Category: business advice

Avoiding industrial nightmares

How we can harden our computer networks from hacking attacks

The Iranian nuclear program is crippled by a virus that infects their control systems while a hacker claims a Texas waterworks can be accessed with a three word password.

Any technology can be vulnerable to the bad guys – obscure systems like office CCTV networks and home automation services can be as vulnerable as the big, high profile infrastructure targets.

While there’s good reasons to connect our systems to the web, we need to ensure our networks are secure and there’s a range of things we can do to protect ourselves.

Does this need to be connected?

Not everything needs a Internet or network connection, if there’s no reason for a device or network to be connected then simply don’t plug it in.

Keep in mind though that threats don’t just come through the web, both the Iranian malware attack and the Wikileaks data breach weren’t due to hackers or Internet attacks.

Get a firewall

No server or industrial system should be connected directly to the public Internet, an additional layer of security will protect systems from unwanted visitors.

All Internet traffic should go through a firewall that is configured to only allow certain traffic through, if the router or firewall can be configured to support a Virtual Private Network (VPN), then that’s an added layer of security.

Disable unnecessary features

The less things you have running, the fewer opportunities there are for clever or determined hackers to find weaknesses.

Shut down unnecessary services running on systems – Windows servers are notorious for running superfluous features – and close Internet ports that aren’t required for normal running of your network.

Patch your systems

Computer systems are constantly being updated as new security problems and flaws are found.

Unpatched computers are a gift to malicious hackers and all systems should be current with the latest security and feature updates.

This is a lesson the Iranians learned with the Stuxnet worm that was almost certainly introduced through an unpatched system – probably one running an early version of Windows XP or even 98 – which was vulnerable to known security problems.

Have strong passwords

Passwords are a key part of a security policy, they have to be strong and robust while being different to those you use for social media and cloud computing services.

It’s also important not to share passwords and restrict key log in details and administrator privileges to those who require them for their work.

With online services like social media, cloud computing and other web tools becoming a part of business and home life, we have to take the security of our systems seriously. Hardening them against threats is a good place to start.

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Facebook timelines and the long tail

Can the Internet’s long tail work for small business?

The Financial Times’ Tech Hub blog reports how Facebook’s Timeline function is driving views to old newspaper articles to unexpected stories.

On one level, this is a vindication of Wired Magazine editor Chris Anderson’s Long Tail theory of the value of older inventory; that older assets and data become more valuable in an age of unlimited choice.

The question remains though just have valuable old news really is, does the digital equivalent of fish and chip wrapping really have any intrinsic value.

It will probably turn out that information consumers will pay for unique, timely content while leaving the lolcats and funny videos to ad supported content farms.

The long tail model is the digital equivalent of the Fast Moving Consumer Goods business model, just as a big supermarket only makes pennies from each can of baked beans or milk they sell, they make big profits due to the volume they move.

As business writer Seth Godin has put it, the long tail is good for organisations that own big warehouses, and newspapers have the news equivalent of that.

For small businesses, the long tail is not where we need to be, our economics mean margin, not volume.

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The evolving business

Sometimes we have to disappoint old customers and fans

“Maybe people are less interested in what you do now,” said a listener after November’s Weekend computer spot, “I’d like to hear more about buying new computers.”

The listener was commenting that he didn’t find what I speak about interesting any more and that I don’t spend time updating the PC Rescue website.

What the well intentioned commenter didn’t understand is that businesses, and their owners, evolve in order to survive and stay sane.

In my case, I have the idiot savant’s ability to retain miscellaneous facts and see patterns. This works well in IT support and comes in handy when answering technical questions on radio talkback programs.

Those skills were so useful that the success of the programs and online columns distracted me from my own five year business plan. When I belatedly realised the business wasn’t meeting my personal objectives I moved on from the day to day operations of the organisation.

Another problem for being an on-air tech guru is that while there’s a demand for experts to answer computer questions, not many people want to pay for that advice meaning there isn’t really a market.

Indeed, giving complimentary advice had the perverse effect of damaging my own personal brand with the market, such as it is, believing I’d do everything for free, something my long suffering call centre had to battle with constantly (sorry Yvonne and Ash).

When it becomes apparent things aren’t working like we intended, it’s time to look at what we’re doing and figure out another course. Einstein said “insanity is doing the same thing, over and over again, but expecting different results.”

When we decide to change some of our old customers, fans and followers might be upset; but sometimes what’s best for us and our business in this changing world means we have to leave some behind.

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So you want a business grant?

The promise of free government money is seductive, but is it real?

“Funding Available from $1000 to $500,000! Get an advantage over your competitors or give your business the Government Funding boost it needs to be more successful!” Is the promise of a website offering to find grants for your business.

Free money from the government sounds good and, as we’ve seen in the various Quantative Erasings and bank bail outs around the world, it sometimes is free.

Rarely though is cash really “free”, usually there’s strings attached and government money is no different.

Why do governments give business grants?

First we should understand why governments make grants, subsidies and loans available to businesses.

Governments have various objectives with their programs; they could be to get unemployed workers back in the workforce, to improve skill levels or to encourage exports. Whatever the motives are, they have clear criteria for giving money away.

One area they don’t give funds for is to “Get an advantage over your competitors” as that website. That’s clearly not the role for governments and they’d be rightly criticised for doing so.

The paperwork storm

Contrary to what some media outlets portray, most public servants take their responsibilities seriously and don’t give out taxpayers’ money unless the application clearly meets their programs’ objectives.

Meeting the objectives is important, because the public servants – and their political masters – are held accountable so they will make sure the business receiving the grant or subsidy has actually done what they have promised to do.

This is where things get tricky for business owners and managers who have received government money. Completing the paperwork to prove you’ve met the objectives will be time consuming.

Drive a cab

Often it would have been more cost effective to drive a cab rather than spend hours filling in government paperwork.

There really is no such thing as free money, there’s always a cost. While sometimes there are good reasons for applying for a government program, free money should never be your objective.

It’s also worth keeping in mind that services offering to find government money for you will usually take a cut of the grant as commission. Also, they won’t help you do the follow up paperwork, that’s your expensive problem.

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The dummy email address

Are you protecting your details or missing opportunities?

A little while ago I was lucky to hear an excellent, well informed speaker give a great presentation.

Following the talk, myself and a few others were able to grab him and have a quick chat before he vanished out the door. When we exchanged business cards it was noticeable how he carefully chose careful which of his cards to give us.

Later I sent a follow up email thanking him for his presentation and was surprised to receive a “not known at this address” reply.

As someone who’s used to being given fake phone numbers scrawled on beer coasters, this is not an unknown disappointment but it was still surprising to receive it from a professional.

For busy people it’s understandable not wanting to give out a personal email address to someone you barely know. But giving a bogus address seems to be very risky.

In my case, it’s just a matter of slightly hurt feelings, although I wonder how many opportunities that person misses because they misjudge the value of the person they are speaking to.

A better option is to have a professional email address that your personal assistant monitors and deals with as they see appropriately.

Manners, respect and not burning down bridges before you’ve even approached them are all good ways of working in the business world.

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Is your business killing you?

Building businesses can hurt your health.

It’s hard work running a business and often we hear stories of the tycoon who drops dead from a heart attack or finds themselves divorced, friendless and penniless at the end of many hardworking years in building up their venture.

Being an entrepreneur means you live in your business as much as work in it, but it if we’re not careful it can kill us.

Know your finances

There are some who believe that a business plan and cash flow projection are unnecessary, they are wrong and at best are falling for survivor bias.

Insufficient capital is the main reason why good businesses fail, it’s also the leading cause for marital breakdowns and the failure of business or personal relationships.

Not understanding your finances means you have no idea whether your business is really profitable or if those returns are sustainable. If you don’t realise the cash position of your venture than you are at real risk if there’s an unexpected change in the market should an unexpected event like sickness or a tax bill arrive.

Take a break

If you don’t take an occasional vacation you are at risk of genuinely going mad. You need some time away from the grind to recharge your batteries.

Getting away from daily work issues also helps your business as it’s an opportunity to see the wider perspective of the markets and society you operate in.

Exercise

Many of us don’t get time to exercise, which starts to slow us down both physically and mentally. Even if our businesses are a success, we may not have the health to enjoy the benefits. Remember the guys who die of a heart attack at 50.

Eating

Coupled with not exercising is having a bad diet, because we don’t have time to eat well we often end up eating convenient junk or not have a balanced diet. Take time to grab a healthy breakfast and lunch.

Poor work practices

When we stressed, racing to get a job done or under pressure, we often take shortcuts or break regulations. This can be anything from a truck driver not respecting driving time limits, a plumber not lifting heavy goods properly through to a consultant not changing the tyres on their car because they didn’t have time to be off the road.

Either way, not respecting safe working practices can be catastrophic for the business person and those around them.

Have an objective

Your business plan should have objectives for your business on a 12-month, one year and three year horizon along with an exit plan.

An exit plan could be building great apps, revolutionising your industry, amassing a retirement nest egg, handing the operation to the kids, franchising the business, a stock market float or making a trade sale.

Whatever your reasons for being in business are, having a clear objective to work towards helps guide you through the morass of daily tasks in running a business.

Ditch the negative people

Whingeing, whining negative customers will drag you down, similarly with business partners and employees who will bitch and moan about customers, the government or staff. Successful businesses are run by optimistic people.

Be objective

The flip side to negativity is undue optimism and a lack of objectivity. It pays to have a realistic view of where a business is going and often that vacation helps you get the objective view needed.

When you get a great business idea it can difficult to let go, so that’s why we need the ability to step back and understand who we are, why we are doing this and where we’re going with the project.

Even if our businesses are successful, we need to be a position to enjoy the hard work and return on our labour.

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Is Google drowning business?

Are there too many online services?

The launch of a pages function for Google+ allowing businesses to create a profile on Google’s social media and identity management service is welcome.

What jumps out immediately is there is no integration with Google Local, meaning that businesses will have to create another online profile and learn the nuances of it.

Right now big and small businesses are being confused by the proliferation of online tools and the problem is made worse by advisors maintaining you have to be on each service actively talking to your customers. That’s nice for a corporation with unlimited funds and resources but a tough ask in the real business world.

By adding another service – that doesn’t integrate with Google’s myriad of services let alone outside platforms like WordPress, Facebook and Twitter – Google are making it hard for businesses to allocate the time and resources to the online world.

What’s more, the terminology is confusing; Google’s rebranding of Local to Places started this and now we’ll see business owners and managers confusing Google+ Pages with Google Places.

That confusion will be understandable as right now the terminology between the two overlaps and it will be difficult to explain the difference to business people who have many other issues to worry about along with this.

One thing we can be sure of is there will be a whole range of strategies tied into Google+ Pages that might, or might not, affect search engine results and – given the ongoing nymwars debacle and the similar mess with Google Places listings – there’s a strong likelihood this program is going to get bogged down in opaque bureaucratic procedures.

It seems different divisions within Google are running their own races; Adwords isn’t talking to Blogger, Analytics aren’t talking to Local and the team running Google+ are taking advantage of senior management’s obsession with social at the expense of Google’s core competencies and their advantages in the local and mobile sectors.

Right now businesses are struggling with the plethora of online services and how to use them in their organisations, Google have to break down their own silos and start integrating their services to make it easier for managers, entrepreneurs and proprietors to use these platforms.

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