“Anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new.” ― Albert Einstein
That was my mindset when I decided to start my own SEO consulting business in 2010. Like Einstein, the master of theoretical physics, I was ready to tackle something new and brush off the mistakes that came my way. Hindsight is of course, 20/20, because in business, every mistake should be absorbed and revisited from time to time.
I’ll be frank; my biggest failures over the past seven years were due to lack of knowledge and understanding of how to run a secure and successful business. And I’m not alone. Incompetence is behind 46% of business failures, according to research on a variety of industries performed by Entrepreneur Weekly, Small Business Development Center, Bradley Univ, and University of Tennessee Research.
That may sound bleak, but one of the best ways to stay positive is to delve into small business stories that highlight the ways people transform failures into wins. Today, I stand by the philosophy that learning from your wrongs will efficiently turn them into rights down the road. So what lesson learned do I revisit regularly when considering my business plans? Two words: data protection.
The Biggest Data Threats in Today’s Digital Landscape
Digital security has changed vastly since I launched my consulting business. In today’s tech-savvy world, you don’t want a lack of data security to be a reason your business went down. And you really don’t want your failures to result in data loss that could hurt you even more in the future. So what’s the threat? These are some of the worst ways that you can lose data if you’re not prepared with the right security:
- Greedy hackers getting their hands on your data and holding it hostage for ransom
- Angry employees deleting data when given too much access to the goods
- Sticky-fingered employees stealing data for their own use
- Malicious viruses and malware taking over your system and leaking data
- Device and equipment failure that wipes out all of your stored data
While business insurance is essential for replacing damaged equipment, it won’t replace lost data should something go awry. These scenarios are scary for any business owner, but they’re also highly preventable with the right tools in hand.
Turning a Problem Into a Business Practice
My first business ran into serious trouble because I didn’t have the proper security in place. One click on a wrong link and I was suffering the aftershocks of ransomware, which is still a major problem for small businesses today. Recently, I’ve become hyper-aware of the benefits of backing up data in the cloud. Not only can hackers gain access to valuable information through ransomware, but employees can mistakenly (or intentionally) move and delete files. A cloud with extra security is a must, and something I won’t do business without.
When I was hunting for just the right solution to this problem, I stumbled across Carbonite. Like any diligent Internet user, I conducted plenty of research before trying it out. Carbonite is a leading online data backup service that safely stores everything from photos to music and, in my case, valuable business data and customer information. I can access those backup files anywhere from any device, as long as I have an Internet connection.
Carbonite built its cloud solutions from the ground up to track and secure data at every step. It has a simple install, backup, access, and restore process that makes it a breeze to bring lost data back to life. Thanks to this handy solution, I feel much more prepared for the inevitable bumps in the business road and have peace of mind that my data is always safe.
The Takeaway (Einstein Would be Proud)
Incompetence doesn’t have to lead to crucial information loss. These days, it’s essential to protect your data and make sure you have the right security tools in place. Staying up to date with the latest trends in data security and utilizing Carbonite’s services is essential for success so that you don’t make the errors many of us have made. After all, Einstein once said that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Break the data loss cycle today, and you’ll have a much more successful tomorrow.
This post is written on behalf of Carbonite for IZEA. All opinions are 100% myventurepad.
