How CCPA Affects Businesses Outside Of California

Many countries around the world have data privacy laws that require businesses to protect personal information with utmost care. Not having an active privacy policy not only attracts costly legal battles and substantial fines imposed by the federal government, but it also widens the gap between brand promises and consumer trust. If you’re operating a for-profit business in California or if you are collecting personal information relating to consumers that reside in this state, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is one law that you can’t afford to ignore.
If you haven’t heard about this new law just yet, there’s no better time to familiarize yourself with it than now. In this article, we’ve outlined important aspects of CCPA that you should know about, including what this law is and how it affects your business. Contents The California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) is a comprehensive data privacy law that outlines strict requirements for companies that collect personal private data.
Touted as the strongest privacy legislation enacted in the United States so far, CCPA is akin to the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) due to its comprehensive approach to privacy protection. While the CCPA went into effect on January 1, 2020, the office of the California attorney general will not take any legal action against businesses that will not have complied until July 1, 2020. This new law applies to for-profit businesses that handle personal information of California-based consumers, business-to-consumer contacts, or employees and that meet any of the following statutory thresholds: While the applicable thresholds exclude many small and midsize companies, a business could meet the second threshold if it attracts at least 140 California-based consumers per day through its website.
Furthermore, subsidiaries that share the same branding with their parent companies are also required to comply with the CCPA law even if they themselves do not meet the applicable thresholds. If you thought that the CCPA doesn’t apply to you because your business has no physical presence in California, think again. Although California-based companies are directly affected by this law, companies outside of California will also be affected if they meet any of the three statutory thresholds.
According to the International Association of Privacy, the CCPA could affect more than half a million businesses in the United States. With similar laws manifesting in many other states, all companies from all states will have to comply with some sort of data privacy law in the near future. For companies affected by the CCPA law, the burden of complying is very real.
Some of the obligations that your company must meet include: A good starting point is to take stock of your data and determine what type of data your company is collecting, what you are doing with it, with whom you are sharing it, and where you store it. If you already have a data privacy policy in place, you may need to update it, even if it complies with the GDPR regulations. In other words, it is important to review your data privacy policies and practices to conform to the CCPA regulations.
After putting your house in order, you should take the time to identify all third parties and vendors that receive consumers’ personal data from your business. After you’ve identified them, be sure to add proper contract terms to deal with the CCPA, including terms relating to the use or disclosure of personal data obtained from your business. This is to make it clear that your business is not making your customers’ personal information available for sale to vendors.
Business owners and leaders can expect the CCPA to evolve in the coming months and years. With many states joining the privacy regulation bandwagon, businesses across the United States should seriously consider becoming compliant. Provided that regulatory change in the region will be constant, it makes more sense building a dynamic privacy policy that can easily adjust to changes as they occur.
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5 Ways Information Technology in Construction is More Important Than Ever

There was once a time when IT and construction didn’t mix. Now, information technology in construction is absolutely vital. Here’s why.
The construction industry in the United States is a 1.73 trillion dollar industry. With so much money at stake, it is only natural that a switch towards technology was inevitable.
In the past, this industry was considered one of the least likely to embrace information technology. However, all of this is changing as the construction industry has started to embrace all the benefits that can be gained from the inclusion of technology. Here is a deeper look at why including information technology in construction is now a must if you want your construction project to progress smoothly.
Contents Computer-based project management is one of the best ways to ensure that everything is going according to plan on a construction site. The fact is that project management software makes it easy to organize the different aspects of a project. One of the biggest benefits is the management of time and the resources available to complete the project.
You can use cloud services such as those offered by Preactive IT Solutions  to host your project management software. When trying to complete a construction project communication is essential. Having information technology at your fingertips makes it a whole lot easier to communicate effectively.
With tablets and smartphones, messages are instant on a construction site. Reports can be done and sent off faster. Video conferencing is also possible and this can help to keep the managers of a project in touch with each other whether they are on site or not.
Project collaboration tools are available that can be integrated with any designs for the project. This makes it easy for builders to make adjustments to drawings and publish them. Subcontractors can then have access to these updates quickly.
This not only cuts down on time but also makes the whole process paperless. Papers can become damaged but with project collaboration tools design updates can be saved and backed up to prevent loss. All the tech blogs about construction indicate there is a growing technological trend towards using digital 3D design.
This includes a new process that is called Building Information Modeling (BIM). BIM involves housing information about a building project in one 3D model. In order to access immediate information about different aspects of the design, builders will now have to access this 3D model on a consistent basis.
This means that there is no getting away from the need to have a computer on hand at all times to access this 3D model at every phase of construction. There is no getting away from the fact that the use of information technology in construction is here to stay. The best thing you can do is to investigate how to integrate it into your business.
If you don’t you risk becoming out of touch with the pulse of what is happening and this will make your business irrelevant fast. At the very least you should be using cloud services and collaborating with any subcontractors online. This makes communication fast and efficient.
If you would like IT help for your construction business, please contact us. Republished by Blog Post Promoter.

The Best Workplace Solutions to Benefit Employees

When designing an office or other workspace for your business, it is vital that you take into consideration its impact on your employees and what you can do to improve their health and mood levels when at work. The right office space is the key to productivity, and this guide will instruct you on the best solutions and work space ideas for your office that will make it a desirable workspace for your employees. Contents How do workplaces impact your employees? 1 in 6.
8 people experience mental health difficulties when in the workplace. Although there are many causes for this, such as workplace bullying and unhappiness in their work, their office or workplace can help to reduce or increase their mood at work. There are many reasons why an office may diminish their mental health, such as extreme noise levels and low natural lighting.
Not only this, but sedentary workplaces can lead to poor health through a lack of exercise, and there are many instances of poor hygiene in offices and other workplaces such as warehouses which can be improved. However, considering your employees, when designing your office can lead to great benefits for your business, such as increased motivation and productivity, which could make your business more efficient. How can office design benefit employees? Creating an open plan office is one of the best design options for those with their employees in mind as this can encourage group discussion and motivate employees to exercise more by moving between desks to speak to others.
This ensures that no one is in an isolated position which could potentially increase low mood, however noise levels may be an issue. You should also consider installing break out areas where employees can hold private group discussions and work on projects together, as well as areas where employees can work on solo assignments without distraction. The ideal workplace should be uncluttered and organized, and you can do this by installing the right amount of shelving and storage options for your office size and the amount of data which you are storing.
G-rack.co.uk provides a range of industrial level storage options for businesses which are durable enough to hold large loads and can help your employees to find documents easily.
Increasing the natural lighting in your office can also increase employee motivation over artificial lighting, make sure that they get more vitamins, allow them to adjust to the ambient temperature, and this can even improve their sleep cycle which can lessen fatigue at work. Installing a dehumidifier can also be beneficial to offices and other workplaces where air circulation is a problem like warehouses as this can reduce the amount of bacteria and cleaning fumes which can make employees ill and make sure that air is consistently circulated. What are the alternatives to office culture? If you want to give your employees the best experience in terms of workplace, you should consider the advantages of allowing your employees to work from home.
Among other benefits, employees will often find that they are more motivated to do work as they will be able to work at their own pace and to their own schedule without the distraction of bustling workplaces throughout the day. Republished by Blog Post Promoter.

List of Latest Malware Attacks in the World

Malware in different forms has caused serious data loss to users around the world in the last few decades. Here, we have listed the latest malware attacks in the world that you should be aware of. Contents Emotet is a Trojan that has attacked users around the world through spam emails or malware spam.
It may infect your system via macro-enabled document files, malicious script, or malicious link. Trying to be a legitimate source, may contain familiar branding design. To trick users and persuade them to click on malicious links it uses tempting language such as “payment details”, “Your Invoice”, etc.
In earlier versions, it arrived as a malicious JavaScript file. Later it evolved and started using macro-enabled documents to retrieve the virus payload from C&C servers that were controlled by attackers. It has targeted individuals, government entities, and companies across the US and Europe.
Ryuk drops the ransom note, RyukReadMe.html or RyukReadMe.text, in every folder on your system where it has encrypted files.
In this ransom note, it mentions information such as how many victims need to pay to get access back to their encrypted files, certain instructions that victim needs to read and comply, email addresses where a victim can contact and a Bitcoin wallet address. It uses RSA and AES encryption and demands between 15 and 50 Bitcoin for the decryption key. It keels hundreds of services and processes on the infected system and encrypts not only local drives but also network drives.
It doesn’t infect the system if the PC’s IP address or computer name is part of a blacklist. Retadup worm was detected by Trend Micro as WORM_RETADUP.G.
It is coded in AutoHotKey, an open-source scripting language that is used on Windows for creating hotkeys. The main objective of this Worm is to spread itself on an infected machine and to install additional malware payloads for further damage. Once it infects the system with a malicious payload, it works as a malware mining cryptocurrency on the malware author’s behalf.
It was mostly distributed on devices in the form of cryptocurrency miners to earn passive income. When they realized, they may need to take down Retadup, they spread ransomware on hundreds of thousands of computers to earn the last penny out of this ransomware. Security firm in association with Cybercrime Fighting Center (C3N) of the French National Gendarmerie has neutralized over 850,000 unique infections of Retadup.
GandCrab has infected millions of users around the world. It has extorted over $2 billion is one of the most successful examples of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS). They are said to be closely associated with Sondinokibi/REvil ransomware variant.
During the ransomware attack, it encrypts files of infected systems and asks for a ransom to offer decryption key. It worked as an affiliate program where new members were recruited to help spread the contagion. After extorting over $2 billion in ransom the notorious ransomware affiliate program has come to an end recently.
According to Russian security firm Kaspersky Lab, the time the program ceased operations, it has accounted for up to half of the global ransomware market. Which is huge! Crysis, aka Dharma is a family of ransomware that is evolving since 2016. It has increased significantly in 2019 and attacked hundreds of thousands of users around the world.
It could be detected as Ransom. Crysis that usually targets Windows systems. It uses numerous methods of malware distribution to target businesses primarily.
It is distributed through a malicious attachment in spam emails. It may attack your system disguised as an installation file for legitimate software, including antivirus vendors. It could exploit leaked or weak RDP credentials to target your system.
Now that you know the most notorious malware attacks from recent times, it becomes important to keep your system security intact with best free anti malware tools. To keep your system secure from the latest malware attacks the first thing you should do is to keep system software up-to-date and use the best anti-malware software. This powerful security software helps you keep your system secure from all existing & emerging malware threats by offering up-to-date malware database security.
So, this was a quick review of the latest malware attacks that have caused serious damage to users around the world. Keep your system protected using the best antimalware software for effective results. Do share in comments how you keep your system secure from malware attacks that happen very often.
Gajendra Singh is working at Systweak, as an Digital Marketing Executive. His potential of writing is PC tips, Android and Mac and Windows software tricks and he is anxious in writing other technical blogs like.

The Main Difference Between Managed IT Support and Regular IT Support

When it comes to business IT processes, there are some who assume that the terms managed IT support and regular IT support are interchangeable. However, these are two distinct IT solutions for a variety of business models. There are some still, who mistakenly suppose that outsourced traditional IT support falls into the managed services (MS) category.
However, even if you outsource regular IT support, the business solution that it provides is still the same as a regular in-house IT support So what is the main difference between managed IT support and regular IT support? Contents According to BCT Consulting – Los Angeles, the main difference between this two business IT solutions is that regular (or traditional) IT support is reactive in nature. This means that the IT support staff, whether in-house or outsourced, provides support whenever something goes wrong with the organization’s IT processes. When the client or a user calls in an issue such as sign up problems, extremely slow loading pages or even an unreachable website, the IT support bolts into action to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
Of course, the clients or users don’t have to call in the issue. Most regular IT support services can also have proactive measures in place that alert the IT staff of any trouble. Even with such proactive measures, however, the response from IT support is still reactionary in nature, becoming present only after the fact.
On the other hand managed IT support is a truly proactive, predictive and preventative IT management. As opposed to being ready for any trouble, managed services continuously work behind the scenes in monitoring the business processes constantly for any signs of trouble. Some managed services also actively scan and monitor for patterns and trends that may lead to issues that can adversely affect the efficiency of vital IT processes.
The managed IT support can then make the necessary fixes even before potential problems arise. Most managed IT support solutions are provided by third-party IT solutions providers, operating remotely from a main network center location. Managed service providers often install proprietary software and IT management agents on a client’s computer infrastructure, which may include personal computer units, servers, laptops, and mobile devices.
These tools collect important data from the client’s IT network infrastructure and send it to the MS network center for analysis and diagnostics. Managed IT support offers a host of advantages for small to medium enterprises (SME) who rely heavily on business IT processes. The most obvious advantage is that with managed services, businesses no longer have to invest in a comprehensive in-house computer network to address their IT needs.
Although the same can be said for outsourced regular IT support, managed IT support provides real-time performance monitoring, diagnostics, and preventive maintenance. Preventive maintenance is one of the key technical network processes that help keep downtimes to a minimum, which can have a huge impact on your business. Another facet of managed IT support is real-time monitoring, which not only further cuts down on downtime incidents, but also ensures that the IT processes are maintained at an optimum level of efficiency.
Performance monitoring services can send out alerts for anomalies that may be tell-tale signs of malware or hack attacks, giving your IT processes an extra layer of security. Organizations that require such solutions, but lack the finances to invest in in-house network infrastructure will do well with managed IT support. Even if they had the money for an IT infrastructure, managed IT services spares them from the need to hire and train personnel for an IT department.
Managed IT support allows SMEs that are dependent on IT solutions but are lacking in resources to operate and remain competitive. Small businesses and enterprises that are not technical in nature should opt for in-house or outsourced IT support. Organizations that are not dependent on a computer network and have no need for 24/7 technical support or maintenance, are also better off with regular IT support.
Such organizations can even opt for pay-per-service IT support plans to help defray expenses. With the type of business solutions offered by managed and regular IT support, deciding on the type of service for your business should be easy. If you rely heavily on IT support, then managed services are your best bet.
On the other hand, traditional IT services are your go-to support solutions if your business is not too dependent on IT processes..

Strategies To Push Up Your Conversion With Explainer Videos

Videos have the potential to boost conversions by creating a space for visual engagement. In fact, animated video production has helped numerous brands in reaping great benefits across a number of platforms. Their placement on landing pages, social channels and even app stores have caused a big bang of sales, better online visibility and also more app downloads. But videos can boost conversion rates effectively only when they are optimized with best practices. Here are some strategies that can help you in increasing your conversions with explainer videos: Contents When using your video to explain your product/service, it makes sense to incorporate a style that resonates with your theme. Picking the right style is extremely important as it helps you avoid a visual hiccup. For instance, a healthcare video that demonstrates Explainer videos can be: animated, live action, whiteboard etc. When you are creating an explainer video, the content of that video should resonate with the mood of the idea you are showcasing to the audience. One good way in which you can pick the right style is through the use of storyboards. Drawing out storyboards doesn’t just help in effective storytelling, it can even help you pick the right style as it helps you visualize the mood on paper. Utilize the right style for your explainer video. Pick one that emotes your message in the most appropriate manner. Don’t rush, don’t drag. Time them right The length of your explainer video is essential to the success of your strategy because length determines the value of engagement and engagement is a crucial factor in conversion. For most explainer videos, 15-30 seconds is the sweet spot, so long as the message is delivered within that time. The key is to hook your audience within the first few seconds of your video. With the attention spans down to 8 seconds, there is a greater need to engage quickly. For explainer videos that are longer than 60 seconds, it is  best to deliver the core message within the first 15 seconds to ensure that the viewer leaves with the takeaway. Try to keep your explainer videos short and crisp. Use such videos to offer a visual solution to a pain point. Give them more than one platform Whatever be your marketing goal, using different channels to reach your audience with your video can be extremely useful. Videos in email can boost click through rates by 200-300%. For users that don’t come across your explainer video on landing page, putting the video in your emails can be beneficial in improving the visibility for the video and supporting the goal for which the video was created. Similarly, when explainer videos are put on social platforms, they get a wider audience which can increase conversions significantly.  But do remember to optimize your video for the channel you are putting it on. To trigger conversions through app downloads, place your explainer video in the app store. To boost conversions by making your video more visible, put it out on social platforms. Ensure that your video has the same goal as the platform on which it is used When you place your explainer video on the landing page, it is essential to ensure that it blends in. And it should blend both in terms of content and design. If the objective of your landing page is to inform audience about your app, your explainer video should focus on delivering that information. If your landing page is aimed at explaining your business, the video should do the same. When putting explainer videos on social platforms, find the right point of placement. On Facebook, your video can make a compelling cover image for your page. It can even be used for social advertising depending on the video content. Ensure that the point of placement of your explainer video is optimal in terms of design and message intent. Put your explainer video through a test Passing your video through an A/B test can help you understand if it is helping you achieve your goals or not. Begin by isolating the video metric that is most relevant to you. By keeping a uniform test metric, you can get credible results. For instance, publishing two different videos at the same time on the same day eliminates the possibility of error because other factors are kept constant. If the other factors are also varied, time and day discrepancies could creep into this scenario. Use A/B testing to gauge your audience’s reaction to the video to understand what resonates more with them and what doesn’t. Explainer videos, with their effectively storytelling, can be employed at different stages of the marketing funnel to push the consumer from awareness to evaluation and finally the purchase stage. The ability of these videos to translate potential users into actual customers is largely dependent on content, design, quality and length. By optimizing these factors, you can push up your conversion rates. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Inexpensive, Almost Free CRM and Accounting Solution

Home » IT & Tech Blogs » Information Technology » Business » Inexpensive, Almost Free CRM and Accounting Solution Are you a startup and looking to minimize cost?  Don’t want to spend tons of money before making money?   Looking for an inexpensive, almost free CRM and accounting solution?  These two software as a service platforms provide everything you need from managing your contacts, to invoicing them and bookkeeping. CRM and accounting solutions on the market are quite costly.  There are open source solutions, but require development or charge an arm and a leg for accounting integration plugins.  The solution below is ideal for the starting business and offers feature rich functionality at an affordable price. Agile CRM Agile CRM provides a FREE CRM version for up to 1000 contacts, with extras like appointment scheduling, marketing and sales tools, and seamless easy integration into Quickbooks.   1000 contacts should get any business making some money, and the next package up after that allows for 10k contacts at still an affordable cost. Agile has everything you need to grow your business – contact management, sales enablement, marketing automation, web analytics, gamification, telephony, 2 way emails, real-time activity alerts, form builders, mobile marketing, drip marketing, email newsletters, social media, extensive plugins and integrations, and so much more! Paid versions include 10k contacts and up, email integration, telephony, automation tools, advanced marketing tools, advanced support, additional plugins and more. Quickbooks w Agile CRM Integration With Quickbooks integration into Agile CRM, you can manage payments and invoices from contact pages within Agile. Prices start at $11.  Create invoices, track and receive payments, and see invoice history from one place. Low cost, easy integration, organized and convenient access, makes this solution appealing for startup businesses. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Check Also Listen to Audio There are various options for making money with your website, of which … Submit an Article! p Free article listing you say? Why yes! Contributor articles with content that does not self-advertise a company or that does not intend to manipulate search results or profit in any way are FREE. If you are however interested in advertising or publishing an article that promotes your brand or service, please see our Fiverr special and post your article for a low limited time offer. If you have questions or inquiries or have a custom request, please do not hesitate to contact us .

5 Email Phishing Scams that Actually Work and Might Risk Your Business

So, you have heard about phishing scams, but wonder how anyone can ever fall for these simple ruses. You surely wouldn’t find yourself becoming a victim to such a rudimentary form of deception, would you? Think again. Email phishing scams have become more sophisticated than you might have imagined, and even the most vigilant of workers can let their guard down once in a while. To make sure you are ahead of the curve when it comes to phishing attacks, here are 5 different examples of how phishing scams work , and just how they will try to fool you into clicking that link. Contents One of the most popular ploys when it comes to phishing scams comes in the form of an email purporting to be from a bank or financial institution, asking for you to confirm your credentials for security purposes. When the accounts manager sees this email, that handy quick link to the banking website looks all too convenient to click. Once that button is clicked, the damage is already done. Another ruse employed by cybercriminals intent on stealing login information takes the form of an irate customer or supplier. The email begins with a disgruntled section of text, perhaps a customer supposedly taking legal action against your company, or maybe the landlord serving you notice of eviction. Attached to the email is the legal documentation associated with their complaint. The problem is, within that file attachment is a keylogger that once deployed, will send every keystroke you make on your keyboard back to a cybercriminal sitting at their desk thousands of miles away. When you log in to your email, bank or any other business-related service, that information has now been compromised. When tax time rolls around, it is not uncommon to see plenty of emails from the government head office reminding you to file your tax return. That is why, when cybergangs target companies at the end of the tax year, the phishing scam often takes the form of an email that says you have either been selected for an audit, or are due a tax rebate. Seeing this sort of email becomes second nature to many people who deal with the financial side of a business, and as such, it can be extremely tempting to simply click that link and get the issue sorted. As you have probably guessed by now, that link takes the victim to a fraudulent website, where the details you enter will be harvested and used to steal login details. You Have Been Compromised! “Your account has been compromised” reports the email; supposedly from a service that you regularly use for business. Your mind then fills with all the horrors that could befall you, should someone have access to said account. In your panic, you follow the link provided to sign in and change your password immediately, as time is of the essence! Source Congratulations, you have just fallen prey to one of the most successful phishing tactics out there. When we panic, we often make silly decisions, and we are never more panicked than when we think someone has access to our accounts. The irony being, of course, is that nobody had access to your account until you clicked that link. The Concerned Business Partnership This particular ruse is successful because it immediately puts the recipient at ease. An email from what looks like your regular supplier (or service provider) is asking you to provide them with some information purely as a security measure, to check that you are indeed a legitimate company. You may even think it is wonderful that they are taking the security of their (and in turn, your) business so seriously. You deal with each other on a regular basis, and it seems like a good idea to verify yourself, to make sure your business relations are as friction-free as possible. Unfortunately, you are not verifying yourself with a legitimate business, but are in fact handing over your digital keys to someone who is about to steal your hard-earned cash. When it comes to keeping your business safe online, there are plenty of vulnerabilities to keep an eye out for , and address where possible, but teaching the workforce how to identify a phishing scam is one of the easiest ones to enact. While there may be a few instances where a scam may slip through the net, limiting these opportunities to as few as possible should always be the aim of any business that values the security of their own assets, and the data needed to access them.

How to Improve Your Business Accounting’s Productivity

From the humble sole trader to a large-scale corporation, every business recognizes the importance of accounting. After all, this part of the business deals with all of the financial affairs. That means it has to track all incoming and outgoing cash, it prepares financial statements, and so on. While businesses recognize accounting should run like a well-oiled machine, plenty of operations – particularly those with a corporate accounting department – struggle to maximize their productivity. The less productive and efficient accounting is, the more it will cost a company. That’s certainly a cruel irony. To assist with getting your accounting on the right track, here are a few tips for improving productivity: Contents Due to the importance of your accounting department, it makes sense to have the most proficient people in place. Your accounting software can carry most of the workload, but talented financial workers are needed to keep the wheel turning. To ensure the people running your accounts are at their best, training will likely need to be conducted. This can be done via external conferences, in-house seminars, one-on-training, and so on. For whenever an accountant is away from the office for whatever reason, you should also cross-train an employee from a different department. They can fill the gap when needed. Stick to a stringent cutoff day What upsets accountants the most? One possible answer is when they have to wait around for expense reports and invoices to be sent their way. If this data comes in late, it could have severe negative consequences for your business. As a result, you should implement a stringent cutoff day that everyone has to follow. It doesn’t matter who is sending the data, whether it’s from clients, employees, or fellow accounting colleagues, it needs to meet the cutoff. Upgrade your accounting software No, this doesn’t necessarily mean switching from your current accounting software to a new one – although this could be something worth exploring. Instead, this section is about how you can sync your accounting software with other technology to create a greater overall package. Take Sage as an example. While this accounting software is structured with complex businesses in mind, it still fails to pack everything under the hood. For instance, when it comes to options for Sage payments, this isn’t optimized. To help with this, you have the option to sync payment gateway specialist Paynomix with Sage. Ultimately, this will make it easier and faster to both add and approve payments. For any business department, communication is vital. This is no different for accounting. To begin with, you should clearly state to the accounting department your expectations and the procedures they need to follow. If they know this from the start, they will comply and understand what to do. Also, the day-to-day tasks of the accounting department should be communicated to other employees of the company. This will give the employees a greater insight into the work involved, and improve the chances of them sticking to your cutoff date with their invoices.

5 Things You Should Know Before Starting Your Own Business

Home » IT & Tech Blogs » Information Technology » Business » 5 Things You Should Know Before Starting Your Own Business More and more of us are choosing to pack in our day jobs and launch our own businesses, and while that’s great for the local economy, it means there’s more competition than ever before. In this article, we’ll give you some home truths on becoming your home boss; make sure you read this before you delve into a new venture head-first, as what we’re about to say may shock you. Contents A lot of new businesses fail If you’ve ever been told that nine out of ten new businesses fail, then you were told by a liar. In fact, startup businesses have a higher success rate than you might think, with only 20% of startups closing their doors after a year in operation. But that doesn’t mean your business will automatically succeed – today, one in five businesses still struggle to make enough money to stay afloat in their first year, and that figure sharply increases as the years go by. Research into the trends in your industry before you get started so you know exactly your chances of survival. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WhKcDIe3Ps It’s not as easy as it sounds Even if you’re the highest performing employee in your job and you’re juggling a couple of freelance clients on the side, you shouldn’t expect to find a new business venture easy. Indeed, the majority of small business owners underestimate the amount of work that’s involved in doing it on your own, from filing accounts to marketing your business. Make sure you have the time, the dedication and the passion for your business, because it will become all-encompassing. You might hate your clients If you’re offering a service, then expect to hate your clients. From picky customers to downright rude clients, you should be prepared for everything when you run your own business. Always try to get your clients to pay their invoices on time, and never offer free trials of your services if you don’t think that a client is genuinely interested, as the chances are that you’ll be wasting time. Outsourcing tasks is essential Unless you’ve got all the time in the world for your business, you should think about the benefits of outsourcing some tasks to third parties. Marketing, for example, is a commonly-outsourced activity, as it’s difficult to get right and can be done on the cheap. A company offering affordable social media management, for example, will save you hundreds of hours of the year, and will help you to grow your digital presence while you get on with more pressing activities. The rewards are worth it Having said all of the above, running your own business is overall worthwhile. Sure, you might struggle to bring in business or find your work-life balance for the first couple of years, but in the long-run, the rewards will speak for themselves. No working for other people, no spending hours in the car contending with rush hour, and unlimited holiday and sick leave. You’ll love it! Republished by Blog Post Promoter Check Also If you’re promoting a product or service that your business is offering, you’re most likely … Submit an Article! p Free article listing you say? Why yes! Contributor articles with content that does not self-advertise a company or that does not intend to manipulate search results or profit in any way are FREE. If you are however interested in advertising or publishing an article that promotes your brand or service, please see our Fiverr special and post your article for a low limited time offer. If you have questions or inquiries or have a custom request, please do not hesitate to contact us .

5 Apps Every Entrepreneur Should Bookmark in 2020

To be an entrepreneur in the digital era, you need to be connected on the go. That’s both the blessing of the curse of business ownership today— you can work from the beach, but you can never really unplug. Fortunately, apps will help keep you on top of your business no matter where you are or what you’re doing. Here are five apps that every entrepreneur should bookmark in 2020. Contents Mint is a money management software put together by Intuit. You can access this program from your laptop or via a mobile app on your smartphone. This money tracking app integrates with your bank account and categorizes your income and expenses so you can get real-time cashflow data. The program also allows you to set budgets and sends notifications when you’re reaching your limits. Mint is ideal for startup businesses, as it helps strategically spend and save money, highlighting upcoming bills and potential problems so that you can get ahead of them. Mint also provides higher-level insights, like your credit score and net worth. DisputeBee is credit repair software that helps users analyze their credit reports, highlight potential errors, and submit well-written, educated disputes to have them corrected. During the process, DisputeBee provides tracking information so you can keep track of your disputes as they progress. This software is ideal for both businesses and business owners trying to repair their credit. As credit is often required for scaling your business, ensuring you have all your ducks in a row for when that time comes is essential. Evernote is like a virtual notebook that you can use whenever inspiration hits. It’s ideal for those inconvenient times when you don’t have a journal with you, such as during dinner with friends or in the middle of a movie theater. Evernote isn’t just a collection of virtual notebooks— it has plenty of convenient features to make your life easier and more organized. Create checklists and forward emails directly from your inbox to save interesting articles or project ideas. There are endless options for templates, including interview forms, marketing strategies, and project management. Social media plays a significant role in modern business. In fact, planning, curating content, scheduling posts across platforms, and reading the analytics is a full-time job for many. However, if you’re running a business with limited resources, the onus may fall on you or an assistant. Buffer is a fantastic cloud-based app that can be accessed via smartphone or PC. Even the free version has a lot of value, while the basic business upgrade is well worth the return on investment. With this app, you’ll be able to schedule social media posts on the go and see how they performed. With the click of a button, you can reshare something that’s been shared previously and optimize your content for various channels. Slack is the best instant messaging app for business use. You can have various channels and threads to keep your thoughts and conversations organized. This easy division of communication channels keeps things on a need to know basis. The Slack app also allows for simple file sharing and instant feedback when you’re traveling or working with remote teams. Another benefit of Slack is that it integrates with various other apps and software options to create an immersive business ecosystem. Slack integrates with project management software, like Trello, Asana, and Monday. Other notable integrations include Google Drive and Harvest, a time-tracking app that can help everyone stay on task and on budget. Slack integrations also help you maintain a positive company culture and assists with teambuilding, created automated private polls and surveys, sending birthday reminders, and creating lunch plans everyone can agree on. To be a successful business owner, it takes drive and determination— but you also need the right tools. Add these five apps to your list of bookmarks for business use. Better yet, add them to a notebook in Evernote and get started on your road to success.

Creative Marketing Strategies that Will Outsmart Your Competition

Finding the best marketing strategy for your blog is crucial for making your content available to users. There is no point in creating content that nobody reads, which is why you need to use creative methods for attracting new users to your blog. We all know the traditional marketing strategies where you will improve your SEO and start paid advertising. However, it is important to find a better and more creative way of getting some attention. Following the latest marketing trends will not only bring you traffic, but it will also improve your online presence and brand image online. In this article, we will go through some of the most creative strategies to use to get ahead of your competition. Contents Use data to start a creative marketing strategy As we mentioned, coming up with a new way of advertising your content can sometimes be hard. However, with the use of data , you can find the right path to go on in order to come up with creative marketing strategies. The truth is that there is no secret ingredient that will help you create the perfect marketing strategy. Finding if it is good or not can only be done by testing, and some methods that work for others, might not work for you. This is where the use of data comes in. Creating the perfect marketing strategy is directly connected to analyzing your data. Seeing what people are most interested in can point you in the right direction and help you come up with a creative way for attracting them. Educate with your content It is crucial that you offer some kind of value to users with your content. People need a reason to visit your website, and they expect something in return. If you are doing it only for the numbers, you should stop right now. Creating compelling, educative, and engaging content is the best marketing weapon that you can use. You should always find a way to teach people something new, as they will greatly appreciate it. Personalize your marketing People nowadays want to feel some sort of connection to a brand or blog in order to gain their trust. The best way to establish the right relationships with your users is by getting personal. People always like to see that your brand cares about their thinking or understanding, so try to incorporate some personalization into your marketing campaigns. As an idea you if your website is in the NFL niche, you can offer jerseys from the teams that compete at the Super Bowl with their names on them as a gift for a subscription. Calling people by their names is also an excellent way to start a message campaign. Robotic marketing plans without emotions can only make things worse. Update your content regularly It is essential to know that the job is not done after you publish your content. Even though you create high-quality content that offers a lot of value, we live in a fast-moving world where things change all the time. That is why you need to update your old content on a regular basis. You should target articles that have shown some kind of popularity and they are already on their downward trend. It is the best way to keep the users engaged on your website. Videos are the latest marketing trends for everything. People are getting much more information and visual feedback from videos, which increases their engagement. Nobody wants to read long and boring articles, especially if they do not offer something in return for the users. That is why you should infuse your marketing strategy with creative videos. You can also feature videos on your website, just to make it a bit more vibrant. These are some of the creative marketing strategies that you can use in order to increase your traffic and outsmart your competition. In order to create an innovative marketing campaign, you need relevant data and thinking outside the box. So, be bold and try something new.

Digital Marketing… are you ahead of the curve?

Digital Marketing is evolving at an astounding rate and even the most tested and bright marketers struggle to stay ahead of the curve. It’s all well and good posting the odd tweet or having a blog within your site but are these methods really getting results? If the answer is yes, then could you be doing better? Unfortunately, you probably could be. Not least as the landscape is constantly changing. If you don’t yet have a digital marketing strategy to speak of- then please read on. Businesses large and small ignore digital marketing at their peril, especially if you need to grow. There are 5 vital aspects to be taken into considerations when looking at your digital marketing strategy. These will be familiar to most of you, but let’s take some time revisit and consider these must-dos. Contents It’s no surprise that Shoppi is a big believer in mobile marketing, and for good reason. There are currently an estimated 2.3 billion smartphone users in the world, a figure that is looking to rise to closer to 3 billion by 2020. People are relying on smartphones for a myriad of essential tasks, and they make excellent, and increasingly invaluable, marketing tools. With such a significant portion of people using smartphones for shopping and socialising the modern business to consumer organization will do well to look at mobile marketing and social commerce. There are 3 main issues with mobile marketing, problems that are particularly tricky for smaller organizations: Shoppi is an answer to these issues. With a Shoppi account, a business needn’t design their own app. Shoppi acts as your portal to the mobile market, handles SEO, has advertising capabilities, allows you to interact with customers and links you to ideal customer. Search engine optimization is exactly what it sounds. Search engines like Google use a complex and ever changing algorithm to decide on what website listings show up on search results. The hallowed page one of Google search results is the only place where you will get a significant increase in traffic. The goal of SEO is to get you to page one using a strategy of implementing key words and link building so the search engine gives you precedence over your competitors. Are you on page one? If so, then great. If not, then you could benefit from an SEO audit. The problem with SEO is that it requires constant maintenance and, realistically, you need dedicated SEO pro’s working on this which can eat into any revenue it creates. When it works, it can work wonders, but it doesn’t always work. Pay per click has some significant advantages over organic SEO. Through Google AdWords you set specific budgets and, through keywords, are put at the top of Google when searches are made that are pertinent to your chosen keywords. The success of this is dependent on how well chosen your keywords are. One of the draw backs is that it can be tricky to measure how much of this traffic converts into revenue and that PPC is generally considered more aggressive than SEO by consumers. However, if you have a good digital marketing company behind you, targeted pay per click can give an excellent return on investment. Sometimes Web Design is an overlooked aspect of digital marketing. If you are spending time and resources driving traffic on to a poorly designed or buggy website, then you are wasting your money. Imagine the average internet user as being naturally appraising and fickle. They are easily discouraged by glitches and clumsy navigation. A contemporary, effective website is an essential investment. Successful SEO is reliant upon keyword rich content. However, the quality of the content itself is playing an increasingly important role. Too often blog posts and copy are little more than transparent beds for keywords and hold no intrinsic value. The discerning browser will be quickly turned off if your website copy is repetitive, derivative and grasping. Unlike platforms like eBay or Groupon, Shoppi allows you to post content like blog, video and pictures to engage your ideal audience. It may be that we are preaching to the converted. The reality is that digital marketing is not something that you can just do and it’s done, it requires constant effort and maintenance. There are ways of making this less labour intensive, you can now try Shoppi for free to test whether you will get a ROI, but always remember that your digital marketing strategy should be composite. Maintaining an effective website and producing effective content will always be essential. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Top 6 SEO Mistakes to Avoid that Will Affect Your Google Rankings

We all know how much search engine optimization is important for gathering free organic traffic. However, sometimes people without knowing to apply lousy SEO practices that can destroy your search engine rankings. Bad SEO is basically outdated or outside of the Google guidelines practices that will send a message to search engines that your website is not optimized, and they will not push your content in search results. That is why it is very important to avoid such things and always implicate the best SEO strategy . In this article, we will go through some of the SEO mistakes to avoid, just to get a better idea of what search engines do not appreciate. Contents Duplicated or plagiarized content is the worst thing you can do on your blog. If you plan on copying content from another source, it is better if you stop what you are doing since your website will never succeed. Search engines like Google have strict rules to follow, and avoiding duplicated content is one of the most important ones. There is a good reason for that. Search engines already have that content in their index, so there is no reason for them to index your web page since it does not offer additional value to readers. Since having links on other websites that lead to yours is a good sign for SEO, it can go the other way if it is done wrong. There are a lot of people who use guest posting just to get backlinks to their website. However, if it is done cheaply, it can affect your website rankings. It is very important to add backlinks to your page just on high-quality websites from your niche. This is, without a doubt the most important thing on a website. Even if it does not affect your search engine rankings, people will stop visiting your website if you offer low-quality content without any value to them. There are some rules to follow when you are writing your content. Try to create an article structure, add few external links from great sources, write content without mistakes, and offer some kind of value to users. These are some of the things that you should follow if you want to achieve better rankings. Also, if you allow guest posting on your website, make sure to approve only the content that meets your guidelines. We all want to make money as fast as possible, but sometimes that can have negative effects on the long-term. Displaying too many ads on your website is also a red flag for Google’s algorithm and will affect your SEO. After some time, if Google recognizes that you have too many ads on your website, you will see a decrease in traffic. Since you want to achieve better rankings, you need to create the ultimate experience for users. This means that you should design a website that is performing well in the real world. Loading speed is also critical to SEO. You should aim for loading speed less than 4 seconds, and 24/7 availability in order to reach higher ranking. Your website performance can be affected by the design of your website or your hosting provider. So make sure you’ve done your homework before publishing your site. Sometimes people get carried away by the keyword targeting, and they lose their sense of the text message. Stuffing articles with unnecessary keywords for the sake of better keyword strategy is a very bad SEO practice. This will show search engines that you are trying to manipulate their algorithms, which can definitely affect your website rankings. It is basically like when Maximum Security was disqualified as a possible Kentucky Derby winner after having been found cheating. These are some of the SEO practices you should definitely avoid in order to achieve better search engine rankings. Since SEO is very important for the success of your blog, you should take your time and do a lot of research before coming up with the right SEO strategy.

5 Common Mistakes That Ruin Any PowerPoint Presentation

Home » IT & Tech Blogs » Information Technology » Business » 5 Common Mistakes That Ruin Any PowerPoint Presentation Preparing a presentation is a useful activity both while you are studying at college or starting your career path. Students start making them at school, then by trial and error, they learn which tools and expression methods have a higher impact. Mistakes which beginner presenters make are typical so your presentations will be more attractive and impressive if you learn to avoid them now. Contents 5 typical mistakes of any beginner presenter: Relying on a template Template always matters. But even if you download the best template from pptstar.com and simply put your text on slides, it will never impress your listeners. A presentation shouldn’t be only attractive, but it should include graphs, frameworks, and relevant images as a speaker’s illustration. Putting too much text All beginner presenters think that if we include the same text in our speech and presentation, we activate two ways of accepting information. In practice, it is a waste of attention. The presentation should serve as an illustration of your speech, not the second copy of it. Presenters’ audience will not like them forcing listeners to read and listen the same time so this way they will not achieve desired results. Overcomplicating slides We love to overestimate our audience’s attention and we try putting as much as we can on our slides. Although the most attentive ones will pay attention to details, most of your audience will not deepen into the information you put. And even those who dig deeper may not listen to you. Use the simple formula “One slide – one object” and they will love what you’ve prepared. Forgetting about structure Any presentation should have a contents slide with a cohesive structure so that listeners will easily follow your speech. If its structure is ambiguous and if you can easily put the second part instead of the fourth one, listeners will quickly get stuck. Which is not what you want. Finishing with “Thanks for attention” It may be good for school and University presentation but that is not relevant for more serious projects. It is polite to say that in words but if you put these words on slides, you attract attention on yourself rather than on the main message you want to deliver. Think about, what do you want your listeners to bring to their homes and let it determine your final slide. Don’t forget about the most important part Remember that when you do a presentation, your goal is not making a cool presentation for others to see your talent. Your goal is to make an impression, to convince people, and express your point of view. It is not the reason to not follow presentation standards of your University but learn to not make the main emphasis on the presentation itself. Let it be something you use, not something you show – and only this way it will help you achieve your goal. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Check Also Listen to Audio We have a lot to thank TED talks for. It’s the most … Submit an Article! p Free article listing you say? Why yes! Contributor articles with content that does not self-advertise a company or that does not intend to manipulate search results or profit in any way are FREE. If you are however interested in advertising or publishing an article that promotes your brand or service, please see our Fiverr special and post your article for a low limited time offer. If you have questions or inquiries or have a custom request, please do not hesitate to contact us .

Attack Discovery Software for Telecom Companies

Home » IT & Tech Blogs » Information Technology » IT Security » Attack Discovery Software for Telecom Companies Ever wonder what secures 4G and 5G mobile networks from attacks? The mobile network around the world is growing, and digital threats are more common than ever. Positive Technologies has performed audits of SS7 website signaling networks since 2014 and continues to secure next-generation 4G and 5G networks with their PT Telecom Security Assessment. The service helps telecom companies to stay safe from DoS attacks, fraud, ensure compliance and protect’s user’s data. The assessment audits and security software also help to ensure a secure connected world in an age where everyone and every device is connected. Positive Technologies research has found that 4G and 5G infrastructures are also subject to the same attacks as older SS7-based networks. These vulnerabilities affect critical signaling protocols (Diametre, GTP) and network configuration errors which make a way in for attackers seeking to steal or spy on subscriber data and location, makes users vulnerable to identity theft or DoS attacks. Contents Telecom Attack Discovery PT Telecom offers an attack discovery solution that provides security monitoring, real-time detection of malicious activity, and protection of the network perimeter.  The product is designed to warn the company if someone is hacking their cellular network.  Telecom operators admins are empowered with rich analytics and reporting capabilities enabling  them to respond to threats as they occur. Security experts at PT Telecom work 24/7 to keep their security database up to date to identify all forms of malicious activity, including: Intercepting calls and SMS Protecting subscribers from location tracking Fraud prevention, including manipulation of USSD codes to transfer money and billing system manipulation to make free calls Stopping DoS attacks targeting subscribers or network segments Protection from sensitive data leakage Features Enhanced visibility for early threat detection Real-time PT Security TAD signaling monitoring ensures immediate threat detection. Security experts update the PT Telecom Attack Discovery knowledge base with new attack patterns around the clock. Malicious activity are detected in early stages with exceptional accuracy. Advanced analytics for rapid incident response PT Telecom Attack Discovery provides rich analytics and reporting enabling operators to respond to threats as they occur. Easy to read, comprehensive dashboards and reports with actionable intelligence help operators quickly address potential issues and minimize damage. PT Telecom’s software provides filtering, grouping, and sorting capabilities for instantly searching through attacks with details such as attack time, source, target, threat category, attack type, severity, and potential impact. Maximized efficiency of other security measures PT Telecom Attack Discovery helps to evaluate how well security countermeasures are working and provides valuable information for improving performance.   It can provide insights on how to fine-tune routing or set up a signaling firewall to block specific attacks. Seamless operation To detect attacks against a telecom operator, PT Telecom Attack Discovery performs thorough analysis in the background with zero impact on network services. Republished by Blog Post Promoter Check Also Listen to Audio Owing to the benefit galore that it promises business, building your corporate … Submit an Article! p Free article listing you say? Why yes! Contributor articles with content that does not self-advertise a company or that does not intend to manipulate search results or profit in any way are FREE. If you are however interested in advertising or publishing an article that promotes your brand or service, please see our Fiverr special and post your article for a low limited time offer. If you have questions or inquiries or have a custom request, please do not hesitate to contact us .