Articles

Business Tips From the Editor - March 2024

BUSINESS TIPS FROM THE EDITOR

March 2024

Richard T. Hendee, Editor
The Silver Fox Advisor

One of the most valuable things any business owns is often overlooked and may not be considered an asset. It probably isn’t protected or secured, is most likely not covered by insurance and is generally taken for granted. Have you figured out what that item is? Well, I will tell you – It’s your business’s IT, which includes all your accounting, accounts receivable and payables, itemized inventory listing, payroll, billings, banking data, customer database, and much much more. 

Can you even imagine walking into your business one morning to discover all your hardware and electric devices (computers, phones, and printers) are gone? Or, you log on to your system(s) and all the data is being held for ransom, or worse yet, missing. Some of your data may be backed up on another server or in the cloud. But what do you do next? Do you have a plan? Do you have an in-house IT department or an outside IT provider? How long will it be before your business can be back up and running? Who do I notify? Do I have to inform my clients, vendors, supplies, my bank? These are questions, if you have not thought about or planned for will age you very fast, if (or should I say when) it happens to you and your business.

 Every day we read or hear about hacks or data breaches at some major corporation, and we think ‘well that can never happen to me’ here on Main Street, USA. However, hacks and data breaches like the ones described above are happening to small businesses every day, even though they just don’t make the 5 o’clock news.

 ‘What can I do to protect this valuable IT piece of my business’ you are probably asking yourself. Well, it is always better to plan ahead before something happens, having procedures in place so your recovery time and capital loss is minimized. But even better, don’t go it alone. Contact a good IT provider, if you don’t already have one, and seek advice and counsel on how to protect your business data. In most businesses capital is always tight, and most small business owners do not want to spend cash unless it can produce something, or they can see immediate results. However, IT is one area that is the life blood for your business, and without access to the data that is critical to operate your business, you don’t have a business to operate!

 If you need help or assistance with what is needed to be done to protect and secure your business’ IT in 2024, we encourage you to visit our Web-site at www.silverfox.org and learn more about the Silver Fox Advisors, and how they can assist you with your business needs, as well as discover more about our great programs and community outreach endeavors.