Nearly every office has gone digital, but many still live in the dark ages when it comes to protecting their documents. Before you save your next presentation or proposal, make sure you do whatever it takes to keep the information inside confidential. Here are the top tricks to protect your digital documents:
1. Outsource Technology Management
While you may be a pro at problem-solving or managing a team, computers may not be your specialty. Many companies find this out the hard way. In the beginning, it’s not uncommon for a business owner to tackle multiple departments themselves, including IT. It’s better to hire managed IT services to help reduce your workload and protect proprietary information.
IT management is much more complicated than many business owners assume. Security breaches are more prevalent than ever, and without a professional IT team, it’s only a matter of time before your company becomes a target. Outsourcing technology management will ensure every document you create stays out of the wrong hands.
2. Create an Encrypted Password
People have passwords for just about everything, but some companies forget to password-protect their digital documents. Others simply don’t know how to add one. Luckily, creating an encrypted password only takes a few clicks. A password may mean the difference between keeping a document secret or having it go public without your permission.
To add a password to a Microsoft Word document, simply select this feature in the “Protect Document” tab. Choose a password of your liking, but make sure it’s something you’ll be able to remember. Strong passwords include a combination of letters, numbers, and special characters. The more complex the password, the harder it will be for a person or bot to decode it.
3. Mark the Document as Read-Only
Sometimes co-workers make unintentional changes to a document without realizing it. After creating a digital document, there are ways to protect it from unwanted editing. When saving the document, be sure to indicate you want to share it in read-only mode.
A read-only document means viewers can only read the information included in the file. Read-only mode prevents anyone from overwriting or deleting any critical information contained within a document. If someone wants to edit anything, they’ll have to request permission from the author first. Some programs let the author assign editors to the document, while others only allow the author to make changes.
4. Update All Software
Hackers are always on the hunt for software vulnerabilities. Developers routinely update their software to protect customers and reduce any security risks. There’s a misconception that updates are only important for financial software, but that’s simply not true. Even your digital documents may become a target if the software is outdated or the company server becomes compromised.
Check for new software releases at the end of each day. Don’t put off upgrading, either. It only takes a few minutes to download an update, and it will prevent any confidential documents from getting into the wrong hands. Since many employees choose to work from home, be sure to train your staff on how to keep their personal devices updated.
Protecting Your Documents Means Protecting Your Business
Every company has private information it doesn’t want leaked, but it could damage your business if a document ends up in malicious hands. Protecting digital documents is a must. Outsourcing IT management, adding passwords, saving as read-only, and updating software will ensure your documents remain confidential.
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Economists and entrepreneurs often tout economic recessions as an optimal time to launch a new business. When markets are down, they become ripe for disruption and roll out the red carpet for innovative services, solutions, and products. Which makes me wonder, do these same truths hold true for individuals (and their careers!) during an economic downturn? My answer is an unequivocal yes! The recipe is simple: a little reflection and a dash of connection, sprinkled with objective, expert guidance will allow you to positively disrupt your career trajectory before the market, or burnout, disrupts you. Take a peek below for some foundational strategies to launch your new career path:
1. Reflect on Your Strengths, Values, and Interests
I can feel the collective eye roll of folks reading this article as they say, “Reflection, really?” Yes. Reflection. Really. I encourage you to carve out five minutes every day to reflect on your values, interests, and strengths. At the intersection of these identity components and what the world needs, is the career path you are meant to start walking. Unsure when and where to start? You are not alone. The next time you find yourself mindlessly scrolling on your phone, set a timer for five minutes and pick a prompt below to get curious about:
When I am experiencing joy, what am doing? Who am I alongside? Where am I?
Consider your most successful moment(s). How did you get there? What skills did you leverage? Who lifted you up?
What gives you energy throughout the day? How do you positively utilize that energy when your tank is overflowing
2. Get Acquainted with the Informational Interview
After a few days of reflection, begin looking for emerging themes. Does your joy seem to stem from a particular set of activities? Do the folks that lift you up embrace similar values or work in a particular industry? Have you rediscovered new interests, but are unsure where to start? This is your chance to acquaint yourself with the informational interview. Start by identifying folks that work in a field that piques your interest or hold positions at places where you’ve considered submitting a resume—then reach out and ask to buy them a virtual cup of coffee. Nervous to make that connection? Here’s a little secret: people love talking about themselves and feeling like their helping someone along. Just be sure to prepare a solid set of questions to ask and be ready to answer some questions about yourself too. Remember, be both interested and interesting! These folks may have an opportunity available for you one day—wouldn’t it be great to be on top of their mind?
3. Cultivate Your Dormant Network
Remember your high school and college friends? The former colleagues at former jobs you commiserated alongside? The super cool professors, bosses, and acquaintances you always wanted to get to know better? Now is the time to reconnect. Our dormant network, comprised of folks we knew in another season of life, is one of the best places to begin expanding and building the community that will support your next career step. Not convinced? Take a peek at this article by Adam Grant, Wharton Faculty and world- renowned organizational psychologist.
4. Revamp Your Resume (and Create a Functional Resume)
When was the last time you updated your resume? As a Board Certified Career Coach, I encourage my clients to update their resumes constantly. Learned a new skill? Add it to the resume. Met a workplace benchmark? Add it to the resume. Began supervising employees? I think you get the picture. When we wait to polish our resumes until we choose (or are forced) to leave our current role, so many of our accomplishments get missed, forgotten, and ultimately left of the resume. Start this process today so when the time comes for you to disrupt your career, you’ve already captured the very best of you! Additionally, if your reflection, informational interviews, and network cultivation have you ready to make a 180-degree career pivot, consider building a functional resume that showcases the transferability of your skills. Take a peek here to learn more about the functional resume.
5. Engage with a Career Coach
Feeling overwhelmed by the previous suggestions? You are most certainly not alone. Exploring our strengths, identifying our values, and creating a new professional path is work that often requires support. Engaging with a Career Coach not only provides an objective lens to see your career in a new way, but ensures that you will have champion and thought partner in your corner throughout the job search process. Updating your collateral materials (resume, cover letter, LinkedIn, etc), searching job boards, and preparing for interviews becomes much more tolerable when you have someone holding you accountable and cheering you along! Want to get started? (en)Courage Coaching would love to meet you! Learn more about us here and connect today!
About the Author
Katie O’Malley, M.Ed., BCC, is Leadership Coach and Educator with fifteen years of professional experience serving the nonprofit, corporate and higher education sectors. Across these workplaces, Katie noticed her strengths and values consistently steered her toward the support and development of others. In 2013, Katie translated this observation into action and pursued a Master’s Degree in Counseling and Board Certification in Executive and Career Coaching.
Currently, Katie works full time as the Senior Associate Director of Leadership Development at The University of Chicago Booth School of Business. In this role, Katie designs developmental workshops, provides team and leadership coaching, and contributes to the creation and delivery of leadership education curriculum for students in the Full-Time MBA Program. In her spare time, Katie serves as a Coach and Mentor for start-up businesses through the Polsky Center for Entreprenuership and founded (en)Courage Coaching Chicago, a private coaching practice specializing in career and leadership development for underrepresented populations in the C-Suite. Prior to these roles, Katie served as a coach in leadership development offices at The University of Texas at Austin and DePaul University.
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Life teaches us important things. As time goes by, different experiences turn into different lessons. Running a successful business is almost the same. Your business becomes your life and you learn new things in business as you experience different events. However, stepping into the unknown without at least a little bit of help can turn into a very short trip.
Just like parents give lessons to their children, other entrepreneurs offer advice to business owners in order to help them avoid some of the unpleasant circumstances that can place both them and their business at risk, and advice that can help them thrive and succeed. Here are a few business lessons every founder should be familiar with.
Manage a Tight Budget
Most business owners launch their businesses with a limited capital, hoping that profits will be substantial with the right investments. This is true, by making the right choices, a return on investment can become a good source of profit and income. However, investments take time to fully develop, while additional expenses and unforeseen costs can set back your business greatly. Make sure you promote your business and think about different strategies to do that.
Find ways to manage your finances efficiently and effectively in order not to spend your entire capital in one place. Furthermore, if you find yourself in a situation where you need to seek venture capitalism or investors, make sure you do it before you actually need it. You don’t want to put yourself in a situation where you have to beg for money.
Messing With the Law
Many business owners run into legal trouble without even understanding why or what they did wrong in the first place. You might not be aware of the certain taxes or you may not even realize that you need a specific license. Furthermore, the state can legally bind you to acquire surety bond insurance, under the federal law that you might not even know about. The point is that the bureaucracy and red tape can put an end to your business faster than any other issue you might run into. Therefore, learn a valuable lesson from this and make sure you sort out any tax, license or insurance matters if you want your business to run smoothly.
Learn from successful businesses
One of the most lucrative industries is the oil and gas industry and if you want to find a business that is sustainable and a great option, you may want to learn something from professionals. The main thing every startup will learn from big industries is to adapt to all the technological changes. Even big industries need to change with all the new technology and equipment and the use of all the latest upgrades. Things like efficient oilfield equipment are the best way to achieve great results and take your business to the highest level.
Don’t Get Discouraged
Every business has its good and bad days, and so will yours. You may think everything is going well while at one point, results may start to decline. Business fluctuations are completely normal. Furthermore, the market and customer demand are constantly shifting. The important thing is not to give up just because your business has hit a rough spot. Most businesses fail because their founders decide that the risk is not worth the gain and that tough times are too much to bear. However, businesses change all the time and a rough patch may even become an opportunity to shift focus and direction. Your business will constantly evolve and it’s up to you to navigate it from troublesome situations into profitable endeavors.
Hire Smart
Hiring the right people for your business is crucial for its success. A key to a profitable and successful business is a stable and effective workforce. In order for your business to thrive and prosper you must take time and make an effort to hire the right people for the job. Anything less than that, and your business might face employee turnovers, additional expenses and slow or lack of any work progress.
This is an important business lesson because a good employee will help you achieve your goals, while a bad employee will only slow you down. Besides, hiring the right people from the very beginning will develop a suitable business culture and make your job a lot easier from there on.
Planning Ahead
The most important aspect of your business is to plan ahead and always be prepared for the best and the worst outcomes. You can estimate the market and run metrics to calculate the risks. Also, you must always thrive to be at least one step ahead of your game. This will ensure that when the time comes, you are ready to make the right move, invest in a good opportunity or save your business from its downfall.
For entrepreneurs who decide to run a successful business, it will be like learning how to walk – one step at the time. Of course, we learn the best when there is someone there to give us a little push or teach us a valuable lesson, so we don’t make mistakes that can ruin us.
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Entrepreneurship isn’t so much a career as it is a way of life. Owning your own business or working freelance means you don’t have the safety net of an HR department to take care of your personal administration or a boss prompting you to take a course. All of this must be instigated by you, and it is important if you want to be successful in your field. Thankfully it’s fairly easy to do in today’s digital world; there are several ways you can work towards improving yourself and your business. Keep reading to find out more.
Books and podcasts
Regardless of your entrepreneurial field or freelance endeavor, there will be people who have to tread the same path you’re on and lived to tell the tale. These people write the books like road maps for you, allowing you to sidestep common pitfalls carefully. Research relevant people, invest in their books and learn from them.
The same theory applies to podcasts. Although similar to books in many aspects, podcasts deliver a more live experience. They are often hosted by entrepreneurs like yourself and will discuss dilemmas relevant to your field. A good industry podcast will usually have expert guests on the show to offer advice on various niche aspects of the industry and help accelerate your learning.
Learn a second language
You’ve probably heard that learning a second language is a great way to advance your career; it undoubtedly is, especially for people who want to garner a competitive edge over their colleagues or peers. But for entrepreneurs, it can be even more significant and career-advancing, not only from a personal development point of view but also in terms of client service.
If you run a business that deals with overseas customers, it makes a big difference if you can speak their language. For example, you might need to take up English conversation courses to make a better impression on your customers. They will be more responsive to a company that caters to their localization, and your client retention should improve. From a personal perspective, learning a language helps develop and exercise your brain. It’s been shown that people with second language abilities are more disciplined and creative.
Get some extra training
Never underestimate the value of continuing professional development. It’s easy to forget about this after your company is earning strong revenue, but if you want to maintain those levels and grow your business, you need to stay sharp and relevant. Your extra training doesn’t have to be in your niche field; it can be Urine Collector, for instance, if you’re a performance sports brand.
Firstly, however, think about what areas of the business you would like to earn more about. Maybe you’ve always been poor with numbers, which is why you hire an account manager. That’s fine for the time being, but it’s also a good opportunity to train yourself in accounting as well. It isn’t so you can take over the role, but you can better understand the workings of the business. After training yourself in these satellite areas, you can then diversify.
Connect with communities
Entrepreneurship can be a lonely business at times; you have so many plates spinning, employees, and clients to manage, and only you intuitively know how to manage it. Or so you think. The reality is there are millions of people in the world just like you, with the same concerns and obstacles; the difference is they have a different perspective from you and, therefore, new ideas.
Industry communities can be found on social media sites like LinkedIn and Facebook. They are built around people operating in your niche area and who encounter similar problems and dilemmas. Engaging with these communities is an excellent way to ask troubling questions and get support. It’s good to know you’re not alone when it comes to entrepreneurial endeavors.
Know your goals
The difference between a successful entrepreneur and one that fails is sometimes down to active versus passive personalities. The passive types tend to find some success, enough to sustain a lifestyle and then settle for it. They don’t engage further in personal development strategies or company growth. Conversely, the active ones tend to be interested in growing the business and improving their personal value.
The difference is only really an attitude. Active entrepreneurs will work to a set of goals that frame their intentions and motivate them to progress. Passive entrepreneurs may have goals in mind, but they are probably long term goals that aren’t timebound. Implement SMART goals in your life and business by identifying the broad categories or important areas to develop and then using your SMART goals to stay on track.
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Starting an online business does come with plenty of benefits to it. As an entrepreneur, it gives you the freedom and flexibility to make money irrespective of where you are in the world. It also allows you to determine your work hours, work from home, choose the niche to focus on, and require little to no startup costs. There is absolutely no wrong in starting your own online business. However, you need to know that one of the most important steps to being successful with your online business is choosing a business or an idea that is in line with the strengths and skills you already possess.
It doesn’t matter whether you are looking to make it a side hustle or a source of passive income, or you’re going in as a full-time online entrepreneur. You must make sure that your service or product fulfills your customer’s specific needs or target audience. That’s the only way you are going to be successful in building a profitable online business.
Although it’s much easier to start a business online, however, when it comes to growing your business, maintaining, and sustaining it, the processes that it takes are much similar to that of a traditional business. If you are looking to start your own business online, here’s a list of authors’ processes at research paper writing help that you might find handy for you.
1.Choose your business idea.
This should not come as a surprise to you. It’s the first step you have to take, but you have to consider a few things in doing this.
Why are you doing this?
The reason you are doing this will go a long way to determine how much you will be willing to put into the business to ensure that it succeeds. It’s a lot harder to grow and maintain a business than it is to start one. You have to make sure you are driven by passion.
What are your strengths?
As mentioned earlier, you must build your business on the strength and skills that you already possess. You don’t follow an idea because others are doing it; you might not have the strength to pull it off. Make sure that whatever business idea you are starting is based on what you can do.
Are you solving any problems?
The goal of all businesses is to meet their target’s needs, and in doing this, they are solving a problem. So, what problem are you solving with your business? The only reason people will patronize you is if you are solving a problem or pain point for them. An excellent way to choose a profitable business is to look around for common issues that you have the skill and ability to solve and build your business around it.
2. Validate your idea
Once you have determined a business idea that’s good for you, the next thing is to validate your idea. The good thing is, this is not a complicated process. It often involves asking questions and researching people’s problem points and what they think the best solution is. This will give you an idea of how to chart your business course.
When it comes to validating your idea, there are different ways to go about it, especially since you’re dealing with an online audience.
Go through customer reviews.
You’re not starting a business that no one has ever heard of, so you already have competitors before you start. Go through some of their customer reviews to see people’s pain points and suggestions.
Survey your potential customers
Talking to your customers or targets is still the best way to validate a business, but since it is an online business and you can’t meet the customers in-person, you can talk to them over the internet too. An excellent way to do this is through online surveys. Create a survey and promote it to gather and sample people’s responses.
3. Make your business plan.
You can start creating your business plan once you have determined enough potential interest in the business. The good thing is that the process of defining your idea and validating it would already give you a head start for creating your business plan. Now you have to make sure that it is possible to forecast finances and pursue funding while growing.
Lean planning
When starting, make sure that your business plan is as lean as possible. Note down what you can do in the next 30 minutes instead of the next six weeks. This means that you’re only dealing with essentials, and it’s easier for you to get started this way.
Carry out market analysis
You must know the market that you are going into before you launch yourself or business in it. You should already have an idea of this during your validation stage, but this is where you do the real analysis. To do this, you need a SWOT analysis. This will help you determine your distribution methods, pricing models, your competitive advantage, as well as your weaknesses.
Consider your success metrics and funding.
You must think through your plans to fund your business and identify for startup costs. It does not matter if your business is only a side gig or you’re not a full-time entrepreneur. You must regularly review your metrics.
4. Set up a website
The fact that you are an online business means that you need a website. It is a matter of necessity. Creating a website is a much more complicated process than setting up a landing page for a preview. You have to make difficult decisions about your hosting platform, the kind of design that works best for your business, etc. Your website is essential because it is the first thing that represents your business to your prospects and targets. You have to make sure that it accurately reflects what you’re doing and the kind of service and products you offer.
In building your website, there are certain things that you have to ensure.
Make your website mobile-friendly
It is vital for the success of your business that your website is mobile-friendly. If you want to have good enough visibility online, your website must be compatible with mobile devices. If you don’t optimize your website for mobile devices, there will be very few positive experiences on your website when people visit with their phones. The fact that most people now surf the web with their mobile devices means your website visitors will have a more negative experience on your website. That’s not good for business. It becomes challenging for people to find your website organically too.
Use high-quality images
You would not be enhancing the credibility of your website by using poor or low-quality images. If you’re selling products on your website, for instance, you must have high-quality pictures of the products that you are selling. It makes a world of difference to your business. If you think you have to hire people (professionals) to get high-quality images, please do. Do whatever it takes to ensure that the quality on your website is top-notch. All of these form part of your reputation and credibility and go a long way in determining your business’s success.
Open a blog
Content marketing is an effective digital marketing technique, and blogging allows you to create more than enough content for your prospects and customers to continue visiting your website. However, you have to know that this isn’t compulsory. If you don’t think you are cut out for it, you can leave it out but if it is something that you can do or you’re okay with hiring people to write blog posts for you, then go ahead. It helps to drive traffic to your website and also creates more awareness for your business.
Conclusion
That’s all there is to creating an online business. There are different types of online businesses that you might want to consider, but don’t forget to only settle for one that fits in well with your strength and skill. Afterward, starting an online business is easy. The hard part is maintaining it. That’s where you need passion to remain consistent and push through.
About the Author
Charlie Svensson is a fast, engaging freelance writer at assignment help at My-Assignment.help. Skilled in content writing and blogging. The favorite topics of his posts are education, social media, marketing, SEO, motivation blogging, and self-growth. Excellent adaptability of skills to reach diverse audiences.
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Nearly every office has gone digital, but many still live in the dark ages when it comes to protecting their documents. Before you save your next presentation or proposal, make sure you do whatever it takes to keep the information inside confidential. Here are the top tricks to protect your digital documents:
Charlie Svensson is a fast, engaging freelance writer at 
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