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Small-biz tip: Don't overlook this digital danger
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Are you the type of business owner who forgets about ex-employees as soon as they’re gone? Failing to remove former employees’ access to your systems and data could lead to security breaches. Don’t let poor offboarding practices be the weak link in your cybersecurity chain.
How improper offboarding can hurt your business
Whenever an employee leaves the organization, you must remove their access to company systems and data. That’s especially true if you’ve laid off an employee. They may feel a sense of anger or resentment towards the company, which makes them more likely to be malicious.
It’s more common than you might think. A recent study from Beyond Identity examined how ineffective offboarding impacts a business’ cybersecurity. They found that one in three employers has been hacked due to ineffective offboarding.
Oh, and most former employees say they can still access company files. Researchers say 91% of employees can still see private files after offboarding earlier last year. Do you want former employees to know what you’re doing a year later? Probably not!
Plus, the study found only 21% of employers deactivated an employee’s account immediately after they let the worker go. It took 29% a whole week to cut the strings.
Overall, businesses estimated they lost $7,687 to ineffective offboarding. In other words, it’s a mistake you can’t afford to make. Want to build better business practices? Here are the three lessons Kim has for fellow business owners.
Offboarding dangers for small-business owners
⚠️ If you don’t completely cut off former employees, you’re taking on a ton of risks, like:
- Insider threats: Former employees who can still access company systems and data can steal confidential information or sabotage your systems.
- Social engineering: I talk a lot about how dangerous phishing scams are. They can level a company’s computer systems. Former employees are especially dangerous because they know social details about the workplace, which can help them access sensitive information or networks.
- Revenge: In some cases, fired employees may attempt to cause harm to their former employer out of revenge, such as launching a denial-of-service attack or spreading false information about the company.
Beyond Identity’s survey found that 86% of employees have considered taking negative actions against a former employer. People who actually went through with retaliation had diverse reasons: 37% said they didn’t get a raise, while 29% cited a bad relationship.
Sick of QuickBooks? There’s a better way!
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Secrets to growing your business quickly
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I’m proud to say that I built my multimillion-dollar enterprise with no debt and no investors. It’s rewarding for me to help the many small business owners who call and need a hand getting their company off the ground or breaking past a big hurdle. I’ve been there myself.
Reader question: 'What can I use instead of QuickBooks?'
If you’re a business owner, you don’t need us to tell you that running a business is tough. Don’t let QuickBooks and spreadsheets slow you down, making things more complicated than necessary. It’s time to upgrade to our sponsor NetSuite.
3 security steps every small business needs to take right now
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Business accounts can be hacked as easily as personal accounts. Imagine all your hard work being held at ransom by a hacker or your data falling into the hands of someone who can sell it to the competition.
You need to secure your business as best you can, and here are three crucial tips to get started. This tip is brought to you by our sponsor, NetSuite.
Master Excel with these 5 genius tricks
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You can’t keep track of everything on paper. Excel can play a significant role in your daily workload. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro user, there’s much to learn — like these five useful Excel tricks.
Want to become an Excel expert? It’s a good strategy for small business owners who want to grow this year. After all, you’ll generate tons of data. Speaking of which, here’s how to stop third parties from selling your data.
5 free resources to grow your business
Entrepreneurs and small business owners need all the help they can get. When you’re a self-starter, you’re constantly on the go, multitasking and doing all you can to grow your company quickly. Luckily, there are a ton of free small business resources that can help you along the way.
Small business owners: Simplify your life with one financial tool that does it all
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Are your finances as organized as you’d like them to be? Come on, be honest. For most business owners, the answer is a reluctant no.
As your company grows, you will have more expenses, contractors, KPIs and hands managing it all. If your communication happens through email, over the phone, in messages, and via spreadsheets, you will hit a wall sooner or later.
Best free home inventory apps to rule the roost in style
Imagine waking up in the middle of the night to the sound of fire alarms blaring. You quickly realize your home is on fire and rush your family out of the house safely. Then you realize you never took inventory of your belongings.
Struggling with Excel? 3 tips and tutorials to help you out
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Ah, Excel. It’s been around since the ’80s, yet it can still stump many of us. There’s a lot to learn, from creating complex formulas to navigating pivot tables.
So, where do you turn? You can buy a paid course, which will give you a lot of bang for your buck, but you can also start smaller — and free.
Small biz tip: How to set up an authenticator to protect your work accounts
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Your business accounts have tons of private data you don’t want hackers to see. Although two-step verification (2FA) keeps hackers out, you can’t rely on texts to prove your identity. Hackers can intercept your messages.
Small biz tip: Ways to make 2023 your best year yet
Prepare your business for the new year with these five small business resolutions for 2023. We’ll help you cut costs, gain new skills and find ways to optimize your work life. It’s time to be more strategic with your marketing goals, develop your online presence and whip your finances into shape.
5 simple, useful Google Sheets formulas everyone should know
One easy way to manage your money better is by laying everything out in a spreadsheet. You may think only businesses need them, but everyone needs to keep track of their finances. A spreadsheet is helpful because it provides a bird’s eye view of your financial situation.
5 small biz freebies to save you some cash, from shipping materials to logos
Owning or working for a small business is full of joys: Seeing your business take off, working closely with a small team and watching your ideas flourish.
It’s not all a walk in the park, though. Small teams, limited budgets and not enough time in the day can make things challenging.
Run a small business? Follow this end-of-the-year checklist before 2022 ends
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The new year is right around the corner, which means it’s time for New Year’s resolutions, paperwork filing and holiday vacations. For busy business owners, there’s a lot to keep track of. Make sure you don’t forget anything important with this small business checklist.
5 free alternatives to Microsoft Excel
When Excel first hit the market, businesses flocked to use it for their management needs. But it’s far from the only option. There are many free alternatives to Microsoft Excel you should know about.
Many people are so married to Excel they won’t consider other spreadsheets. At first glance, it seems like the perfect one-stop-shop for scheduling, accounting, compiling data, tracking sales and more. Tap or click here for three tips and tutorials that help you make the most out of Excel.
Free versions of Excel if you don’t want to pay for Microsoft 365
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Smart penny pinchers know there are a ton of freebies around the web. You have to be savvy about where you search since there are a ton of dangerous downloads lurking. We’re always here to share safe tools, like the top free Excel alternatives.
Best timekeeping, accounting and money-management software
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Time is money, and every minute counts. Detailed time tracking and bookkeeping can seem like a hassle if you’re running things independently.
If a skeleton crew operates your business or you’re managing everything on your own, that means relying on the right tech to get the job done. Don’t waste your time and money on software that doesn’t work for your needs.
Budgeting tip: An easy way to slash your monthly charges
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Your dollars don’t go as far these days. Sure, things are more expensive, but “buy now” buttons and shiny new services add up much faster than we’d like to believe. It’s no surprise that subscription-based business models are so popular.