It’s 2021. Is your business resilient against things like natural disasters, supply chain interruptions, social media outages, cybercrime, and all the changes happening in our increasingly digital world? If not, consider using these technologies to make your small business a resilient one.
The business phone as a physical phone that lives in the office and only takes messages after hours is a dated concept. Besides, you may not even have one consistent office.
Softphones—that is, a software-based phone that can live on any device you have instead of a single dedicated device—are better for a flexible and mobile staff. And besides, if you’re dealing with an emergency, the flexibility to communicate from anywhere and to have people be able to reach you is indispensible.
Celebrity chef David Chang famously lost his prized cookbook collection in Hurricane Sandy when his restaurant flooded. Imagine how many businesses also lost hard copies of files, data on devices that was not backed up, information in address books, tax records in bankers boxes, and more.
The truth is: all data must be backed up to a remote site. Backup services are inexpensive and only require an internet connection. In 2021, there’s no reason to lose data.
Cybercriminals target small businesses. Ransomware attacks, card skimming, old fashioned spear phishing attacks to gain access to bank accounts—small businesses can suffer any of these. That’s why it’s essential for small businesses to invest in the kind of cybersecurity that will protect their information, keep key data backed up, and make themselves look like a tough target. And, when all else fails, buy the kind of insurance that pays out in case of cyberattack. Remember: 60% of businesses will go under six months after being hit with a cyberattack.
If you were a brick-and-mortar business that built an online sales presence before March 2020, then congratulations—you set yourself up for success in a way no one could foresee. But while not many laypeople predicted the pandemic, few would argue that having a second way of making money would be a bad thing.
It’s not enough to have a physical storefront and a digital storefront. Resilient businesses update their Google information, keep a page on Facebook, post pictures on Instagram, maintain a presence on Twitter—and plant their flag wherever they can. And it’s not that these businesses are necessarily spending a whole lot of time on each platform. Indeed, it’s sometimes enough to just make sure you have control over your page’s information and post the bare minimum. The point is that all these platforms are a way for people to find your business, so smart businesses maintain as much of a presence on as many platforms as possible. And remember, it’s possible for a platform to go down. Businesses that relied entirely on Instagram for sales must have been struggling with the outage earlier this month. Businesses with more than one channel for selling probably had an easier time.
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