Hackers Allegedly Steal 160 Million Credit Card Numbers

It is another reminder of how vulnerable our digitally connected world has become. Five men were charged Thursday in what has been called the largest data breach conspiracy known. It is certainly the largest ever prosecuted in the United States.

In an official announcement released by the Department of Justice, officials claimed four Russians and one Ukranian citizen were involved in the global conspiracy.

How They Did It

Hackers allegedly identified vulnerabilities in databases and installed malware allowing them to obtain access to sensitive user data. That data included names, passwords, means of identification and more than 160 million credit card numbers.

Cyber criminals targeted major retailers, payment processors and financial institutions worldwide. Damages are estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Three corporate victims alone reported a combined loss of $300 million.

A Cautionary Tale

Unfortunately, small businesses are not immune to cyber attacks and the damage to finances and reputation they bring.

Internet security provider Symantec reports that businesses with fewer than 250 employees were the targets of 31 percent of cyber attacks last year, up from 18 percent the year before.

That could be due to the fact that many small business owners believe their companies are not large enough to interest cyber criminals, an earlier Symantec survey found.

Hacker Photo via Shutterstock

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Hackers Allegedly Steal 160 Million Credit Card Numbers

It is another reminder of how vulnerable our digitally connected world has become. Five men were charged Thursday in what has been called the largest data breach conspiracy known. It is certainly the largest ever prosecuted in the United States.

In an official announcement released by the Department of Justice, officials claimed four Russians and one Ukranian citizen were involved in the global conspiracy.

How They Did It

Hackers allegedly identified vulnerabilities in databases and installed malware allowing them to obtain access to sensitive user data. That data included names, passwords, means of identification and more than 160 million credit card numbers.

Cyber criminals targeted major retailers, payment processors and financial institutions worldwide. Damages are estimated in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Three corporate victims alone reported a combined loss of $300 million.

A Cautionary Tale

Unfortunately, small businesses are not immune to cyber attacks and the damage to finances and reputation they bring.

Internet security provider Symantec reports that businesses with fewer than 250 employees were the targets of 31 percent of cyber attacks last year, up from 18 percent the year before.

That could be due to the fact that many small business owners believe their companies are not large enough to interest cyber criminals, an earlier Symantec survey found.

Hacker Photo via Shutterstock

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Facebook Keeps Growing: Now at 1.15 Billion Active Users

For any who doubted, Facebook remains the dominant social network, one of the largest sites on the Web â€" and it just keeps growing.

The highlights of the social network’s daily and monthly active users were released as part of the company’s second quarter 2003 results posted for investors and the media this week.

Facebook Reaches 1.15 Billion: Growth Highlights

Overall, Facebook currently has 1.15 billion active monthly users. That’s up from 1.11 billion Facebook users we reported three months ago and a 21 percent increase over the past year. Facebook also saw growth in daily active users up 27 percent over last year for a total of 699 million.

The social network saw growth in the all-important mobile market too. Mobile monthly users hit 819 million as of June 30, 2013. That’s a 51 percent increase over the same time last year.

At least, that’s according to numbers the company reveals.  Although some analysts question Facebook’s user numbers, as a public company they have an obligation not to intentionally deceive investors and the public.

In the U.S. and Canada

While much of that expansion is occurring in developing markets, in the U.S. and Canada, Facebook remains the site most people are visiting, reported TechCrunch recently.

In North America, about 3 million new users were added in the last three months. Facebook says that 198 million people are active on the site monthly here and in Canada. That is a slight increase over the figure three months ago. The site has added about 3 million active monthly users every quarter since late 2011.

An Engaged Audience

And as the audience grows, so does its attention to the site. The company says the average user is spending nearly 18 minutes a day on Facebook.  That’s more than two hours a week. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters this week that Facebook has also fully penetrated the teen market in the U.S.

Facebook’s popular image and video sharing service is also making impressive strides. There are 130 million users of Instagram Video alone since it was launched last month and they’ve uploaded about 5 million videos in that time.

If your business maintains an active page on Facebook or is trying to reach new customers through advertising, this news mean your potential audience keeps expanding.  And video and images are key to engagement.

Facebook Keeps Growing: Now at 1.15 Billion Active Users

For any who doubted, Facebook remains the dominant social network, one of the largest sites on the Web â€" and it just keeps growing.

The highlights of the social network’s daily and monthly active users were released as part of the company’s second quarter 2003 results posted for investors and the media this week.

Facebook Reaches 1.15 Billion: Growth Highlights

Overall, Facebook currently has 1.15 billion active monthly users. That’s up from 1.11 billion Facebook users we reported three months ago and a 21 percent increase over the past year. Facebook also saw growth in daily active users up 27 percent over last year for a total of 699 million.

The social network saw growth in the all-important mobile market too. Mobile monthly users hit 819 million as of June 30, 2013. That’s a 51 percent increase over the same time last year.

At least, that’s according to numbers the company reveals.  Although some analysts question Facebook’s user numbers, as a public company they have an obligation not to intentionally deceive investors and the public.

In the U.S. and Canada

While much of that expansion is occurring in developing markets, in the U.S. and Canada, Facebook remains the site most people are visiting, reported TechCrunch recently.

In North America, about 3 million new users were added in the last three months. Facebook says that 198 million people are active on the site monthly here and in Canada. That is a slight increase over the figure three months ago. The site has added about 3 million active monthly users every quarter since late 2011.

An Engaged Audience

And as the audience grows, so does its attention to the site. The company says the average user is spending nearly 18 minutes a day on Facebook.  That’s more than two hours a week. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told reporters this week that Facebook has also fully penetrated the teen market in the U.S.

Facebook’s popular image and video sharing service is also making impressive strides. There are 130 million users of Instagram Video alone since it was launched last month and they’ve uploaded about 5 million videos in that time.

If your business maintains an active page on Facebook or is trying to reach new customers through advertising, this news mean your potential audience keeps expanding.  And video and images are key to engagement.

Motivation Makes The Sale: Stay Optimistically Focused

One of the most challenging aspects of sales is staying motivated - especially in the face of objections or rejection. A lot of salespeople engage in distraction or busy work instead of productive activities. Remaining motivated is essential to sales success.

You have to keep moving forward no matter what you encounter.

What Drives You?

In sales, the most successful people are those who can set goals and then establish systems for achieving those goals. They treat every step of the process as an appointment. They even put these steps on the calendar. These salespeople use CRM systems that provide reminder tools so they aren’t leaving anything to chance.

There is more to goal setting than just deciding what you want to achieve. You then have to put the plan in place to make it happen. Staying motivated is easier when you commit to that plan.

Being a team player is also key to staying motivated and successful. Imagine selling something that your operations team can’t follow through on. The frustration alone would be enough to demotivate you. You need other people to carry out what you sell in most situations. Working well with them, listening, collaborating, and considering other viewpoints makes your sales job easier.

At the same time, you should be able to initiate programs and plans. Successful salespeople don’t wait for others to get things done. They initiate. An example of this is making sure you have next steps with your prospect. Some sales people tend to let the prospect lead next steps. They’ve effectively given the power to the prospect and are no longer in control of the process.

So what happens when the prospect doesn’t follow through? You’re stuck.

Stay in control. Initiate the meetings and contacts during the sales process.

All of This Starts With Focus

There are a lot of parts to a sales job. Focus helps you manage those moving parts effectively. Ensuring that you make your sales calls, attend events, create and deliver proposals are critical. Creating proposals requires true focus as each prospect is different. The proposals require individuality so the prospect believes you are really thinking about them in particular.

Now let’s talk about optimism. Nowhere is optimism more important that in sales. You have to believe that you are going to succeed. You have to believe in your product or service and how it really helps your clients solve their problems. Can you imagine making cold calls if you aren’t optimistic? Right! That’s one of the reasons people struggle with cold calling.

To stay optimistic focus on your successes - no matter how small. Accomplishing even the simplest thing in sales and acknowledging that achievement will increase your optimism and your results.

If I were to pull all of this together, I would say that the way to stay motivated in sales is to be optimistically focused on your collaborations, initiatives, goals and plans.

This motivation will be instrumental in making sales over and over again.

Optimistic Photo via Shutterstock

Motivation Makes The Sale: Stay Optimistically Focused

One of the most challenging aspects of sales is staying motivated - especially in the face of objections or rejection. A lot of salespeople engage in distraction or busy work instead of productive activities. Remaining motivated is essential to sales success.

You have to keep moving forward no matter what you encounter.

What Drives You?

In sales, the most successful people are those who can set goals and then establish systems for achieving those goals. They treat every step of the process as an appointment. They even put these steps on the calendar. These salespeople use CRM systems that provide reminder tools so they aren’t leaving anything to chance.

There is more to goal setting than just deciding what you want to achieve. You then have to put the plan in place to make it happen. Staying motivated is easier when you commit to that plan.

Being a team player is also key to staying motivated and successful. Imagine selling something that your operations team can’t follow through on. The frustration alone would be enough to demotivate you. You need other people to carry out what you sell in most situations. Working well with them, listening, collaborating, and considering other viewpoints makes your sales job easier.

At the same time, you should be able to initiate programs and plans. Successful salespeople don’t wait for others to get things done. They initiate. An example of this is making sure you have next steps with your prospect. Some sales people tend to let the prospect lead next steps. They’ve effectively given the power to the prospect and are no longer in control of the process.

So what happens when the prospect doesn’t follow through? You’re stuck.

Stay in control. Initiate the meetings and contacts during the sales process.

All of This Starts With Focus

There are a lot of parts to a sales job. Focus helps you manage those moving parts effectively. Ensuring that you make your sales calls, attend events, create and deliver proposals are critical. Creating proposals requires true focus as each prospect is different. The proposals require individuality so the prospect believes you are really thinking about them in particular.

Now let’s talk about optimism. Nowhere is optimism more important that in sales. You have to believe that you are going to succeed. You have to believe in your product or service and how it really helps your clients solve their problems. Can you imagine making cold calls if you aren’t optimistic? Right! That’s one of the reasons people struggle with cold calling.

To stay optimistic focus on your successes - no matter how small. Accomplishing even the simplest thing in sales and acknowledging that achievement will increase your optimism and your results.

If I were to pull all of this together, I would say that the way to stay motivated in sales is to be optimistically focused on your collaborations, initiatives, goals and plans.

This motivation will be instrumental in making sales over and over again.

Optimistic Photo via Shutterstock

11 Ways to Make Your Instructional Content Stand Out

Most how-to articles and videos start to look the same after a while. But informational content is a valuable and powerful tool when executed with finesse â€" both for marketing purposes and for speeding up user/customer growth.

We asked members of the Young Entrepreneur Council, an invite-only organization comprised of successful young startup founders, the following question to find out how they make their instructional content pop:

“What are some tricks for making your instructional content (videos, how-to articles) stand out to potential customers? “

Here’s what YEC community members had to say:

1. Solve a Specific Problem

“A lot of how-to content is so broad that it becomes useless. Instead of giving “Facebook tips,” show people exactly how to build their email list using Facebook or how to choose an image that will get “likes” and shares. Specific content is more helpful to potential customers and makes your brand stand out as a company that has already helped them solve their problems. ” ~ Laura Roeder, LKR Social Media

2. Design Functional and Appealing Content

“The best tips I’ve ever received on making instructional content stand out was from the book “Information Design Workbook” by Kim Baer. It provides you with case studies, best practices and a thorough breakdown of innovative, informative design so you can improve your communications functionally and aesthetically. It teaches you to create content that has value and looks good.” ~ Fabian Kaempfer, Chocomize

3. Show Customers Giving the Tutorial

“Nothing provides more credibility than having real customers talk about your product. Instructional videos can be monotonous because you show members of the company talking about something they know well. Having customers describe how to use your product in their own, unscripted way will be interesting and genuine!” ~ Aaron Schwartz, Modify Watches

4. Write a Headline With Key Words

“People are interested in learning how to do things. They will watch a video or read an article if they believe that content will tell them how to do the things they want to do. Their decision is based on your headline. Begin your headline with the words “how to,” and write copy that tells the viewer how to do something. Example: ‘How to Make Instructional Content That Stands out to Customers.’” ~ Brett Farmiloe, Digital Marketing Agency

5. Keep Videos Short

“The average person tunes out of online videos after about two minutes (sometimes even less). If you think that your video needs to be longer than that, break it up into multiple stand-alone videos.” ~ Andrew Schrage, Money Crashers Personal Finance

6. Build Curiosity

“Try to make your video stills build curiosity instead of just serving as something boring that doesn’t keep the customer interested enough to check out your product.” ~ Joe Barton, Barton Publishing

7. Show Your Passions

“There’s no shortage of instructional content on every topic under the sun, but what really makes it stand out is by peppering your content with loads of personality and hints of your passions. If you’re a sports fan, you can use sports metaphors to teach your concepts. If you’re a pop culture junkie like I am, you can draw parallels between entertainment and business concepts. ” ~ Melissa Cassera, Cassera Communications

8. Let Your Personality Shine Through

“People want to learn from someone. Think of your favorite teacher. I bet he is someone who connected on a different level. The perfect performance is far less important than being authentic and showing a little bit of “you” in whichever medium you choose. ” ~ David Cohen, Round Table Companies

9. Be Clear Up Front

“Before you jump into the instructional content, let your audience know what they can expect to learn and what you’ll cover. Bullet points or a paragraph that describes the takeaways work well. This way, the right people read your content and have a problem solved versus reading it and walking away feeling like their time was wasted.” ~ Erin Blaskie, Erin Blaskie, Digital Strategist

10. Be Consistent

“People love consistency, and you can use that to your advantage with this content. Designate a day of the week or month on your content calendar to release an instructional video or article, and don’t miss it. This will keep your brand top of mind, build a following and keep people regularly engaging with your content.” ~ Andrew Saladino, Just Bath Vanities

11. Be as Detailed as Possible

“The best instructional content leaves no stone unturned. Walk a user through a process with as much detail as possible. That way, a user can recreate what they need with no questions asked.” ~ Wade Foster, Zapier

Cinema Screen Photo via Shutterstock

Do You Have “Balance” in Your Business and Your Life?

What does your life look like?

Just yesterday, I worked from 6:00 AM through 5:00 PM and then I ran off to dinner with my husband and my son - checking my iPhone intermittently for updates and emails on an event I was producing.  I came home and hopped on a Twitter Chat between 8:00 PM and 9:00 PM and then crashed in a heap.

Like you, I work for myself and probably like you, my personal and professional worlds have somehow become intertwined in a rather clumsy dance I call my life.

One day, in a “rare” moment of a complete freak out, my glance fell upon a stack of review copies and focused on the title Balance: The Business -Life Connection by Jim Cusumano (@JamesACusumano).   “A-HA!” I thought.  “This will be my next book review.”  Because if I’m feeling this way, I can imagine that others with bigger businesses, employees, families and responsibilities are also feeling this way.

What’s the Meaning of Life?

Appropriately enough, the book starts with Jim Cusumano’s life story. I’m going to tell you just a little about Jim here.

Cusumano proudly calls himself a Sicilian- American.  He is the oldest of 10 (yes 10) children and in the chapter, he lays out his colorful road to becoming an entertainer; lead singer for The Royal Teens (of “Short Shorts” fame).  Then he proceeded to get a PhD in Physical Chemistry as well as pursuing business studies at Harvard and Stanford and then receiving a fellowship at Cambridge University. (I know - it’s crazy).

And the bio keeps going.  Cusumano went on to found Catalytica, Inc., a Silicon Valley company with business units in clean energy and pharmaceuticals.  I’m going to skip through several more accomplishments to get to the part where he created the Chateau Mcely Forum to provide resources and educational products for Inspired Leadership.  There is so much more, but I really need to get into the review of this book.

Inside the weaving of Cusumano’s story, you’ll see that there is a pattern here; a series of decisions and roads taken and not taken.  And this is the focus of this book.

Creating a Fulfilling Life

Part two of the book gets into the discussions of purpose and passion.  There are several chapters that focus on four powerful questions:

1. What do I most love to do, so much so that time passes incredibly quickly?
2. What work do I do now or have done in the past that I do not consider work?
3. What could I do that would create the greatest value for the world around me, as well as the greatest personal satisfaction for the amount of time spent?
4. What is my unique ability, the skill or skills which if truly actualized could provide significant benefits to the organization for which I work, to the world and me?

From there the author guides you into creating an action plan for your life.  This section ends with a discussion on the things that could stop us - such as fear and how to deal with that.

The last and final section of the book is all about creating a successful business.  Cusumano takes the personal approach here as well.  He shares his journey and his lessons on how to achieve success and become a leader.

I think that small business owners will find a lot of value in this third section of the book.  Cusumano brings his passion for leadership to bear here and he also provides some very pragmatic advice that any small business owner will appreciate.

Here is a quick quote on performance reviews:

It’s prime purpose is to align all employee goals with those of the company, to identify effective means to further develop employees, and in achieving both of these objectives to create a fulfilling professional life for all employees and a successful enterprise.

My  favorite point in this section is that it’s targeted toward mutual benefit of the company and the employee and the entire proposed process Cusumano recommends is designed to have any performance issues brought up by the employee instead of the manager.

Why Take the tTime to Read Balance?

If you’re finding yourself collapsing exhausted at the end of your day - chances are that Balance should be on your reading list.  After reading the book, you will likely find yourself refreshed and energized and ready to take on the business, the world and yes - your life.