Being a business owner can be incredible and lucrative. However, it can also be scary. You are responsible for your employees, your clients, your business, and everything in between. This means you have to keep your employees safe, your business afloat, and protect your client’s personal information at the same time. Between the physical aspects and the digital aspects (such as the client and business data), how do you protect everything? Keep reading for some tips on both digital and physical protection.
Digital Protection
What some business owners fail to realize is w much of their business is digital. If any portion of your business is managed using a computer – then your business has data. This can include employee files, client information, and all sorts of details about your business such as financial, tax, and legal information. Not protecting your digital aspects of your business puts the business itself as well as your employees and clients in danger.
Security
Security is the single most important thing you can do to protect your business data. For example, if any type of business data is going to exit your business so an employee can take it home to work on it or to transport it to another facility, it needs to be secured. This means that if you use a flash drive to transport information it should be an encrypted flash drive. If a laptop leaves your business establishment, all of the data on the laptop needs to be encrypted as well. This will stop hackers from gaining access to the data on the devices and prevent anyone who shouldn’t see the data from seeing it.
Physical Protection
Physically, there are only two things you have to worry about protecting – your business and your employees. For the most part, this means having clear rules and protocols in place.
Setting Up Safety Procedures
Imagine for a moment that you are the owner of a construction firm. Construction is dangerous. Your employees put their lives at risk every day just to get the job done. Construction workers need clear safety measures and procedures in place to keep everyone safe. While the safety procedures and protocols are going to vary from one type of business to the next, the general idea is going to be the same.
Develop A Social Media Policy
This type of policy is going to protect both your business and your employees. A social media policy clearly tells your employees what they are and are not allowed to share about your business through social media. One of the easiest ways to set up a social media policy is to look at social media policies other companies have set up. You can take ideas from other policies and apply them to your own business.
Physical Security
Security goes beyond encryption and firewalls to protect your business data. Depending on what kind of business you own, you should consider security guards, security systems, and definitely security cameras. Security measures can be expensive, but they are an investment in the future of your business.
As a business owner, your employees, clients, and your entire business is relying on you to keep them all safe. As scary as this responsibility sounds, you can do it. By investing in security measures and having clear protocols in place, you can protect your business and everything within it.
