The UPS Stores: Locally Owned, More Flexible Than a Chain

When you think of UPS, what comes to mind?  One image that probably pops into your head is delivery agents in brown uniforms picking up and delivering packages from big brown trucks.

But there's another aspect of UPS that you may have seen in a shopping center near you:  a UPS store (pictured below).

Here's something that surprises people.  Did you know that those are franchise locations, owned by local business owners like you?

Independently Owned

The stores may carry the UPS brand and have the marketing power of UPS behind them - but  the success of the stores rides on the backs of the owner-operators in each location.

When you frequent a franchise-owned UPS Store, you're really supporting a local small business in your community.

The UPS Store brand was born in 2003, after UPS acquired Mail Boxes Etc.  Most of the Mail Boxes Etc. locations were transformed into the UPS Store brand, although the Mail Boxes Etc brand still exists in some places.  Today there are 4,800 local franchise-owned UPS Stores across the U.S. and Canada.

Each of the stores has a business owner or owners, such as a husband and wife, operating it.  According to the company website, a franchise owner has to invest between $150,000 and $375,000 of their own money to become a franchise owner and start up a UPS Store.  For many, it's an alternative to corporate employment.  One store owner, Jim Westcott, says that he had worked for someone else for 26 years, but started a UPS Store to control his own employment.

A typical independently-owned UPS Store offers copying and printing services; packaging; shipping; even direct mail services.  You can also get a mail box if you need a real physical address, and get mail forwarding from that box along with package notification.

Do Whatever it Takes

The UPS Store franchise headquarters just launched a new campaign to make the public aware of the locally-owned nature of the locations - and that because the stores are locally owned, each store can offer customized services.

According to a UPS Store spokesperson, the “do whatever it takes” campaign grew out of research showing that small business owners often feel they don't get enough support when it comes to all the day-to-day tasks necessary to build and run a business.  Said Vice President of Marketing and Small Business Solutions, Michelle Van Slyke:

“Our research found that while small business owners love what they do, they often feel overwhelmed and under-supported when it comes to getting everything done. They may be experts in their particular field, but that often doesn't necessarily equip them with the knowledge to manage all aspects of running their business. We also found that many small business owners were not aware of the types of resources their local The UPS Store could provide.”

The local ownership model offers flexibility that a chain structure cannot offer. Local stores can customize solutions to suit a customer.

According to Van Slyke, the current marketing campaign is more than just messaging.  It follows on the heels of some substantive changes.  The franchise owners underwent extensive training on how to serve small business customers better, and also how to tailor offerings to suit small business needs.  The store interiors were also revamped to serve business customers.

The UPS Store website offers a store locator with maps, if you don't know of a store close to you.  Next time you're in one, ask for a business card.  You'll likely get one with the owner's name on it - tangible proof that your local UPS Store is really a  small business.

Microsoft to reject certificates with fewer than 1024 bits from tomorrow

Microsoft will reject all certificates with fewer than 1024 bits as of tomorrow.

Following the announcement that it would revoke certificates with fewer than 2048 bits, Microsoft said that certificates with RSA keys less than 1024 bits in length will be blocked. Microsoft has recommended that people using RSA keys should choose a key length of at least 1024 bits after it spotted a number of digital certificates that did not meet its standard for security practices.

“Though we have no indication that those had been compromised or misused in any fashion, as a precautionary measure we've revoked them. A subset of those was in addition found to have code signing permissions, which has earned them a place in the Untrusted Certificate Store,” said Microsoft Trustworthy Computing spokesperson Yunsun Wee.

Paul Henry, security and forensic analyst for Lumension, said: “The biggest issue for this month from Microsoft is the certificate encryption. As we've been saying for the last several Patch Tuesdays, Microsoft is pushing out a patch that will break any encryption that is less than 1024-bit.

“This patch has been optional since August and we hope you've taken the time to test it and patch it. It will no longer be an option starting on Tuesday. There are still a few days left if you haven't tested it, but don't let this be an ‘I told you so' moment.”

Henry previously said that once this patch is applied, users will not be able to communicate with a product that uses 256-bit encryption, saying that this will impact any new product sales that include encryption and just as importantly, perhaps any previously sold products overseas and could create serious problems with computers using client server communications with these certificates.

He said: “Previously, in order to export a product, you had to use less than 256-bit encryption or apply for an export permit. Rather than going through the paperwork and time involved in getting an export permit, many chose to go with 256-bit encryption.”

If not replaced by this deadline, the risk of certificate-based malware attacks will remain high and disruptions to business and computing operations could include everything from Internet Explorer failures to inability to encrypt or digitally sign emails on Outlook 2010 and other legacy systems that rely on the older, weaker encryption keys.

The issue began with Flame's ability to create certificates that allow software to appear as if it was produced by Microsoft. According to key and certificate management vendor Venafi, Microsoft has advised its customers to take this step to harden security against known vulnerabilities and attack vectors in order to prevent business and operational disruptions.

Carl Leonard, senior security research manager, EMEA at Websense, told SC Magazine that Microsoft has given notice to people about the change, but it was difficult to make changes on technologies that may be used more frequently.

He said: “Microsoft have provided quite a few details to verify the capability of certificates in the browser, but it has been up to IT departments within businesses top realise this is happening and do an assessment on what to do.

“The good thing is that Microsoft are making a concerted effort to help people evaluate their security, as companies need to do this to help people and how it is securing individual servers and websites. It is also about how to digitally sign certificates or about how Outlook communicates with the Exchange server.”

Leonard said that businesses should not be using 256 or 512 bit anyway, and should have thought about upgrading previously, and said it was good that Microsoft helping everyone understand better security, and that people should be using 2048 bit certificates anyway.

Fauna And Flora Aren\'t The Only Things Flourishing In Oregon

While I live and work out of Silicon Valley, our incubator works with a global charter of nurturing a million entrepreneurs to reach $1M and beyond in annual revenue. Consequently, I get to see a tremendous number of businesses in pretty much all corners of the world. One region that people might not automatically think of as having a thriving entrepreneurship eco-system is Oregon. This is a mistake. Let me introduce you to a set of players who will, inevitably, change your mind.

Investor Eric Pozzo of the Oregon Angels Fund points to the state's willingness to not simply support entrepreneurship but actually invest in promising companies.

EthicsPoint, based in Lake Oswego, Oregon, is a company that offers clients integrated telephone and Web-based reporting hotlines and case management services that they can use to identify, report, investigate, and resolve issues and events that may not be in line with their codes of conduct or governance policies.

Then there's ShopIgniter, a Portland-based company that provides solutions to help companies promote and sell their products on the social Web.

Act-On Software, in Beaverton, Oregon, is a software-as-a-service (SaaS) email marketing company that intends to commoditize marketing automation and make it available to businesses of all sizes.

Another Portland-based company, JanRain offers clients an enterprise-class solution that enables a website to expedite the registration and log-in processes with a user's third-party account, import user profile information and address books, and make it easy to publish website activity back to multiple social networks.

There's also PaloAlto Software, which, despite the name, is based in Eugene, Oregon.  Although PaloAlto Software was incorporated in 1988, it didn't become a successful venture until 1995. The business came about as the result of founder Tim Berry, whom happens to be a contributor to Small Business Trends, creating something called a Business Plan Toolkit, which was a set of templates that people could use to update their business plans as needed.

Here's how Tim explained it to me:

“By 1994, the template business had failed in retail. We had a $250,000 liability for returns. We had boxes and boxes of software coming back to us, and at the same time, I had three kids in private school. Everything was very much integrated into my family finances. Things looked very bad.”

Instead, Tim launched Business Plan Pro, a business planning software, which gave the company its real break.

Within the first year after launching Business Plan Pro, PaloAlto Software earned nearly $2 million in revenue. By the time the company started offering a downloadable version online in 1998, that number had increased to $4.5 million. The crash of 2001 caused the company to suffer significant losses, but Berry and his team held on and by 2002, PaloAlto Software had earned $5 million in revenue.  Over the next five years, the company grew to nearly $10 million in revenue.

Recently, Tim approached his daughter, Sabrina Parsons, to get her take on things. She ticked off a bunch of things that she would do if she were in charge of the operation. A third of them were obvious, a third were things that Tim would have done anyway, and the remaining third sounded like things he definitely wanted to try. As a result, Sabrina became the company's CEO on the condition that her father resumed blogging and writing. He did. Tim is a well-known fellow-blogger in the domain of entrepreneurship.

In 2012, Tim and Sabrina expect PaloAlto Software to earn $14 million in revenue. As the company continues to evolve with changing times, embracing Software-as-a-Service for example, it is sure to continue growing, making Oregon just one of many places where entrepreneurship can and does thrive.

Act-On Software is another promising company that has been growing very fast. Act-On was founded in 2008 by CEO Raghu Raghavan. The idea for Act-On came up when Raghu and Subrah Iyar, the founder of WebEx, spotted a major gap in the marketing platforms of the time; no one was offering any way to organize webinars as an integrated marketing effort. As a result, webinars were completely isolated from all other marketing activities people usually followed.

Raghu brought together many members of the founding engineering team from Responsys, his previous company, and developed a prototype that bundled WebEx, Salesforce.com and online marketing in a single solution. Cisco agreed to fund this venture, and the company was all set to go. Initially, Raghu planned to use Cisco as the sole sales channel, but later decided to set up an independent sales team.

The initial funding of $2 million came from Cisco. But as Raghu set up an independent sales team, both he and Subrah had to back the company until the sales model was validated. In 2010 and 2011, the founders brought together Voyager Capital and U.S Venture Partners for a $4 million round and then Trinity Ventures for a $10 million round.

According to Forrester numbers, e-mail marketing is a $4 billion market and marketing automation is a $250 billion market. Act-On is playing in at least $4 billion market if not more. And Silicon Valley's VCs are playing with them in Oregon.

DiscoverOrg is another company that is on track to make $14 million to $15 million in revenue this year. The company was started in 2007 by Henry Schuck and Kirk Brown. They went to school together and worked for a small lead generation company that sourced leads to technology firms.

Henry and Kirk used their savings and credit cards to create DiscoverOrg, a small startup addressing the need of IT vendors to generate sales leads for IT buyers at major enterprises and SMEs. They worked from the second story of their home in Columbus, Ohio. DiscoverOrg only had a formal office when they moved to Vancouver, Washington, part of the Portland, Oregon metropolitan area, in 2009.

The company got its first customer in 2007 in the range of $15,000 to $20,000. At that time, all the founders had was a database of 5,000 contacts across 1,000 companies. In 2012, DiscoverOrg has 13,000 companies and 215,000 contact profiles in its database.  Henry receives requests to offer the similar service in finance, marketing and engineering, but his and Kirk's main focus is on IT buyers.

In the second half of 2007, DiscoverOrg made $110,000 in revenue and in 2008 it jumped to $270,000. In 2009, Henry and Kirk observed significant improvements in terms of revenue. They hired people to work on sales, marketing and research. And that is when they started building the organization. DiscoverOrg's revenue reached $880,000 in 2009. In 2010 and 2011, the company's revenue went up to $2.7 million and $5.5 million respectively. The company is expected to earn $14 million to $15 million in revenue in 2012.

As you can see, very interesting companies with considerable revenue levels are being built in Oregon. To me, that is what exemplifies a strong entrepreneurial climate.

It is extremely important for America to disperse the tribal knowledge about entrepreneurship that has accumulated in Silicon Valley over the last two decades to other parts of the country, in meaningful ways. The country has been in a deep recession for almost five years now. Silicon Valley continues to boom, but we need to make entrepreneurship bloom elsewhere as well. Stories like the ones I have shared with you today present a hopeful picture that entrepreneurship eco-systems are actually developing elsewhere in the country as well.

Oregon Photo via Shutterstock

Successful cyberattacks driving up cost of cybercrime, study finds

Cyberattacks on organizations have more than doubled over a three-year period, driving up the costs associated with fallout from the attacks, according to a new study conducted by the Ponemon Institute.

The 2012 Cost of Cyber Crime Study found the cost of cyberattacks increased by 6% from an average cost of $8.4 million a year per company in 2011, to $8.9 million.

The study, commissioned by Hewlett Packard Co., analyzed information from 56 organizations in various industry sectors. All 56 companies had been successfully attacked and had their networks infiltrated by cybercriminals. Data was gathered using activity-based costing, a method of research that Ponemon uses to analyze company behavior instead of using a survey of questions. The latest study is the third annual report of its kind by researchers at Traverse City, Mich.-based Ponemon Institute.

"Based on these findings, organizations need to be more vigilant in protecting their most sensitive and confidential information," the study read.

Security researchers have long noted the underground business of cybercrime, fueled by cybercriminals toting automated toolkits and botmasters who rent out their malicious servers to enable almost anyone to conduct wide-scale cyberattacks. The 2011 Cost of Cybercrime Study also noted the increasing frequency of attacks putting pressure on IT security teams and rising costs associated with security defenses and incident response activities.

Internal and external costs

The Ponemon study found information theft and business disruption continue to make up the highest external costs, making up 44% of total external costs, rising 4% from 2011. Disruption to business and lost productivity accounted for 30% of external costs, rising 1% from 2011.

Internal activities also drove up the costs of containing and cleaning up after successful attacks. Recovery and detection represent the most costly activities associated with cybercrime. The Ponemon report noted that operating expenses and labor represent the majority of the costs associated with the activities.

Cyberattacks increase

Larry Ponemon, chairman and founder of the Ponemon Institute, said the increase in attacks, which jumped from 50 attacks on average per week in 2010, to 102 successful attacks on average per week, stood out the most to him.

"People aren't getting tired of attacking [companies]," he said, adding that as long as there is still a financial incentive for cybercriminals, they will continue to attack.

The study also illuminated which types of attacks companies are faced with. All of the companies studied experienced viruses, worms and Trojans, while 95% faced malware, and 71% were attacked by botnets. The most costly attacks were perpetrated through malicious code and denial-of-service attacks.

Industries incurring the highest average annualized cost were defense, utilities and energy, and financial services.

In addition to the United States data, the Ponemon Institute also analyzed the behavior of companies in the U.K., Germany, Australia and Japan. Ponemon found that recovery and detection were the two most expensive internal costs of cybercrime in each country.

One key difference Ponemon pointed out was the external costs of cybercrime by country. The main cost for the U.K. and Australia was business disruption, while Germany and the U.S. were hit the hardest by information loss. Japan experienced an equal percentage of loss through business disruption and information loss.

"Organizations in the U.S. [and Germany] are fighting a different battle than in the U.K. or Australia," Ponemon said.

Ponemon said organizations should be using security tools to mitigate attacks. Deploying security network technologies "makes a difference and reduces the overall cost," he said. In addition to tools, Ponemon said companies need to have good governance practices.

"Organizations have to deal with a very expensive proposition. It's here to stay," Ponemon said.

Chinese telecoms cannot be trusted, congressional study finds

Two China-based telecoms, Huawei and ZTE pose a significant threat to the United States and should be barred from U.S. government work, according to a congressional report.

We warn U.S. government agencies and companies considering using Huawei and ZTE equipment in their networks to take into account the affect if could have on our national security.

C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD)

A report issued by The House Intelligence Committee was obtained Sunday by the AFP, and found that the two firms "cannot be trusted" to be free from influence by Chinese government officials in Beijing. The two firms could undermine U.S. national security, according to the report.

The report was published today on the committee's website.

The report also says U.S. private-sector companies "are strongly encouraged to consider the long-term security risks associated with doing business with either ZTE or Huawei for equipment or services."

Security firms have long suspected nation-state sponsored cyberespionage attacks targeting both public and private sector companies. In the private sector, intellectual property is at risk of being pilfered and used by a host of Chinese firms, including manufacturers, suppliers and services firms. China claims the U.S. is conducting similar activities on its country's systems. A panel of experts at the 2011 RSA Conference debated how economic and political forces are driving the discussion about corporate and government espionage activities.    

"As this report shows, we have serious concerns about Huawei and ZTE, two Chinese telecommunications companies looking to gain market share in the United States, and their connection to the communist government of China," C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD), a ranking member of the committee said in a statement.  "We warn U.S. government agencies and companies considering using Huawei and ZTE equipment in their networks to take into account the affect if could have on our national security." 

Committee recommendations 

The congressional report recommends that Huawei or ZTE equipment not be used by the U.S. government or enterprises. In addition to dealings with Iran and ties with China's military and Communist Party, the draft report cites the potential for "malicious Chinese hardware or software implants" that could be used in espionage activities and providing access to corporate networks.

1. U.S. government systems and U.S. government contractors, particularly those working on sensitive systems, should exclude any Huawei or ZTE equipment or component parts.  Additionally, the Committee on Foreign Investments in the United States (CFIUS) must block acquisitions, takeovers, or mergers involving Huawei and ZTE given the threat to U.S. national security interests.

2. U.S. network providers and systems developers are strongly encouraged to seek other vendors for their projects.

3. Unfair trade practices of the Chinese telecommunications sector should be investigated by committees of jurisdiction in U.S. Congress and enforcement agencies in the Executive Branch.  Particular attention should be paid to China's continued financial support of key companies.

4. Chinese companies should quickly become more open and transparent. Huawei, in particular, must become more transparent and responsive to U.S. legal obligations.

5. Committees of jurisdiction in Congress should consider potential legislation to better address the risk posed by telecommunications companies with nation-state ties or otherwise not clearly trusted to build critical infrastructure, including increasing information-sharing among private sector entities and expanding a role for the CFIUS process to include purchasing agreements.

Both Huawei and ZTE have reportedly denied any ties with the Chinese government. Top executives of the firms appeared at a hearing held by the panel last month, stressing that they were focused on business, not politics.

Gary Whitehill, Founder of EntrepreneurWeek: Bringing Entrepreneurship to the Masses

With a slogan like “Stop at nothing. Achieve everything,” it's not hard to imagine that Gary Whitehill is driven as an entrepreneur. But it's not just his own success that fuels his passion.

He sits on several advisory boards, and founded Entrepreneur Week, a global initiative that brings together small business owners and future entrepreneurs.

He also mentors young entrepreneurs on strategy, sales, and business development. Gary says:

“Entrepreneurship is the fundamental underpinning of economic stability. In addition, if you look underneath the covers, you will find that entrepreneurs and startups provide value to all aspects of human existence â€" jobs, innovation, inspiration…. The list is endless.”

Connecting Entrepreneurs Globally

With events peppering the globe throughout the year, Entrepreneur Week provides the rare opportunity for entrepreneurs to connect with others in participating countries, which include Brazil, the UK, Greece, the US, and Chile.

And the events have had an interesting side effect, says Whitehill:

“…one of the byproducts of our Entrepreneur Week global event series has been meeting some amazing, high net worth individuals who are passionate about empowering young, hungry entrepreneurs. Brands have a very hard time reaching these demographic â€" one car company spends $25K to acquire a customer.

What we do is bring together a group of rockstars and partner with premier brands to design premier excursions to explore and grow business and personal interests for this international group of like-minded professionals.”

A Whirling Dhervish of Entrepreneurial Energy

In addition to consulting through his company, Whitehill International, where his focus in helping businesses centers around positioning strategy, fundraising, mergers and acquisitions, and more, Whitehill is a frequent speaker and guest on programs like CNN, CBS News, and FOX News.

Never one to slow down, Whitehill says he's currently in the midst of building a tech product for entrepreneurs in emerging economies around the world as well as a project that will revolutionize the marketplace space, globally.

Whitehill was selected as one of the Small Business Influencer Top 100 Champions for 2012,which was, he says, a true honor:

“Every single day each of us influencers wakes up hoping to leave the world a little better than we found it. It's humbling to know that my contributions have been recognized by those whom I care deeply about.”

Editor's Note: This article is one of a series of interviews of key players in the Small Business Influencer Awards.

Social Intranet Services That Greatly Boost Business Productivity

Human beings are social creatures. There's no way to change this, and the evolutionary concept of us being social is proven by the immense success of companies like Facebook, Twitter, and Google. Look at the offices of many of these social companies and you'd see similar brainstorming and collaboration that you would see within companies at the startup level.

Relationships are based on communication long before they ever reach the “trust” stage. In fact, businesses that communicate less progress much more slowly, in general, than those who do. So, what can you give your employees before the Holidays come by (besides a break, of course)?

For one thing, if you have a company with an office environment, you could try including a social intranet. We already discussed Podio in an earlier article, but little did I know that there were other services with similar offers:

• Bitrix24 - This collaborative suite is very similar to Podio in that it connects CRM, instant messaging, collaboration, and task management into one package. If you're looking to just try it out, get their free package, which lets you include up to 12 users, 5 GB storage, company intranet, and all the features it advertises. Their first paid plan costs $99 a month and includes 50 GB storage for unlimited users with extranet capabilities (which allow you to include people and organizations outside your intranet).
• Yammer - This particular suite allows you to establish meaningful discussions between employees through instant file sharing and collaborative task management. A Yammer package costs nothing unless you upgrade to their “Business” package, which also gives you branding capabilities and network-wide announcements. With the business package, you'll be able to manage applications installed within Yammer to totally customize how your business operates. Prices start at $5 per user per month.

If your company's starting to expand, you'll notice that it becomes more and more impersonal. With social collaboration, you end up rekindling the flames that made the company what it was in the first place. You'll have the excitement of completing goals every step of the way together with the employees at your organization.

It\'s Not a Conspiracy, Just Imprecise Jobs Data

Almost immediately after the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released Friday's employment report, conservatives claimed a conspiracy to cook the books to help get President Obama reelected. How does the unemployment rate drop 0.3 percent, they asked, when GDP growth is miniscule and there's barely enough job growth to absorb a growing population?

There's no conspiracy here. Sometimes you get unbelievable numbers when you combine an imprecise survey with tricky data adjustments. It's wrong for the Republicans to claim that the hard working analysts at the BLS are behaving dishonestly. But it's also wrong for Democrats to claim that the 0.3 percent drop in the unemployment rate indicates a healthy job market.

Let's start with the problematic numbers. The BLS's survey of households showed an 873,000 person increase in employment in September, the largest increase since 1983 not resulting from a statistical adjustment. By contrast, the establishment survey showed just 114,000 jobs being created, resulting in a 759,000 job gap between the two surveys, the biggest since 2003.

The BLS household survey also showed that the number of people officially unemployed declined by 456,000 last month. Because 114,000 jobs is only slightly more than is needed to keep up with population growth, this number seems wrong.

While these numbers are not believable, measurement error is the most plausible explanation. The BLS's survey of households has a huge margin of error. The statistical agency is 90 percent sure that it's household employment measure is within ±436,000 jobs of the actual number. That means, of course, that the actual number from September's household survey could be as low as 437,000 or as high as 1.3 million.

The two series also define employment differently. The household survey includes people who work in agriculture, are self-employed, are on unpaid leave, and household and family workers not receiving a paycheck; but it does not count the multiple jobs that some people hold. To make the household survey more comparable to the establishment survey, the BLS also reports an adjusted household measure of employment, which showed that only 294,000 jobs were created in September.

The BLS adjusts its data for seasonality and sometimes its seasonal adjustment factor needs to be changed. The September jobs number might be evidence of that. The big increase in employment lies in the 582,000 people who started to work part time for economic reasons last month. But in 2010 the BLS estimated that the number of people working part time increased by 483,000 in September and declined 480,000 in October. Similarly in 2011, part time employment rose 579,000 in September and fell 419,000 in October. These offsetting movements suggest that something might not be right in the BLS's adjustments for seasonality.

The BLS might need to fix its population estimates. As Harvard economist Greg Mankiw writes on his blog (http://gregmankiw.blogspot.com/), “If the BLS uses incorrect estimates of the size of the population, these errors will be reflected in its estimates of household employment.”

Finally, the household survey is prone to mistakes that occur when surveyors call people on the phone and ask for information. If those being queried refuse to answer or give inaccurate information then the survey results may be biased.

All of these measurement issues suggest that the drop in the unemployment rate to 7.8 percent isn't an indicator of a robust job market. If it were, then the BLS's measure of the percentage of the labor force that is unemployed plus those who are marginally attached and those who are working part time for economic reasons (called U6) should also have shrunk. But it remained at 14.7 percent in September.

While it is more interesting to claim political conspiracy than measurement error, the truth is that inaccurate economic data is a better explanation than ill intent for what happened to the unemployment rate in September.

Looking To Convert Website Visits Into Sales? Here\'s 7 Tips You\'ll Need To Follow

You study your analytics every day, eagerly awaiting an increase in visitor numbers. But as great as it is to have website visits, unless you're in the business of showing off how great your site is, those visits mean nothing if they don't translate into dollars.

A good site design is a great start, but your design needs to do more than just look good. It needs to be fully functional, easy-to-use, and encourage customers to make a purchase or call your customer service number. Here are a few tips for converting your visitors into customers:

• Give customers the information they need. If a customer has found your business through typing in the name of your city and the type of business (i.e.: “local plumbers”), that customer wants to know several things up front. Your services, your prices, and how to contact you. This simple information should be easily accessible on the main page. Make sure your phone number and e-mail address is clearly visible. Customers don't want to fill out a form and wait for someone to call them. Customers will move on to the next service provider listed and you'll see yet another visitor who didn't follow through.
• Register your place with Google Places. Today's Internet surfers are searching for businesses via smartphones and tablets, making location-based searches essential. By appearing on Google Places, your site will be visited by customers who are nearby and looking for services like yours.
• Study your customers. Analytics can tell you what visitors are doing. Study the search terms being entered and click-throughs to determine whether or not your site is addressing the needs of your customers.
• Consider offering free shipping. This isn't the best business model for everyone, but the words “Free shipping” can be enticing to consumers. If your item shops fairly inexpensively, consider, at the very least, offering limited time free shipping offers to boost sales.
• Make your URL visible. Print your website URL on all shipping materials, invoices, and business cards. Sites like Amazon.com and O.co have branded their URL as much as their own business name. This keeps the URL fresh on consumers' minds when it's time to once again shop your location.
• Include reviews. When a customer buys a product in a store, he or she can actually see the product and feel its dimensions and quality. These aesthetics are not always communicated through a picture. Clothing retailer Delia's combats this by including a “reviews” tab on each of its clothing items. This allows consumers to post comments such as, “Runs small” or “The color looks red in the picture, but it's actually pink.” While it may seem that this sort of thing deters sales, it actually helps build a trust between you and the customer that keeps them coming back.
• Set a good return policy. While you may fear losing money on an item, you'll lose even more money if a customer is afraid to commit to something they can't return. If you offer money back on a $10 item but the customer has to shell out the cost to ship the item back, by the time they've paid for round-trip shipping, they may choose to keep the item…and simply never buy from you again.

As studies have shown, most customers never complain. You just never see them again. This is even more the case with website visitors, who will never verbalize why they didn't buy from a site. By taking a long, hard look at your business website, you can turn those visits into sales.

Research of top three tablets deems PlayBook best for BYOD

The three main tablet devices have security failings that could deter their use in an enterprise environment.

The research by Context Information Security found that there were significant differences in security levels between the Galaxy tablet, the Apple iPad and BlackBerry PlayBook.

Context investigated a number of security controls to determine whether they are suitable for enterprise use, these included data protection, software integrity and updates, access control, security configuration profiles and connectivity, along with backup and synchronisation.

It found that the Samsung Galaxy Tab had serious weaknesses that make it difficult to recommend for use in the enterprise, while the iPad and Blackberry PlayBook both have security problems including desktop software that does not encrypt backups by default.

Context found that the PlayBook was the only device found to have a workable solution to enable bring your own device (BYOD) and providing good separation between personal and work data.

Jonathan Roach, principal consultant at Context and author of the report said: “The device format is perfect for social networking and creating and sharing documents, presentations and other content on-the-fly, but the same characteristics also present tough security challenges for organisations.

“Our research suggests that most tablet manufacturers still have a way to go before their products can deliver the high levels of security required for use in most corporate enterprises.”

The research further found that the three selected tablets have reasonably good support for Exchange ActiveSync, which means that the core security configurations can be managed from a central Exchange server, yet there are significant differences in security levels between the Galaxy tablet and the iPad and PlayBook.

Regarding the iPad, it was found to have robust data protection and damage limitation facilities, yet the default behaviour for iTunes backups is to store the files in clear text; the same approach adopted for the BlackBerry.

Also the Samsung Tablet does not ship with a locked bootloader, and Context said that the disk encryption provides weaker support, which is more intrusive to use. Even when encryption is enabled on the Galaxy, it allows badly-written apps to store sensitive information on the unencrypted SD card.

Overall, Context found that the Blackberry is far more advanced in its level of readiness for BYOD than either of the other two tablets. Its Balance architecture in combination with the Bridge application, provide excellent logical and data separation between work and personal modes.

Hacker TinKode handed two-year suspended sentence

Hacker Cernăianu Manole Răzvan, known as TinKode, has been given a two-year suspended prison sentence and ordered to pay around £75,000 in fines.

 

According to The Hacker News, Răzvan was arrested in January for his part in a number of attacks on Oracle, MySQL.com, NASA and the British Royal Navy in 2010. He was sentenced on September 26 and received six prison sentences of one or two years for separate computer-related offences, according to Cernianu's case file summary on the Romanian Ministry of Justice Web portal.

The offences included: gaining unauthorised access to a protected computer system; transferring data from a computer system without authorisation; affecting the normal operation of a computer system by deleting, modifying or sending electronic data; creating, selling or distributing a devices or a computer program designed to be used in computer crimes; and creating, selling or distributing a password or access code without authorisation that could be used to access a computer system with the intention of committing a computer crime.

A report by Softpedia said that Răzvan will have to report back on a monthly basis to victim protection and offender social reintegration services and notify authorities in case he wants to change his residence or travel outside of his current residence for more than eight days.

Graham Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos, said that an online petition, started by TinKode's sympathisers, failed to receive significant support (a hoped-for 5,000 signatures had not yet reached 200 signatures at the time of writing.

Recruitment firm opt for Good Technology to enable BYOD

Recruitment specialist SThree has deployed Good for Enterprise from Good Technology for its 1,000 employees.

As part of a newly introduced bring your own device (BYOD) model, SThree has implemented secure and managed enterprise mobility and collaboration tools to manage multiple mobile devices being used by nearly half of its workforce.

Garry Lengthorn, director of IT services at SThree, said: “Being able to finalise contracts and share information securely, remotely and flexibly means the difference between a sale and a missed opportunity.

“Consumerisation is an interesting opportunity in our organisation due to the proliferation of Generation Y graduates, but it comes with serious security risks and the BYOD element can be complicated to implement effectively.

“Good Technology offers a managed secure ‘turnkey' solution for all devices and platforms, which enables BYOD and generates efficiencies and cost-savings, allowing us to nurture the flexible working culture our business needs without compromising on security.”

SThree specialises in placing permanent and contract staff in niche markets, and said it recognises BYOD as an opportunity to increase productivity, efficiency and client service.

Andy Jacques, general manager EMEA at Good Technology, said: “SThree needed to support its BYOD strategy while maintaining absolute security of its critical data.  It also needed to do this quickly and with absolute confidence in the technology.

“By implementing Good for Enterprise, the company has given its employees the freedom to bring their own personal devices to work, while ensuring confidential client and candidate information, which is vital to their business, is completely secure.”

Apple Commemorates Steve Jobs

Whether the business is large or small, the founder or leader at the top is critical. A leader creates the culture, sets the overall vision, and has oversight, if not direct control, over development of products and services. Last week, Apple began a period of recognition for its late, legendary founder Steve Jobs on the one year anniversary of  his death. Let's look at how leadership effects business today.

The Big Goodbye

A MacBook for Steve. So identifiable is Jobs with the products he helped bring to life that a design firm is creating and selling a special tribute edition of one of the company's legendary laptop devices in his memory. You might not pay $12,368 for a Steve Jobs tribute MacBook Pro, but it is a challenge for every business owner or entrepreneur to be as closely associated with their product or brand as Jobs has been with Apple. Tech 2

Thanks for the memories. Jobs is also being honored with a memorial video posted on the Apple Website. The video contains images of the tech visionary and many of his words too. See a report on the video and thoughts from current Apple CEO Tim Cook about his illustrious predecessor. Think about what a video on your life's accomplishments might say about your leadership and legacy. USA Today

Leadership Classes

Exceptional leaders. Let's face it, that's what all entrepreneurs want to be. To figure out how to be the kind of visionary who can guide your company to success, fame, and fortune, it's a good idea to look at the best. In this case, Martin Zwilling outlines the qualities of two other well-known tech founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin of Google. These are qualities any founder would be proud to call their own. Startup Professionals Musings

Training for tomorrow. Perhaps knowing the importance of such visionaries to the future our economy, we should, as guest blogger Christa Avampato recommends, focus on teaching entrepreneurship in our schools. Such qualities as critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and communication must all be nurtured. These are the characteristics of future business leaders. Noobpreneur

Great management on a budget. One of the most important aspects of being an effective leader or manager in your business is to successfully motivate your employees or team. However, sometimes you face limitations in your funding, and need to find creative ways to accomplish this. Fortunately, there are many ways to improve your team's performance while on a budget. IFC Coaching

The Best Around

Got mantras? Sometimes learning the qualities of leadership may be easier than you think. For example, some simple, easy-to-follow advice may be just the thing to help you better understand what leadership is and how to cultivate it in yourself and others. These might even be called mantras, but, of course, business consultant Chris Farmer calls them “one-liners,” and here are 50 to get you started. Corporate Coach Group

Outside hire. When all else fails, there is the option of hiring a manager or leader for your business from outside the company. While this may not be doable for some entrepreneurs and the idea itself may be abhorrent to others, here blogger Harry Vaishnav shares some of the reasons hiring leadership from outside your company might actually be a good idea. Small Biz Viewpoints