Data stored on your business’ computers probably represents one of your most important assets. You may have client data, financial data, contact lists – in fact, what isn’t on a computer these days? But these assets can be destroyed in just a matter of seconds from user error, technical faults or malicious hacking. The only sure way to limit loss is by backing up (copying and storing) the data on your computers on a regular basis. How you back it up and how often you do it are decisions for you to make but unless you backup your data on a regular basis you're placing a lot of your businesses' intellectual property at risk.

A choice of backup methods

1. You can back upyour computer data onto recordable media if the volume of your data isn't too large for it. The simplest way is to copy your files onto a recordable DVD (a DVD-R) that will hold about 8GB of data. Since PCs now commonly come with hard drives in excess of 8oGB this may take up too much of your time to be practical, but it is relatively easy providing you have a DVD burner on your machine. Another, and better option, is to backup onto portable media such as the very affordable 300GB data storage drives now on the market. Backing up onto tapes is another possibility.
2. You can put a second hard drive into your PC and make a copy of your primary hard disk drive. This is also very easy to do but it has one major drawback - your 'mirror' drive can be destroyed by the same calamity that destroys your primary drive, so it's not a preferred backup method.
3. You can use an online backup service and upload your data over the Internet to their servers. This is becoming increasingly popular as broadband access increases, and the costs aren't very high. Large amounts of data can take quite a while to transmit, and if the backup service operator fails your data could be lost. It's a good backup method but shouldn't be your only one.

There are software backup programs available to help you backup your data, regardless of which of the above three methods you choose. They automate the backup process and schedule backups when it's most convenient for you.

What if you have a network?

Many small businesses now have a local area network (LAN) which gives them the option of setting up a single backup point rather than backing up individual computers in the network. You can backup all the computers and file servers on a network along with your file servers onto one high-capacity data storage unit using a utility program to manage the scheduling.

How often should you backup your data?

Most offices perform a backup of their most critical data on a daily basis. Even the loss of a single day's data can be a serious problem for some businesses, and some files get backed up twice a day or even more frequently. Less important data can be backed up weekly if you feel that's sufficient. The most important thing is to backup regularly so it becomes a habit. Allowing a scheduled backup to be delayed until the next morning is bad management. Be sure all the backups are kept in a safe place, as far from the source computers as possible.

Train your employees to backup data

If you intend to have your employees backup their own computers you should have a written policy that covers which data is backed up, how often a backup is made, and how the backup files are stored. You must also be sure that every employee responsible for backing up their computer knows how to do it. Put this policy into your employee training manual, together with instructions on how to backup a PC. Be sure to update your manual and the instructions every time you amend your backup policy or procedures – or your hardware and software.

What if disaster does strike?

It's almost inevitable that the situation will arise where you haven't backed up something important and the computer dies. The good news is that data can often be recovered from severely damaged machines, but it's horrifically expensive and only to be used as a last resort. It's far better to arrange regular backups for all your data and store the copies in a safe place.

Burglary is simply any unlawful entry for the purposes of committing a felony or theft. Few burglars are ever apprehended, and security industry experts estimate that around 80% of all burglaries go unsolved. The incidence of business burglaries is increasing worldwide with up to 2% of businesses in metropolitan areas falling victim to break-ins of some sort each year.

Because business premises are likely to be unoccupied outside of their normal trading hours they can be easy targets for burglars unless adequate security measures are in place.  There are four basic burglary deterrents: locks, an alarm system, lighting and a safe. They can’t provide a guarantee that burglars won’t attempt to ply their skills on your premises, but they will make it a less attractive option and encourage them to look elsewhere.

Locks

Locks on all doors and windows are a strong deterrent to burglars because they require force to overcome. If you check your burglary insurance policy you’ll probably find that evidence of a forced entry will be necessary to make a successful claim. Force takes up time and causes noise, both of which burglars would prefer to avoid.

Professional burglars know all about locks, and many can defeat a typical pin tumbler cylinder lock with fewer than five pins. For this reason security experts recommend a lock with six or seven pins, or a high security lock with a non-pin tumbler.

Dead bolts, another requirement that’s frequently on insurance policies, have a bolt that’s inserted into place when the key is turned, so the lock requires a key to open it. They defeat one of the burglar’s favorite methods of entry – breaking a pane of glass to reach through the door and turn the handle.

Keep close control over the keys that open the doors and windows to the business. Avoid making duplicates, and if a key is lost replace the lock. Never leave keys where they can be picked up by unauthorized persons.

Alarm systems

A silent alarm that alerts a security firm or the police is probably the best form of alarm to use. Noisy alarms will often scare the inexperienced burglar away, but the professionals can often find a tripped alarm and disarm it. Without identifying the type or make of alarm in use, place prominent notices that there are alarms protecting your premises.

Use a range of detectors inside the premises to detect motion as well as sound or vibrations. Be careful to locate your alarm’s control panel where it can’t be seen from the outside. Otherwise they’ll have a good idea of the make and type of alarm, and may even be able to see whether it’s been set or if the system is turned off.

Lighting

Darkness is the burglar’s best friend, and most break-ins happen at night. Floodlighting the exterior of the premises removes much of the burglar’s protection, and bright indoor lighting is another excellent preventative measure.  Burglars know that the first thing police will do if they’re called to a suspected break-in before entering the premises is to look through all the windows to see if there’s anyone inside. Having lights that clearly illuminate all areas, including office areas, is a good deterrent as well as an aid to law enforcement authorities.

Safes

Because it’s difficult to remove and to break into, a safe is another way to protect your premises. If burglars can see it from the outside they’ll be less likely to bother breaking in, and the bigger it is, the better. Size and weight alone aren’t enough to prevent thieves from stealing a safe and its contents. To be fully effective the safe should be fixed to the structure of the building.  Insurance companies will often reduce premiums for businesses that keep valuables in a strong safe - discuss this with your insurer before deciding on a safe to purchase. And remember to change the combination anytime an employee leaves the business.

There are many other steps you can take to reduce the attractiveness of your business to burglars and to secure your premises such as checking the security of skylights and other points of possible access and removing cash from any cash drawers and leaving them clearly open at night. And don’t leave anything valuable on the premises that might make it worth a burglar’s while to break in despite all your defenses.

Cold calling is a widely used method of prospecting for new customers. Any business owner with a telephone knows that two or three times a day someone they have never met will contact their company with some kind of proposal like seeking an opportunity to quote against an existing supplier.

It’s not easy to make cold calls and those who have the job of making them often feel uncomfortable about their assignment. But there are ways to ‘warm up’ to the task so that you will feel more relaxed and in control and make the whole process a lot less scary.

1. Send an advance notice

A cold call is usually an interruption for the person on the other end of the phone. Understanding their needs is one of the most important parts of cold calling. You’ll only have a brief period of time to get your ‘foot in the door’ before the prospect begins to resent the intrusion, and making the most of that small window is essential.

Calling completely cold is probably the biggest mistake cold callers make. Arrange a mailing so that your prospect has a day or two notice that you’ll be contacting them. Send them a simple brochure or leaflet - nothing too long or flashy - that outlines the basics of your offering and promises that you’ll be in touch shortly.  They may not be exactly looking forward to your call, but at least they’ll have seen your name and product and know where the conversation is going. This also allows you to introduce yourself by telling them you sent them a communication and inquire if they had received it.

2. Know something about your prospect

The more you know about the prospect’s business the more confident you can feel about asking the right questions and giving them the right answers to their questions since you’ll already have a rough idea of how you might be able to help them. Look for their advertisement in the Yellow Pages, and if they have a website go through it carefully.

3.  Know what you want to say

This doesn’t mean reciting a script word-for-word. Nothing sounds worse or is more likely to get a “Sorry, not interested” response. But if you work out what you’re going to say before you make the call you’ll be more confident about making it. You need to introduce yourself, explain the purpose of your call, and get through the ‘screener’ to reach the decision maker. Once you’ve got the right person the real call begins. Developing a checklist to track things during the call is a good idea to ensure you cover all the main things you want to get across.

4. Talk in terms of helping rather than selling

Be natural and friendly. Explain briefly what you do and end with a statement that you’d like to see whether you might be able to help them. Explain that you’d really like to meet them and that there’d be no obligation on their part; you just want to explore the possibilities for satisfying a need in their business. If you’re sincere and don’t start selling something right away you’ll have a much better chance of turning the call into a conversation. All you want is a meeting, not a sale.

5. Have an offer ready

Because you’re already taking up their time, and want to take up even more of it, find a way to make it worth their while. You might say, “Look, I’ll set aside whatever time suits you on Thursday morning and I’ll take you out for breakfast or a coffee, whichever suits you best.”

6. Rehearse your call lines

Rehearse with someone on the phone who can answer your call and take the role of your prospect. As they come back with a variety of responses you’ll get the feel for handling them. The person you want to speak with may be out, may be busy, or may just not want to talk with you. Success in cold calling is frequently the result of the way you convince the person screening the calls more than anything else.

Rejections will happen and they’re nothing personal so don’t take them that way. Some people may be rude or hang up on you - it’s just part of cold calling. However, your call may remind them to take another look at the leaflet you sent them and they might call you back later. You can never tell.

Just remember to be yourself. If you believe in what you do and that you can really help your prospect’s business, there’s every reason to be confident that you’ll win through with the prospect and eventually get the opportunity to present your product to them.

Any business which involves selling a physical product requires the ability to arrange delivery of the product to customers in one way or another.

Unlike larger organizations, small businesses don't have huge budgets and people available to develop their own carriage service so the most frequent option is to use a third party whose business is shipping so as to ensure logistics are carried out effectively.

But to do it in the most cost effective way can involve some deliberation of the options. There are no hard rules about how to get the best deal from the post office or a commercial courier service - so much depends on your industry and your customers, on what you sell and who you sell it to.

Begin by identifying your shipping needs. This is the easy part but each of these five questions is important:

• What do you need to ship?
• How heavy is it?
• Where and who are the customers who buy it?
• How quickly does it have to get to them?
• Does it need special handling?

Move your search to the Internet and go to all the websites of shipping providers such as FedEx and UPS. Their range of services will give you a good idea of costs and other conditions.

Go to the websites of others in the same business as your company and see what their shipping arrangements are. Most businesses offer at least two classes of service, standard and express, with express naturally being the more expensive. Unless you’re shipping perishable goods this is a good way to manage the problem of getting goods to customers in a specific timeframe - let them decide how soon they need it and pay accordingly.

Shipping services are another option that is available in most areas. They act as brokers to negotiate the best rates for a client company. Because they can ‘pool’ their customers’ shipments they can often come up with really good rates that an individual company couldn’t arrange for itself.

But costs are only part of the package. The service should have pickup times that suit your business, for example in the morning if your packing is done at the close of the previous business day. Some services have more than one pickup daily, and also offer on-request pickups within a specific period of time. Documentation is another matter to examine - reducing paperwork to the minimum will save you time and therefore expense.

Order tracking is another function provided by most shippers. The more sophisticated shipping companies allow their customers to track their shipments using the Internet making it possible 24/7 to handle inquiries from your own customers about their orders.

Yet another consideration is delivery at the other end. What methods do they use for fulfillment? How reliable are their carriers? It never hurts to ask for references from their existing customers, preferably those who ship to the same destinations as you’re intending to.

“Dreams have their place in managerial activity, but they need to be kept severely under control.” Lord Weinstock