last week.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • The third stimulus package is expected to pass soon, what does it mean for businesses?

    The third stimulus package is expected to pass soon, what does it mean for businesses?

    The third stimulus package (dubbed The American Rescue Plan of 2021) is expected to go to the House today for a final vote – in fact by the time this article goes live it may have already – and then it is expected to be signed into law by President Biden.

    We’re all aware of the stipulations this has for individuals, with many receiving a third wave of stimulus payments in the form of $1400 for every adult and child that meets the current income criteria as well as many expecting an increase to the Child Tax Credit, but what in this bill is specifically outlined for businesses?

    The first stimulus packages included notable relief in the form of the forgivable Paycheck Protection Program (or PPP) loans. These loans offered businesses 24 weeks of paycheck protection for their employees so they could remain in business and keep their staff even as their businesses were subject to widespread closures.

    Earlier in the year we covered the benefits of the PPP and how it compared to the Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) program here.

    The American Rescue Plan Stimulus bill also includes many provisions for businesses just like the first two packages did, including the following:

    • $1.25 billion for shuttered venue operators
    • $7.25 billion for the Paycheck Protection Program (PPP)
    • $15 billion for targeted Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) advance payments
    • $25 billion for restaurants, bars, and other eligible providers of food and drink
    • And $175 million to create a “community navigator” pilot program to increase awareness of and participation in COVID-19 relief programs for business owners currently lacking access

    The Paycheck Protection Program in particular has allocated over $662 billion to businesses since being established 11 months ago, and there is sill $284 billion in funding available.

    However, the new stimulus bill did not extend the window for applying. If your business meets the criteria and you’re considering applying for this program you must do so by March 31st of this year at which time the window is scheduled to close for good.

    The current bill also has a clause to make it more available for not-for-profit businesses by including a new category entitled “additional covered nonprofit entity,” we suggest meeting with your accountant or tax preparer if you think this may apply to your business.

    If your business requires greater aid than the PPP provides for and you have no more than 300 employees, the EIDL program may be a better fit for you. An additional $15 billion in funding to that program will be made available in the next round of stimulus. This loan program applies to your business if you suffered a 30% or more loss in revenue during any 8 week period between March 2nd, 2020 and December 31st, 2021.

    There is much more to it than we can go over here but we again suggest meeting with your accountant or tax preparer if your business suffered a loss during in the 12 months since COVID-19 began (which probably applies to many if not all of us) and think one of these programs could help your business on the path to recovery and economic growth.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these tech articles from the last week.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Ransomware and Small Businesses: Why Some of Them Just Pay It

    Ransomware and Small Businesses: Why Some of Them Just Pay It

     

    One of the biggest misconceptions among small business owners is that their company is too small to be the target of many cyber crime events – including ransomware. Statistically, this couldn’t be further from the truth.

    In 2019 205,280 businesses submitted files that were victim to a ransomware attack, and 71% of those attacks were aimed at small to medium sized businesses. The average payout was $41,198, but many payments are significantly higher. Could your business withstand losing a lump sum of money right now?

    Luckily for many businesses the use of prevention tools and having a proactive tech team means you won’t have to, but what if you’re not so lucky? Why do some businesses just pay the ransomware?

    For many businesses their computer systems are directly tied to their day to day operations. So, if your files are being held by a hacker (or many times a group of hackers) you’re basically shut down. As a business you require your day to day operations to remain sustainable, but for many the margin for sustainability and being out of business is razor thin.

    This means their business won’t survive an extended downtime while they wait for authorities to try to get their files back (if they ever do). So, they just pay the ransom.

    Another scenario is if you’re in a sector where client confidentiality is paramount (think healthcare or finance), then the leaking of those details and the fines incurred will also put you out of business.

    When it comes to ransomware the best method of protection is prevention. This means making sure your computers remain up to date – as of this posting there is a dangerous worm targeting Windows machines that haven’t been updated (learn more here.) It also means having a comprehensive security suite protecting all the machines attached to your network (even mobile ones!).

    Finally, the best means of protection is having a good IT team backing your business – and backing up your important files! Your tech team will often be able to restore from backup if you DO get hit by ransomware despite having the other methods of protection in place. Their backup could literally save your business.

    If you’re in the Central Valley and don’t feel 100% confident your business will be protected in the event of a ransomware attack, reach out to us today.

    This article was powered by Valley TechLogic, an IT provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

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