Don’t Assume You’re Too Small to Attract Cybercrime

America’s Backbone Weekly: Start Planning

Don’t Assume You’re Too Small to Attract Cybercrime

By Keith Loria for America’s Backbone Weekly

Contrary to many people’s assumptions, you don’t need to be a multi-million dollar business to be vulnerable to a cyber attack; many small- and medium-size businesses represent an easy target to would-be criminals – and often have direct connections (as subcontractors) to the networks of larger business partners.

Amy Abatangle, EVP at Untangle, says the biggest mistake a business can make is not thinking it could be a target. Planning ahead is critical.

“While it’s true that big business grabs the headlines when it comes to breaches, it’s a mistake to think that small businesses aren’t vulnerable,” she says.…

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Things Small Business Can Do to Jumpstart Their SEO Campaign

As a small business competing in a crowded market, getting that extra marketing edge could mean a lot. The internet is your friend when it comes to marketing your products and services to segmented markets, and with over 60% of traffic coming from search engines, SEO is definitely the internet marketing instrument to use. If you are just getting started with SEO, here are a few things you can do to jumpstart your campaign.

Small business SEO

The Contents That Work

A lot of SEO experts will advise you to produce more contents for your site in order to attract more traffic, but this doesn’t have to be the only way to go.…

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How to Run your Business from The Beach

We’d all like to think that we’re indispensible. And leaders are no different. Some leaders don’t take holidays, fearful that their business will collapse in their absence.

Happily, thanks to modern technology, communications and working practices, it’s now entirely possible (and even desirable) for leaders to keep a business running effectively from the comfort of a sun lounger.

Entrepreneur on the beach

If you’ve been running your business without a holiday, you need some tips for managing things effectively from a distance.

1. Delegate

The first thing you need to be able to do is delegate. To achieve this you need to have people you can trust and you need to give them clear instructions with specific milestones and smart objectives.…

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Signs of the Times: Symptoms It’s Time to Seek Professional SEO Help

Many businesses like to take a DIY approach to SEO, and you may be one of them. After all, you can read up on plenty of SEO tips online from all the experts, and many SEO tactics are based on tasks you can do yourself. However, sometimes hiring a professional team can be a very good idea. Here are some of the signs that you may need to invest in outside help.

SEO

Your Ranking Is Falling

If your ranking is falling in the search engines, it’s fair to assume that you are doing something wrong. The problem is that you may not be sure what you are doing wrong.…

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6 Types of Toxic CEOs that are Destined for Failure (Infographic)

Being the CEO means that your vision will guide your company, good or bad.  There are CEOs who are visionaries, creating a very personal connection with the products they offer (like Steve Jobs); and there are CEOs whose brash leadership style clashes with other top executives in the company (like Steve Jobs.) The CEO bears the most responsibility for a company’s success or failure.

Toxic CEO

Your job as a CEO is a delicate balancing act between giving the customers what they say they want, giving the customers what they really need, making bold decisions, and holding on to the company’s core values.…

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Why It’s Time to Retire Your Fax Machine and Embrace the Cloud

Smartphones, tablets, and laptops are the top tools of choice in today’s business world. And before we know it, we’ll even conduct business on our watches! These technological advancements have made us more mobile, connected, and paper-free than ever.

Go paperless with your fax and copier by going cloud

So why is it that so many offices still utilize paper-eating machines like copiers, printers, and those horribly noisy boxes called fax machines?

Not long ago, these devices were crucial to most businesses’ day-to-day operations. But their continued use has caused offices to generate tons of paper waste every year. A whopping 40 percent of the garbage in our landfills is paper waste.…

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6 Top Tips on Promoting Your Business on Social Media

Social media is increasingly becoming a tool for organizations, both big and small, to promote their business and create awareness about their current and upcoming offerings.

Social media marketing

Most of you would agree that it is important to understand the different facets of any tool to be able to utilize it optimally. And because social media is proving to be highly effective in engaging audiences and attracting potential customers, socially savvy entrepreneurs have started using valuable content to drive their initiatives.

However, one should also know that the online community has little (or no) tolerance for self-promoters who use social media for free advertising.…

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Financial Pointers for the Start-Up Business Owner

Working for yourself and running a start-up business can be a dream come true for many, being both rewarding and profitable. However, if taking the risk and setting up on your own is something you’re willing to do, make sure you know which financial pitfalls to avoid. We’ve put together a guide below, covering some of the common money worries new business owner have, plus how to avoid them with our expert pointers.

Startup finance

Just Starting Out? Get advice before you jump ship and set up

If you haven’t set up your own business yet, or at least fully committed financially, get some advice.…

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Creative Ways to Build a B2B Network Online

Networking with other business professionals is one of the fastest ways to grow your business, believe it or not. Not only can you share leads with each other but once you have established a working relationship with your peers, there are a number of other incentives that can be beneficial to the growth of all parties involved. Here are a few creative ways to build a B2B network with the intent of working together to grow your businesses.

Building an online B2B network

Social Media – Social Networking

One of the fastest ways to build a B2B network is to take advantage of social media. There are a number of really powerful social networking sites out there, but perhaps the one designed especially for businesses would be LinkedIn.…

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The Holy Grail of the Modern Export World: Achieving the E-Star Awards

When a company is engaged in exporting, one of the highest awards it can win for its operations is the “E” and “E Star” awards. This award signifies outstanding growth of a company and is an honor commemorating success that has been achieved, as opposed to projected earnings or hypothetical success.

E Star award

The award is given by the President of the United States, and authorized by the Secretary of Commerce, and is meant to recognize businesses with outstanding growth in exports to other countries.

The History Of the Award

World War II gave birth to the idea of the “E” star award.…

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