StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Do You Need a Toll Free Number for Your Business?

Do You Need a Toll Free Number for Your Business?

StrategyDriven Entrepreneurship Article | Do You Need a Toll Free Number for Your Business?In these days of smartphones and websites, does it still make sense to have a toll free number for business? It might surprise you that the answer is “Yes”! Tool free numbers show that you are serious about your business, they are easy to remember and they can help with brand recognition. Even though many people are on calling plans now, the allure of the 800 number has not disappeared.

  • Toll free numbers give your business legitimacy. You might be only one person sitting in a coffee shop, but your customers don’t know that. A toll free number gives an air of professionalism to your venture.
  • A recognizable toll free prefix makes you look like your business is national rather than local. This is mainly perception, but then many sales are based on a customer’s image of your business.
  • When a business is willing to pick up the tab for something, i.e. free shipping or toll free calls, the customer perceives you as willing to go that extra mile to make a sale.
  • Vanity numbers are those ones that start out 1-800-SPL-AWRD. This can help with branding because people tend to remember words better than numbers. Be careful to pick a number that will make sense to customers.
  • Put some effort into choosing your vanity toll free number. The number can describe what you do, relate to the name of your company, make a call for action or an amusing aside. Be sure that customers will be able to connect it to your business.
  • If you choose to get a toll free number for your business, you must connect it to a local number, however, you can change this number if you need to and program the toll free number to ring to different phones depending up the time of day.
  • Toll free numbers allow you to track incoming calls. The number automatically keeps track of the people who have called you.
  • Finally, toll free numbers are easy to remember. They don’t have to be vanity numbers to be easy. They can simply be a memorable sequence of numbers, such as a repeating pattern like 2211 or a sequence such as 1234. Words are easier to remember in general, so vanity numbers are still probably your best bet.

Despite the fact that many people have gotten rid of landlines, tool free numbers are still relevant to business. Put some thought into choosing your number and then let it work for you by connecting customers to your brand. Check out toll free phone numbers today.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article|Reinvest in your business|4 Ways to Reinvest in Your Small Business to Drive Success

4 Ways to Reinvest in Your Small Business to Drive Success

StrategyDriven Managing Your Finances Article|Reinvest in your business|4 Ways to Reinvest in Your Small Business to Drive SuccessAs a small business owner, earning your first profit is a milestone. Hanging your first dollar from your first sale on the wall is a symbolic gesture that pays respect to the hard work that goes into building a business. Whether you actually hang up your dollar or not, you can understand the feeling of working tirelessly to create something that works. It’s an exciting moment for a new business owner.

This moment also comes with the decision of what to do with your company’s profits and how to put it towards an investment that will pay off. It can be a tricky decision, especially if this is your first business venture and you aren’t sure what course of action is best. Here are the best four ways to invest or reinvest into your company to drive future success.

1. Invest in business improvements

It’s common for start-ups and small businesses to reinvest in the early stages in order to help the business grow. Reinvesting in improvements like equipment, infrastructure, product development, and improving customer service are all valuable ways to build your business.

Software

Finding ways to streamline business processes is another good investment to make into your company. One aspect to consider is what kind of software your business should use to help achieve this goal. You are definitely spoiled for choice as there are so many programs out there designed to help you and your team save time and eliminate unnecessary tasks through automation. These programs are especially useful for start-ups who are operating with minimal staff and have a lot of team members wearing many hats already. You can purchase software to help with everything from your accounting to employee management and acquisition.

Organization

One integral but often overlooked program to invest in is a digital asset manager. Digital assets can quickly become disorganized if there isn’t a strict organizational method in place. If you’ve ever worked at a company with an internal drive that had no structure or naming conventions enforced, you know how chaotic it is to try and keep track of assets. This is especially true if you send and receive assets for feedback to retailers, partners or an outsourced team. Using digital asset management or a DAM such as Brandfolder can help save you from the headache and panic of trying to track down the asset you need.

2. Invest in your team

Building a strong team from strong foundations will help your business thrive. Creating a workplace culture where your employees feel valued, challenged, and happy to come to work every day improves productivity, which turns into profit. It also helps attract other talent because they know they can be successful in that environment and helps reduce turnover, which can be quite costly.

The best ways to invest in your team are with education and training courses, benefits packages, competitive salaries, and in-office perks like meals, flexible or remote working, and a good employee lounge to help people de-stress.

3. Invest in your marketing

When done well, investing in your company’s own digital marketing is a smart investment. It helps build your brand’s presence online and in your industry to attract customers or clients and talent. Sometimes start-ups take their time dipping their toes into their digital marketing efforts, possibly because they aren’t sure where to begin or don’t think they have enough in the budget. It can be a low-cost endeavor if you know how to strategize and plan properly, and there’s no downside to investing in performance metrics.

4. Invest in yourself

If you’re the one leading the charge, you should also be spending time and resources improving yourself and your expertise. Many start-up CEOs have some of the skills required to run a successful business but are missing others. For example, they may know how to innovate and fill a market need, but they don’t know how to manage people. Skills development courses can go a long way for the success of your leadership and business.

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article|cloud security standards|5 Ways to Improve Your Cloud Security Standards

5 Ways to Improve Your Cloud Security Standards

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article|cloud security standards|5 Ways to Improve Your Cloud Security StandardsCurrently, roughly 90% of companies in the United States use some kind of cloud service. While the cloud computing industry may be worth more than $100 billion as of 2020, it’s still yet to reach it peak.

Just about any type of business can benefit from cloud services when it comes to their critical business processes. Cloud computing presents great advancements in efficiency and supportability.But does this shift in technology guarantee your company foolproof cloud security standards? The good news is that the top public cloud service providers offer a highly secure environment for your sensitive business data.

But while cloud service providers are generally reliable when it comes to data protection, they can’t guarantee protection when that data leaves the cloud to other systems.

In this friendly guide, we equip you with the information you need to know about cloud security policies, including cloud computing best practices. Keep reading to learn more.

Why Do Businesses Opt For the Cloud?

For many years after the internet entered the scene, organizations hosted their hardware in an office within the premise or hired space in data centers nearby. In the last decade, cloud computing has completely transformed that architecture. Companies no longer have to invest in hardware to securely store their data.

The rise of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) through cloud service providers means that companies can now entrust their data and systems to a third party. It’s a reliable alternative to hosting your website or storing your data in a physical location. Then cloud affords an organization more flexibility and can significantly cut costs.

How Do You Ensure Topnotch Cloud Security Standards?

As we mentioned earlier, transferring your data to the cloud does not make your information entirely immune to security breaches. But you can avert these breaches by adopting the best security practices. We discuss some of these practices below.

1. Set Up Multi-Factor Authentication

Stealing credentials is one of the top ways cyber criminals use to access your digital business data. That’s why you need to ditch the conventional username and password combination to access business accounts. This combination is often weak when it comes to protecting yourself from hackers.

Among the simplest and most effective cloud security controls is deploying multi-factor authentication. This authentication technique ensures that only authorized staff can access your sensitive data by logging in to your cloud applications. So reliable is this security measure that most security experts consider businesses that haven’t yet deployed it as negligent.

2. Manage User Access

While you want to maintain as much transparency as possible within your company, the fact is that not every employee needs to access every file or piece of information. That’s why you need to set up clear levels of authorization, so every employee only accesses data or application necessary for their job.

You want to avoid incidences of a member of staff accidentally editing data that they have no authority to access. Additionally, you want to protect your sensitive information from hackers who may have stolen the credentials of one of your employees.

3. Monitor User Activity Continuously

What if a hacker succeeds in stealing login credentials and can access your sensitive business data? Well, that’s where real-time monitoring comes in.

Through real-time monitoring, you can spot any irregularities that vary considerably from the normal usage patterns. These deviations include log in from previously unknown devices or IP addresses.

Once you notice an abnormal activity, you can promptly investigate it to determine whether there has been a breach of your system. In case there is, you can fix that security issue before it causes mayhem in your organization.

Besides monitoring user activity, it’s essential that you need to keep a record of instances that your employees have accessed business data and any changes they’ve made on it. This way, you can provide auditors with a report of people who have access to the data at any given time in case there’s a breach.

4. Develop a Secure Off-boarding Process for Outgoing Staff

When individuals depart from your company, you want to ensure they don’t leave with your trade secrets. Create a foolproof process of taking away access rights to outgoing employees so they can no longer access your business systems, client information, or intellectual property.

The off-boarding process may seem easy, but it isn’t. Keep in mind that a departing employee could have access to numerous cloud applications. Revoking access to each of these applications can prove time-consuming.

Have a systemized deprovisioning procedure to revoke all the access rights of departing employees. Some organizations opt for solutions that consolidate user credentials into a single identity that can be turned off for the company’s cloud applications at once.

Remember, you can always turn to an expert to help you with the off-boarding process if you can’t manage it internally.

5. Have a Cloud-to-Cloud Backup Solution

The risks associated with cloud platforms and applications are legitimate. You could lose your data anytime, especially as a result of human actions. For instance, an employee could accidentally delete data, or a hacker may intentionally clean it out.

Given the dire consequences of data loss or manipulation, companies need to have backup solutions. At the moment, numerous cloud-based backup solutions that can protect you. Consult a credible IT solutions provider like charlotteitsolutions.com to help you determine the best solution for you.

You Can Reduce Your Cloud Computing Security Risks

Generally, cloud computing is a highly beneficial option for businesses in the 21st century. However, companies that choose cloud services need to adhere to cloud security standards to get the most out of it. Fortunately, cloud computing best practices are reasonably easy to implement and follow.

Would you like to read more great content like this? Please keep visiting our blog.

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article|IT Assistance|5 Signs You Need IT Assistance Within Your Business

5 Signs You Need IT Assistance Within Your Business

StrategyDriven Managing Your Business Article|IT Assistance|5 Signs You Need IT Assistance Within Your BusinessIf you’re thinking of hiring IT assistance within your business but you’re unsure whether or not you’re at the right stage then don’t worry, you have definitely come to the right place. Whether you’re just starting your business or you have been operating for years, you need to ensure you’re looking after your IT systems. From freelance IT consultants to full-time IT managers, it’s important to hire the right person for the job. With that in mind, here are 5 signs you need IT assistance within your business:

– You’re Struggling To Keep Up With Updates

One of the hardest things about looking after the IT systems in your business is the constant updates that it brings. Whether that means updating your software or keeping up to date with industry trends, you need to ensure you’re on top of things. Whilst that may be easy where you’re a start-up, it’s often the last thing on your mind as your business starts to grow. If that’s the case, hiring IT assistance may be the best route to take. If you are looking for a guide to keeping up with IT trends, however, you can visit this site here.

– You Have No IT Experience

If you have no IT experience and you’re thinking of improving your systems, a dedicated IT team will be able to help you. Not only will they be able to look at the systems you currently have in place but they will also be able to tell you whether or not you need to upgrade. As you start to work with your dedicated team, they will be able to teach you some tips and tricks to help with your overall knowledge.

– You’ve Experienced Some Issues

Another sign you may need to hire IT assistance within your business is that you have been experiencing issues. Whether your systems are crashing or you’re having trouble uploading files, having a dedicated team to help you will ensure you’re not losing out on valuable time and money. For guidance when it comes to staying calm in a technical emergency, you can visit this site here.

– You Are Concerned For Your Online Safety

If you are worried about staying safe online you may want to consider looking into managed IT services that can help. Whether they set up two-factor authentication on your social media channels or they help you install anti-virus software across all your machines, you want to ensure you’re being as safe as you possibly can.

– You Business Is Starting To Grow

Finally, if your business is starting to grow then you may want to consider hiring a team that can help you manage the growth that comes alongside it – including all of the IT aspects. Although it can be expensive, it will more than pay for itself when you’re able to run your business without a worry.

Do you need IT assistance within your business? What signs gave it away? Did we miss anything? Let me know your thoughts and ideas in the comments section below.

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Accident Risk Management|Accident Risk Management: How to Deal with an Accident in Kansas

Accident Risk Management: How to Deal with an Accident in Kansas

StrategyDriven Risk Management Article |Accident Risk Management|Accident Risk Management: How to Deal with an Accident in KansasAlthough Kansas is a relatively road safe state, knowing what to do if the worst happens is quite important in keeping you and others safe. Yes, you can save lives and reduce property damage plus you will know how to handle legal issues after a car accident. Let’s look at some of the key steps you should take to deal with an auto accident in Kansas.

Dealing With an Accident Kansas

An accident can shake you, but you can handle the situation if you can compose yourself before acting. Being angry can be inevitable, especially if you feel that the other driver was reckless, but acting on an impulse will only worsen the situation.

Depending on the extent of accidents, you can try to assist others involved the accidents. Know that there are many ways of helping a car accident victim and the best first aid options will depend on the nature of injuries sustained. Proceed to call or ask a bystander to call the local police, the fire department or an ambulance. If it’s a minor injury, you can exchange information with the other driver and even try to collect evidence from the scene.

It’s important to note that you shouldn’t underestimate the injuries in case you have sustained them. So, ensure you seek medical help and keep the medical reports. You might have been the one on the wrong in the accident but don’t admit liability before speaking to an auto accident lawyer.

Now, Kansas is a no-fault state meaning that the damages incurred in the accident will be covered by the insurer. So, you ought to notify your insurer of the accident to claim compensation. However, in case of severe damages and personal injury, the Kansas no-fault law has an exception. You can file a lawsuit seeking compensation from the negligent party in the accident. Winning a claim in a no-fault state is easier than done keeping in mind that this rule is there to reduce the number of cases going to the court system. But, you can speak to a Car accident lawyer who will help assess your case and help you fight for justice.

Here are a few factors that will actually affect your chances of winning a car accident claim in Kansas:

Factors that Affect Your Car Accident Claim in Kansas

1.The Expertise of Your lawyer

You should not, under any circumstances, seek legal aid from just any attorney in Kansas. Only seek help from car accident lawyers who skillfully handle cases of similar types. A good attorney will handle all legal processes from compiling assessing evidence, dealing with the other party, filing a lawsuit to attending court sessions for your compensation.

2. Your Statements

When pursuing compensation, you will be asked about the accident by different people like police officers, medical attendants, and representatives from insurance companies, etc. They will look for consistency in what you say to determine the credibility of your story.

It is thus important to refrain from giving statements and let a skilled car attorney do the talking for you. It doesn’t matter if you were partially at fault. Tell your lawyer all the facts as this will help in the case. In fact, Kansas uses what’s known as a pure comparative negligence rule in determining compensation. This is to say that you can still get compensated if you were at fault but the amount will be reduced based on your role in the accident.

3. Extent of Injuries

Getting medical reports that detail the injuries and the effect of the pain and injuries to your lifestyle will also strengthen your claim. You should however not be tempted to lie about the pain for higher compensations. Your attorney should be able to guide you on the medical report documents that will help your case.

It’s important to note that there are no definite compensation amounts for car accidents in Kansas. Your compensation will depend on current expenses, expected expenses, and pain and suffering. The record of current expenses factors in medical bills, the extent of property damage, and loss of income. Future expenses factor in disability, inability to work as you used to and medical expenses.

Final Word:

Accidents do happen but you should at least be prepared especially in legal and health matters. You should know the first aid steps to assist in saving lives in a car accident plus you should know how to seek compensation for the damages caused by the car accident. Again, seeking legal assistance from a skilled auto accident attorney is the best way to get fair compensation for the damages and personal injury.