How to Increase Your Online Fan Following

The advent of the Internet was one of the major events in the field of information and technology. It was boosted in recent times by the introduction of social media, which played a major role in changing the way people connect with each other.

In recent times, Facebook, Google Plus and others have emerged as major players in the field of social media. They are gradually becoming the top platforms to connect with people from across the globe. And for that, it is necessary to build a proper fan base and increase your online following.

Share Useful Content to Add Value

Content remains one of the most important components of any online activity. It is important to post interesting content in your page and you need to do this on a regular basis.

However, you should also ensure that its level is high in terms of quality. You have to look into the fact that the content that you are sharing is of interest to your followers. Moreover, it should be exclusive and unique. You should avoid using mere product updates and instead, share properly planned content to ensure that people are finding it useful and interesting.

Ensure Your Account is Optimized

An optimized account on Facebook or Twitter can be one of the best things you can have online. Social media updates are found on search engine results now so it is important for you to ensure that your updates are perfectly composed to attract the attention of the readers and make them interested enough to visit your profile.

Make Your Profile or Page Interactive and Interesting

There might be a large number of fans on your Facebook page and a lot of followers in Twitter or LinkedIn. However, the page is not going to remain attractive and active unless you continue posting updates on a regular basis. Moreover, it is extremely important to interact with the fans and followers to ensure that they remain interested in your page.

Drive all forms of relevant discussions on your page to keep it interesting for your followers. It may happen that a visitor to your page finds a discussion interesting enough to like the page and join discussions in the future. Make the interaction interesting. Ask questions, reply to them and provide interesting information at regular intervals. This will help you to increase your online following, thus extending your reach.

Plan Interesting Offers and Incentives

Offers, incentives and discounts are likely to attract the interest of a large number of people within a short time. Announce an offer for first-time visitors who like your page. It can be a great way to increase your online following and gain more of them to potentially share news of your business. Customize the offers, depending on the type of social media website where you are sharing it.

Connect With Users of Similar Interests

Connect with people from the same industry or with similar interests. Form a specific group about a topic to ensure that you are able to discuss every necessary detail. This will also provide you with the opportunity to learn more and update yourself as well about relevant topics so you can implement them into your business operations.

It is important for you to use social media in successful ways to ensure that you can reap the maximum benefits from it to increase your online following.

Fan Photo via Shutterstock

Why it’s Good Facebook Business Pages will Look Like Personal Profiles

Your new Facebook for Business Page will look a lot more like a personal profile very soon.

Facebook announced the changes coming to Business Pages this week. The company says that the layout redesign is meant to “streamline” the look of these pages often used by brands and small businesses and that should be a good thing for your business on Facebook.

In a post on the official Facebook for Business blog, the company explained:

“We’ll begin rolling out a streamlined look for Pages on desktop that will make it easier for people to find the information they want and help Page admins find the tools they use most.”

The new Facebook Business Page layout for your business will have your News Feed - a listing of all your posts - in a single, straight-line column. If your Page hasn’t changed yet, you know that posts from your business appear scattered across two columns. Your feed will appear between two other columns.

Information about your business will appear in a single column under your profile picture along the left (pictured below). That information includes a map, your hours of business, a phone number and website URL. Your business’ photos and videos will be organized there, too. That column also has an easy way for visitors to invite their Friends to Like your Page.

Ads will be banked in a column along the right, according to Facebook’s announcement. That column will also include shortcuts to your previous years’ posts.

For Admins of Facebook Business Pages, there are several changes that should make finding information easier. Stats such as Page Likes, the number of active ad campaigns, your Post reach, and your Notifications will also appear in a toolbar in the right column.

Facebook says:

“We’ve also added new navigation options to the top of the Page, making it easier to access your activity, insights and settings. The Build Audience menu at the top of the Page offers direct access to your Ads Manager account.”

Last week Facebook rolled out a redesign for its News Feed with some very simple changes, The Verge reports. The new News Feed includes bigger photos and different fonts.

The new look actually makes the desktop version look more like the mobile version. This offers a more unified experience for your visitors no matter what device they’re using to follow your feed.

Don’t Fear Raising Prices. Amazon Prime Increase Shows Why Great Value and Service Help When You Raise Prices

Amazon Prime is $79 a year and it’s been that way for several years.

Amazon Prime provides free shipping on zillions of items that Amazon.com sells and it provides free movie streaming on zillions of movies.

Amazon announced today that is raising its prices to $99 - up by $20.

A $20 a year price increase is not a significant increase for Amazon Prime’s target market. That works out to about $1.67 a month.

There are rumbles of folks complaining about the price increase and here’s where the lesson for your small business comes in to play.

(What are your tips and thoughts on small businesses raising prices? Share them in the comments below)

1. Offer great service that transcends just price.
2. Offer great value (free shipping, free movies, etc) and you can always justify a fair price.
3. When you have to raise prices, explain the price increase. In an email to me and other Prime members this morning, Amazon explained it’s price increase.

If you offer value backed by great customer service you don’t have to fear raising prices.

I’d rather have Amazon.com Prime be $20 more per year than for it to shut down or slack in service.

NSA bots monitor millions of Internet users

March 13, 2014

Former CIA contractor Edward Snowden has alleged that NSA's surveillance is even more widespread than first thought.

The latest documents released by Snowden, first published on Glenn Greenwald's new Intercept website, suggest that the NSA's approach to monitoring targets' computers using eavesdropping malware has been on a near industrial scale, rather than carefully targeted.

Amongst the many tools used to carry out the targeted attacks - via compromised routers or Facebook - is an automated infection application known as ‘TURBINE' that can scale to millions of infection attempts a day.

TURBINE is complimented, says Snowden, by a platform called ‘QUANTUMHAND' which generates fake Facebook servers - presumably using DNS spoofing - which hapless users log into and so release their credentials.

Using these approaches, says Snowden, allows the NSA to take a highly automated approach to compromising the many elements of the Internet, even stretching to assuming control over cyber-criminal botnets, as well as creating their own botnet swarms.

Snowden's assertions add credence to reports last year that the NSA had Tier One ISP level access to various servers on the Internet, including backdoor - but direct - access to the systems of Facebook and Google.

The use of an automated approach to infection may help to explain why Facebook, Google and others have vehemently denied collusion with the US Government in allowing access to their servers.

Perhaps more worryingly from a UK perspective, Snowden's assertions continue to suggest that GCHQ has played a close role in working with NSA in its various activities. Last month, the UK intelligence agency was accused of harvesting Yahoo users' explicit Webcam images, and in January it was also accused of analysing Facebook likes and YouTube views. 

Professor John Walker, a Visiting Professor with Nottingham-Trent University's School of Science and Technology, said the latest assertions from Snowden were quite logical and suggest that the NSA's strategy in monitoring most aspects of the Internet is a long-term project for the agency.

"In the current security climate I actually think we should be supporting such actions," he said, adding that he does not have a problem with the level of surveillance taking place, nor the NSA's methodology.

You could argue, he told SCMagazineUK.com, that we are reaching the stage where George Orwell's `1984' novel - with Big Brother monitoring everyone's move - has become a reality, but there is also an argument to say that the NSA's actions are required. 

Digital forensics specialist Professor Peter Sommer - who is a Visiting Professor at Leicester's de Montfort University - was a lot more critical of the NSA's claimed activities, saying there is no way in which this sort of anticipatory activity can be justified - any more than the action of planting audio bugs in everyone's homes is justified, in case someone is thinking of conspiring against the state. 

"Each action of intrusion needs to be separately justified and authorised," he said. 

"It is difficult to look at today's global threats either to the US or the UK and believe that they could be coming from `millions' of sources. How can these global surveillance programmes ever get started within the Agencies if there is any sort of proper oversight?," he added.

Fundable Acquires LaunchRock and Its 10 Million Users

Fundable, a crowdfunding platform based near Columbus, Ohio, has acquired LaunchRock, a platform for promoting new business ideas.

LaunchRock is a site where entrepreneurs with new ideas can set up a simple landing page and attract pre-launch attention, and collect contact information from interested parties.  The concept behind LaunchRock is that you can start getting valuable interest in your idea, even before you’re ready to launch.

LaunchRock has 10 million users.  Now LaunchRock is part of Fundable.

Fundable, which also runs Startups.co, focuses on crowdfunding via angel and venture investment.  Wil Schroter, Founder and CEO of Fundable, said in a prepared statement, “We’ve quietly helped businesses crowdfund over $87 million in commitments and we’re excited to bring crowdfunding to entrepreneurs in the early stages of creating a business.”  Fundable says its average amount raised is $175,000 â€" or 12 times higher than the average amount raised on Kickstarter.

The price of the acquisition was not disclosed. Employees of LaunchRock will join the fundable team.

Startups.co, which is a site owned by Fundable, sent out an email to its members this morning, positioning the move as offering more features and benefits to Startups.co users.  The partial text of the email reads:

“What Does This Mean for Startups.co Users?

You now have access to an incredible tool to make your business idea a reality. We are now offering our Startups.co users a full suite of LaunchRock products at a discount.

We’re offering several plans to support your business from launch to fundraising

:: Branding - complete logo and brand design
:: Explainer Video - telling your story with a compelling video
:: Launch Plan - turnkey solution to promote your business and build a following
:: Crowdfunding Plan - turn your following into investors with crowdfunding”

According to Fundable, the combined entities now have 10 million registered users, 500,000 startups with 15,000 new startups per month signing it.  And 42 venture capital and angel investors join Fundable with the move, including  500 Startups, Trinity Ventures, and Quotidian Ventures.

Yes, crowdfunding is definitely a hot space these days.

UCAS makes £millions from student data

March 13, 2014

The UK's university admissions service has been selling access to student and parent data to advertisers and mobile phone companies, in exchange for millions of pounds.

Personal data on more than one million young people and their parents is being sold to advertisers by the Universities and Colleges Admission Service (UCAS), the university applications body which is the go-to place for approximately 700,000 students enrolling on university courses each year.

As revealed first by The Guardian, UCAS was paid upward of £12 million for handing over emails and addresses of subscribers to mobile phone and drinks companies.

This data is sold via commercial arm UCAS Media, and has been gathered by media giants such as Vodafone, O2 and Microsoft, as well as student accommodation provider Pure Student Living. Red Bull recently promoted three new drink flavours by sending sample cans to 17,500 selected students, and the market for targeting university students is said to be worth in the region of £15 billion a year.

In another twist, users signing up for UCAS Progress, a two-year-old group established to serve pupils aged 13 and looking for post-16 courses, is also collecting data. Children who sign up for the scheme are encouraged to receive email marketing from “carefully selected third parties”. UCAS Progress has defended its actions by saying that it only puts advertisements from education and training providers on its website, and is adamant that it does not email the children directly.

Applicants are able to opt out of receiving these messages, although this does mean missing out on certain emails regarding course information and potential career opportunities.

Emma Carr, deputy director of the privacy lobby group Big Brother Watch, told The Guardian that UCAS is acting within the law, but slammed the ‘underhand' measures being used.

“UCAS is perfectly within the law to sell on this information, but the way they are doing so, as is the situation with most data gathering organisations, is underhand,” she said. “It goes far beyond what students would expect them to do with their data.” 

A spokeswoman for UCAS said: "UCAS and UCAS Media comply strictly with all applicable laws and regulations, in the way in which we handle personal data. Ucas Media has strict guidelines for the different groups that we may cover, based on the age sensitivities of our audiences. For example, UCAS Media does not accept political, alcohol or tobacco related products for marketing." 

On learning the news, an ICO spokesman told SCMagazineUK.com that this is the latest sign that people need to learn about how their data could be used. 

“It's crucial people are aware of how their personal information is being used by an organisation,” the group said via email. 

“Where a company wants to use that information for marketing, it should be clear from the outset, and ensure it has the individual's consent, which must be freely given, specific and informed."

Multiple layers now required for effective security: report

March 13, 2014

"The AV industry has evolved beyond static signature technology" says NSS Labs.

A report from NSS Labs says that industry criticism of standard antivirus (AV) software, which is often said to `miss' the latest security threats - is unjustified, as the latest generation of security software uses multiple methodologies to spot various types of attacks.

The analysis - `From Brain to Flame: Myths, Facts, and the Future', which was written by the firm's research director Randy Abrams - follows in the wake of several quantitive, but critical reports from the research firm that have analysed the various entry-level and mid-range AV packages available.

According to NSS Labs, whilst it is true that purely signature-based AV scanners are extinct, the research firm says that AV is constantly evolving, based on the premise that the future can be predicted through knowledge of the past. 

"The AV industry has evolved beyond static signature technology," says Abrams in his report, adding that the AV industry also has significant experience in remediation - with the organic development of technology and the adoption of existing technology becoming part of the continuing evolution of this segment of the security industry.

Historic indicators suggest a strong probability that EPP (End Point Protection) vendors will soon offer BDS (Breach Detection System) products.

Recommendations

Against this backdrop, Abrams' report recommends that IT professionals in organisations need to become familiar with current EPP technological advancements, as well as understanding the strengths, weaknesses, and scope of current security products in the end-point space.

The analysis also recommends that companies need to evaluate new technologies that complement EPP - but adds that users need to understand that APTs (Advanced Persistent Threats) such as Stuxnet and Flame have been added to the requirements of effective EPPs.

NSS Labs says that APTs and the more common TPAs (Targeted Persistent Attacks) are designed to evade all pro-active and defensive protection technologies across the landscape of the security industry.

As a result, the report says that APTs and TPAs have relegated security products to reactive detection and remediation. 

Does this mean that the days of single layer security systems - from a single vendor - are now past?

SCMagazineUK.com put this question to Rob Bamforth, principal analyst with  business research and analysis house Quocirca. He said that most organisations should now be moving to a multi-layered security strategy, mainly because users - and the devices they use - have become a lot more mobile.

He says that the use of multiple layers of security - rather a single AV application - is also being driven by the need to route a lot of traffic from mobile devices back through the company network to better defend against security attacks.

"If you were a Black Hat, you'd put most of your effort into attacking further back in the network - via the weakest link," he said, adding that there is now a clear need to put protection in at all levels, and not just at the edge of a network, as has been the case previously.

One interesting effect of routing IP traffic back through the corporate network, says Bamforth, is a potential increase in latency, especially where traffic is routed from mobile devices, which means that organisations also need to be a lot more discriminatory as to the type of network traffic routed back to base than before.

"The downside here is that cost of handling all this traffic does start to rise," he noted.

Bamforth's comments were echoed by Keith Bird, UK managing director of security vendor Check Point, who said that AV  has improved enormously over the years, but it needs to be just one layer in an overall security solution.

"New exploits and zero-days continue to surface because they can avoid being detected by traditional AV, which is why techniques such as sand boxing and threat emulation are being adopted," he said, adding that this approach can vet files - and common email attachments - either in the cloud or on the network gateway, so preventing infections from reaching the network.

UK Government gets serious about cyber security education

March 13, 2014

The UK Government is stepping up plans for developing the cyber-security sector, with support for students and teachers.

Following the lead of Scandinavian schools over the last decade, the UK Government has extended the lower age at which school pupils can get cyber-security training from 14 down to just 11 years of age. The Government has also committed to a larger budget to train teachers in the best ways to educate their students, although precise figures have not been discussed at this stage.

According to the `Cyber Security Skills: Business Perspectives and Government's Next Steps' report issued by the UK's Department for Business, Innovation & Skills today, support will be extended to Universities - but with the caveat that they must come up with new ideas to enhance existing cyber-security teaching.

Young people outside full-time education will also get a boost, as the Government plans to introduce a new internship scheme that will help provide students with the work experience that it says employers are looking for.

Announcing the revitalised cyber-security education plan this morning, David Willetts, the Universities and Science Minister, said that countries that can manage cyber-security risks have a clear competitive advantage.

By ensuring cyber-security is integral to education at all ages, he said, “we will help equip the UK with the professional and technical skills we need for long-term economic growth.”

The broad game-plan is to introduce the new cyber-security curriculum to 11 to 14 year-olds from September 2015 onwards, although Willett's department will start working on the plans - which will require extensive consultations, from later this month.

The Government says that idea behind the downwards age extension to cyber-security training is to help balance the disparity between boys and girds in schools that take GCSE qualifications in IT security.  

Delving into the report reveals that the Government plans for e-skills UK to roll-out a Secure Futures schools campaign in London, Greater Manchester and Sussex later this year, with the support of employers, following a successful pilot in Worcestershire.

Peter Armstrong, Director of Cyber Security with Thales UK - which has interests in many elements of security in the public sector - welcomed the report, saying that it highlights the positive and necessary steps that are needed to tackle the UK's cyber skills gap.

"This incentive to push cyber-security education into schools should be welcomed by the security industry and government. Any initiative that aims to increase the general capability and awareness in the cyber defence space and ultimately strengthen the UK's overall cyber defence posture, should be implemented as soon as possible to continually address the evolving cyber threat we face," he said.

"It is important that schools are able to start supporting organisations by training up the next generation of cyber security experts from a young age, giving them the necessary tools and skills to deal with the latest cyber threats in the workplace,” he added.

Getting 20 percent of UK adults online

In parallel with the Government's cyber-security initiative, a seven-step guide to help bridge the digital skills gap has been published for businesses, to help them encourage - and support - the final 20 per

cent of the adult population get online. 

Published as part of the Carnegie UK Trust's Making Digital Real report - developed in partnership with Broadband Delivery UK (BDUK) - the new guide notes that a one-size fits all approach will not help bridge the digital skills gap and that different ideas plus models must be considered.

Commenting on the guide, Douglas White, Head of Policy with the Carnegie UK Trust, said that the Trust knows that access to the Internet can help transform people's lives.

"It can help people to access public services more easily, achieve higher levels of educational attainment and improve employment prospects, which in turn can help provide a boost to local economies,” he said.

“Despite this, a fifth of the UK population remain offline - the new guide provides an easy-to-follow reference guide for local authorities and business organisations to consider when undertaking activities to help boost digital inclusion in their region,” he added.

“Technology really has helped transform the way we live our lives, it's therefore essential that the country's final fifth are not forgotten about," he explained.

EU approves data protection law but critics remain

March 13, 2014

The European Parliament approved a draft law on data protection on Wednesday, but the mooted changes are still to win universal approval from all in the infosec community.

All 28 European Union member states gave the plenary vote the green-light, with the draft law being approved by 621 MEPs but rejected by 10 (22 MEPs were absent). The law could yet face further tribulations, however, given that the E.U Parliament is due to disband before the next elections in May - one month before MEPs are due to argue on how to move forward with the law.

The laws, the first significant changes to European data privacy legislation since 1995, have been under discussion since 2012 with a view to being fully ratified in 2015 and implemented in 2016, and will introduce a number of changes that will have a dramatic effect on how consumer data is stored, and how companies respond in the event of a data breach.

In particular, the changes will stipulate that companies must pay up to €100 million (approximately £82.2 million) - or 5 percent of their global turnover - in the event of a data breach - a sanction opposed by a number of large American and European companies - as well as the right for individuals to have the “right to be forgotten” when they change to another online service.

Furthermore, explicit consent will be required for businesses looking to process data, while companies will need to inform users, paying or not, of data breaches “without undue delay”. There's some speculation about what this constitutes, although Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding believes that 24 hours should be achievable for any organisation.

The changes haven't come without concerns however. At the International Cybersecurity Forum in Lille, France in January, Bird & Bird lawyer Gabriel Voisin said that the “question remains if it becomes positive law,” while DigitalEurope said on Wednesday that the regulation is “ill-suited to the digital economy”.

"The text adopted at today's plenary session of the European Parliament is over-prescriptive. It will hamper Europe's ability to take advantage of new ways of using data. This will put Europe at a disadvantage to other parts of the world that are embracing the new technologies," it said in a statement released on Wednesday.

Others, too, have expressed concerns that while the changes will likely be welcomed by consumers, they will cause problems for most European businesses.

“While consumers will welcome the fact that the European Parliament has voted through the EU's first major overhaul of data protection legislation since 1995, many European businesses will be feeling nervous,” Christian Toon, head of information risk at Iron Mountain, told SCMagazineUK.com. 

“The reality is that many remain underprepared, as demonstrated by a recent study revealing that only 45 percent of mid-sized businesses across Europe have an information risk policy in place.

“Businesses that fail to address the issue now not only run the risk of significant financial penalties in the near future, but may also risk serious reputational damage that will make customer retention more complicated…Companies must see this announcement as a wake-up call and use the time they now have to review and tighten their information management policies to make sure they are in a position to comply fully with the proposed changes to legislation if, or more likely now when, they come to pass.”

Lior Arbel, CTO of data specialist Performanta added in an email exchange with SCMagazineUK.com that the emphasis will now fall on how companies gather and safeguard data.

“Whilst the news is a vital first step in improving data protection, more needs to be done to make companies liable for the data they gather and force them to deploy necessary safeguards,” he said.

“Many companies do not currently have the technical support to match any new data protection rules. Businesses therefore need to take proactive steps to ensure its information is properly monitored and secured, from external and internal threats, with effective information security controls."

Google Wants to Pay You for Referring Google Business Apps Customers

Google has introduced a referral program that pays $15 per new signup for its paid Google Apps for Business Service.

This is the pro version of Google Apps. It features souped-up versions of Google’s popular free cloud-based Web apps like Gmail, Google Drive and Calendar.

For instance, at just $5 per month per user, your business can have custom Gmail addresses and 30 GB of email and Google Drive storage. Google also offers round-the-clock customer support for Apps for Business customers. These apps can be accessed from any device and allow you to collaborate in real time with any other user.

So if your business already uses Google Apps and you think another business could benefit from them, Google will pay you for that referral. Writing on the official Google Enterprise Blog, channel marketing lead Prajesh Parekh explains:

“Many of the millions of Google Apps customers learned about tools like Hangouts, Drive and Gmail for business from their customers, friends and networks. The referral program makes it easy to share Google Apps with your network and show them how they too can use these tools at work.”

Google has what appears to be a simple sign up process for the program. Here’s how it works:

• You provide Google with your name, email address, tax ID number, and bank account information.
• Google will provide you with email links and other website templates that help you promote Apps for Business.
• When your referrals sign up for the premium services - and pay for them for at least 120 days - Google pays you $15 per person.
• Google provides a few other incentives to you and your referred users, too, like discount coupons on Apps for Business services.
• Google makes a direct deposit to the bank account you provide at sign-up.

There is a chance to earn more than just spare change here, too.

If you eventually refer a business that has a lot of employees, Google pays you for the first 100 people who sign up for the premium services from a single referral. For example, if a business you refer to Apps for Business signs up 10 employees, you’d receive $15 for each  new signup: $150.

Image: Google

More in: Google

5 Ways to Build Collaboration Beyond Company Walls to End “Remote Work” Myths

There’s been a lot of talk in business circles about the pros and cons of “remote work.” Phrased in that way, the discussion is nearly moot. Employees who work beyond the confines of company headquarters should not feel remote or removed from the work that happens on site, particularly now that so many technology tools are available to encourage collaboration across geographies. Cloud-based solutions for customer relationship and project management, video conferencing, instant messaging and more mean that colleagues should be able to effectively collaborate with each other whether they are 10 feet or 10,000 miles apart.

With small, midsize and large businesses realizing that their options for hiring talented employees expand enormously when they remove location requirements, it’s time to rethink the way companies manage workers without borders. Doing so takes a combination of technological tools and basic communications skills. A good first step is to exorcise the myths about what remote work really means.

If the best programmer for the job lives in Florida and you happen to operate out of California, should you opt for an inferior candidate just because that person can sit next to you every day? Most business owners would say, “no,” or perhaps, “no, but…” The “but” usually centers on fears about communication and collaboration. In fact, working with colleagues, partners and customers across geographies has never been easier, and the tools that help companies foster that communication and collaboration have the added benefit of creating a trail of ideas, contacts and action items that can be tracked to improve productivity, sales and customer experiences.

Let’s say you decide to hire the best person for the job, even if that person cannot work at your headquarters. How can you set the stage for success and defy the myths around remote work? Consider the following options:

1. Videoconferencing: Not every conversation needs to take place via video, but it’s nice for employees to see one another occasionally, and video can foster closer relationships between colleagues. Videoconferencing is now available at modest cost or even for free via companies such as Google Hangouts.
2. Instant messaging: Everybody needs to walk away from his desk once in awhile, but the time spent repeatedly visiting people across the office throughout the day can add up to a significant chunk of working hours. Instant messaging provides a quick, convenient way for colleagues to keep in touch and protect productivity, whether they’re in the same building or across the globe.
3. Cloud-based customer relationship management (CRM): Web-based CRM is popular because it can save SMBs time and money, but it also delivers anywhere-anytime functionality. For workers located elsewhere or for those who are often on the road, web-based CRM creates easy access to notes, documents and updates. Added bonus: these cloud tools can deliver cost savings up to $5,000 per month as compared to traditional on-premise CRM.
4. Occasional site visits: We have workers in several different states, and technology allows them to collaborate closely with our on-site team, but once a quarter, we make sure to get the whole team together. This is beneficial not only for generating new ideas and moving projects forward, but also for building the camaraderie that keeps people attached to their work and to the mission of the company.
5. Web-based project management: If you’ve ever tried to drill down into a project detail hidden in a long, unwieldy email thread, then you know that email is not the best way to manage collaboration, regardless of where your staff works. Web-based project management streamlines this process, so that all employees can see ongoing and new activity and the status of projects. By eliminating email disorganization, time is no longer wasted sorting through archives to find past conversations or files. Plus, everything is tagged and sorted, so updates are easy to find. These tools can boost productivity by as much as 20 percent.

The word “remote” holds negative connotations that don’t hold true for today’s dispersed workforce. With affordable technology readily available, SMBs can bring their teams together for effective collaboration, regardless of whether employees share the same office space or not.

Are You Making These 7 Common Sole Proprietor Tax Mistakes?

It’s hard being a small business owner this time of year. The tax filing deadline is right around the corner, as April 15 is the date for individuals, sole proprietorships, partnerships, and many limited liability companies.

Filing your business taxes can be a real learning curve, and might have you scrambling to find the right forms and dig out missing receipts. Sole proprietors need to fill out the long form 1040, along with Schedule C and Schedule SE. You don’t want to leave money on the table or open yourself up to a dreaded IRS audit.

To ensure your sole proprietorship is handling its tax obligations the right way, read through these common sole proprietor tax mistakes below.

1. Not Paying Your Quarterly Taxes

For businesses, including sole proprietors, tax time isn’t just once a year. You’re required to pay estimated taxes on a quarterly basis. You get a free pass for the first year of your business, and there are certain other exceptions based on how much you make. But you’ll want to keep up with these quarterly payments, in order to avoid paying a penalty with your annual filing or to not have a big surprise come April 15.

Many sole proprietors get into the practice of setting aside a percentage with each payment received (think of this like a self-imposed tax withholding). Then, when it’s time to make a quarterly payment, take stock of your profit/loss statement and estimate your quarterly bill accordingly. You can get help from a tax advisor to help you estimate these payments if needed.

2. Under Reporting Your Business Income

After analyzing audits for tax year 2001, the IRS estimated that sole proprietors under reported business income by $68 billion (PDF). The report didn’t specify if the mistakes were intentional or unintentional.

If you are a sole proprietor and paid more than $600 during the tax year, the business you worked for is required to send you a 1099-MISC stating your compensation. Keep in mind that the IRS will receive the exact same form, making it easy for them to determine if you failed to report the income.

However, even if you don’t receive a 1099-MISC, you are still required to report that income. In addition, if you receive a 1099-MISC from a client and realize that the reported income is incorrect, you will need to contact the issuing business to correct the situation. And make sure you wait to receive the amended 1099-MISC before filing your taxes.

3. Problems with the Home Office Deduction

Many sole proprietors get scared away from taking the home office deduction because they’ve been warned it’s a red flag for getting audited. But, if you are legitimately entitled to the deduction, you should take it, particularly because it can be a significant deduction.

In order to qualify for the deduction, your home office needs to be used exclusively for business purposes, and nothing else. This could be a dedicated room, or even part of a room that’s used just for your business.

With the 2013 tax return, the IRS has introduced a simplified method for calculating the home office deduction that lets you measure your home office space and then multiply the square footage by $5. While this method will save you time, it may not necessarily be the most advantageous. That’s because the simplified method caps out at $1,500 max.

Therefore, you should calculate the home office deduction using both the actual expense and simplified method and see which gives you the bigger deduction.

4. Over Deducting Your Gifts

Business gifts, such as a holiday presents or small token of appreciation, can be deducted as a business expense, but there is a catch.

Only the first $25 per recipient is deductible. If you sent a client a $75 gift certificate, you can only deduct $25. And if you report $2,000 in deductible business gifts for the year, it means that you gave gifts to at least 80 different people during the year. Make sure you can back that up.

5. Mixing Equipment and Supplies

Many sole proprietors get confused trying to figure out which business expenses are considered equipment vs. supplies. Supplies are things that get used during the year…printer ink, paper, envelopes, etc. Equipment typically are higher-value things that last longer than a year. Examples of equipment can include computers, software and office furniture.

Supplies are reported on Schedule C, but equipment needs to be reported on Form 4562. With equipment purchased in 2013, you have the option to write off the full amount with your 2013 return (there is a max limit), or you can write off a portion for each year it’s in use.

If you unintentionally deduct your equipment as supplies on Schedule C, the IRS might determine that you incorrectly reported the expense and you’re not entitled to the deduction.

6. Not Reporting All Your Expenses

From the moment you launch a business, there’s a grab bag of deductible business expenses that you can take advantage of. There are big expenses, such as equipment, mobile phone plan, health insurance premiums and travel expenses to think about. In addition, sole proprietors should keep track of any miscellaneous expenses, as they can add up as well. For example, books, online courses, mileage to meet with clients, Web hosting, stamps, etc.

The biggest mistake is failing to track these expenses throughout the year, and trying to gather every receipt or remember every trip when April 15 rolls around.

Remember you can’t deduct what you can’t document: Try to keep up with your record keeping so you’re not leaving money on the table.

7. Choosing the Wrong Legal Entity

Depending on their tax bracket and amount of self-employment taxes, sole proprietors may end up paying more in taxes than owners of a corporation. In this case, creating a C Corporation, S Corporation, or LLC that’s taxed like an S Corp could help lower their tax bill.

If you’re wondering if you should change your business structure for 2014, a quick discussion with a tax advisor or CPA can help you determine what’s right for your situation.

Tax Photo via Shutterstock

Are You Making These 7 Common Sole Proprietor Tax Mistakes?

It’s hard being a small business owner this time of year. The tax filing deadline is right around the corner, as April 15 is the date for individuals, sole proprietorships, partnerships, and many limited liability companies.

Filing your business taxes can be a real learning curve, and might have you scrambling to find the right forms and dig out missing receipts. Sole proprietors need to fill out the long form 1040, along with Schedule C and Schedule SE. You don’t want to leave money on the table or open yourself up to a dreaded IRS audit.

To ensure your sole proprietorship is handling its tax obligations the right way, read through these common sole proprietor tax mistakes below.

1. Not Paying Your Quarterly Taxes

For businesses, including sole proprietors, tax time isn’t just once a year. You’re required to pay estimated taxes on a quarterly basis. You get a free pass for the first year of your business, and there are certain other exceptions based on how much you make. But you’ll want to keep up with these quarterly payments, in order to avoid paying a penalty with your annual filing or to not have a big surprise come April 15.

Many sole proprietors get into the practice of setting aside a percentage with each payment received (think of this like a self-imposed tax withholding). Then, when it’s time to make a quarterly payment, take stock of your profit/loss statement and estimate your quarterly bill accordingly. You can get help from a tax advisor to help you estimate these payments if needed.

2. Under Reporting Your Business Income

After analyzing audits for tax year 2001, the IRS estimated that sole proprietors under reported business income by $68 billion (PDF). The report didn’t specify if the mistakes were intentional or unintentional.

If you are a sole proprietor and paid more than $600 during the tax year, the business you worked for is required to send you a 1099-MISC stating your compensation. Keep in mind that the IRS will receive the exact same form, making it easy for them to determine if you failed to report the income.

However, even if you don’t receive a 1099-MISC, you are still required to report that income. In addition, if you receive a 1099-MISC from a client and realize that the reported income is incorrect, you will need to contact the issuing business to correct the situation. And make sure you wait to receive the amended 1099-MISC before filing your taxes.

3. Problems with the Home Office Deduction

Many sole proprietors get scared away from taking the home office deduction because they’ve been warned it’s a red flag for getting audited. But, if you are legitimately entitled to the deduction, you should take it, particularly because it can be a significant deduction.

In order to qualify for the deduction, your home office needs to be used exclusively for business purposes, and nothing else. This could be a dedicated room, or even part of a room that’s used just for your business.

With the 2013 tax return, the IRS has introduced a simplified method for calculating the home office deduction that lets you measure your home office space and then multiply the square footage by $5. While this method will save you time, it may not necessarily be the most advantageous. That’s because the simplified method caps out at $1,500 max.

Therefore, you should calculate the home office deduction using both the actual expense and simplified method and see which gives you the bigger deduction.

4. Over Deducting Your Gifts

Business gifts, such as a holiday presents or small token of appreciation, can be deducted as a business expense, but there is a catch.

Only the first $25 per recipient is deductible. If you sent a client a $75 gift certificate, you can only deduct $25. And if you report $2,000 in deductible business gifts for the year, it means that you gave gifts to at least 80 different people during the year. Make sure you can back that up.

5. Mixing Equipment and Supplies

Many sole proprietors get confused trying to figure out which business expenses are considered equipment vs. supplies. Supplies are things that get used during the year…printer ink, paper, envelopes, etc. Equipment typically are higher-value things that last longer than a year. Examples of equipment can include computers, software and office furniture.

Supplies are reported on Schedule C, but equipment needs to be reported on Form 4562. With equipment purchased in 2013, you have the option to write off the full amount with your 2013 return (there is a max limit), or you can write off a portion for each year it’s in use.

If you unintentionally deduct your equipment as supplies on Schedule C, the IRS might determine that you incorrectly reported the expense and you’re not entitled to the deduction.

6. Not Reporting All Your Expenses

From the moment you launch a business, there’s a grab bag of deductible business expenses that you can take advantage of. There are big expenses, such as equipment, mobile phone plan, health insurance premiums and travel expenses to think about. In addition, sole proprietors should keep track of any miscellaneous expenses, as they can add up as well. For example, books, online courses, mileage to meet with clients, Web hosting, stamps, etc.

The biggest mistake is failing to track these expenses throughout the year, and trying to gather every receipt or remember every trip when April 15 rolls around.

Remember you can’t deduct what you can’t document: Try to keep up with your record keeping so you’re not leaving money on the table.

7. Choosing the Wrong Legal Entity

Depending on their tax bracket and amount of self-employment taxes, sole proprietors may end up paying more in taxes than owners of a corporation. In this case, creating a C Corporation, S Corporation, or LLC that’s taxed like an S Corp could help lower their tax bill.

If you’re wondering if you should change your business structure for 2014, a quick discussion with a tax advisor or CPA can help you determine what’s right for your situation.

Tax Photo via Shutterstock

The challenge for cybersecurity is to find leadership

March 10, 2014

The way to avoid management by crisis is by having a strategy, goals, and plans to achieve them says Jarno Limnéll

Last year, cybersecurity became one of the hottest topics in international conversations, and was under extensive discussion at most global summits and economic forums. The United States has elevated the issue's importance to being the most critical threat to national security - even bigger than terrorism.

It is evident that the strategic importance of cybersecurity has become clearer in the minds of both government and corporate decision makers. However, this is no reason to rest easy: the world has not been saved and cyberthreats have not been eliminated. Until now, there has been much in the way of discussion but very little action. National security cannot be preserved and threats against corporations cannot be alleviated by talking, only by taking action.

At the Cyberstrat14 event in Helsinki, cybersecurity was repeatedly said to have three key needs: leadership, drive and trust. To begin, leadership and drive must lead to action and not merely to more discussion. The discussions taking place within organisations and corner offices now needs to be translated into strategies and action plans.

Cyberstrategy is a multifaceted issue and as such there is no straightforward formulation or solution. It is impossible to approach cyberstrategy like it's the icing on a cake - it is not something you can just add on top. Cybersecurity is more integral. Like the egg that goes into the cake's batter: it needs to be whisked in right at the beginning.

Any approach to cybersecurity must be defined in a way that does not hinder a corporation's performance or eat away at its effectiveness. The right level of security must always be evaluated individually for each organisation and each situation.

Furthermore, management and key decision makers don't need to know everything about firewalls and proxies and bits. There's no need for it.  The extent to which the chief executive of an aviation company knows how to entirely construct a plane himself is as much as any ordinary manager needs to know about firewalls and virus protection. But what the manager does need to understand is the ultimate objective in terms of cybersecurity in their company. It is about the ability of the manager to understand and share the message and commit the whole organisation. Without the strategic know-how and understanding of the principles behind cybersecurity, it is impossible for management to commit or guide the cyberstrategy within their organisation.

The main responsibility for this rests on the leadership, but everyone needs to participate. Rod Beckstrom, founder of the United States National Cyber Security Center and an advisor of the World Economic Forum, spoke about an organisation in which each and every individual had the right to create a crisis team entrusted to solve a problem - from the onset of a crisis straight through to its conclusion. Everyone has responsibility, and this responsibility requires that power be distributed throughout.

Likewise, the idea of “this is everyone's business” applies to the corporate level as well as the government level. But nothing will advance unless there is leadership that creates objectives and rules. We are in need of goals and action plans spread to each and every level of the organisation.

Matthew Rosenquist, cybersecurity strategist of Intel Security, stated at Cyberstrat that a company can fix their security issues through either leadership or crisis. In the absence of leadership, we are left only with crisis. Hopefully the option of crisis is not the path organisations will take.

International cooperation

International politics is in need of cooperation that goes across national boundaries.

Cybersecurity and trust go hand-in-hand. Without security, there is no trust, and vice versa. Unfortunately we currently live in a situation where trust levels are going down. They can be lifted with cooperation. Balance is the vital operator: we must not trust too much, but is important that we trust enough.

The digital world can never be perfect, just as with the physical world. There has always been crime and there will always be crime.

Likewise, the world of cybersecurity will never be “ready”. Cyberthreats are here to stay. We are faced with a new state of being in which we need to act according to threats, yet preserve the freedom to take advantage of the opportunities this new world brings us. As this new world changes constantly, we need to adapt to it by building trust and security. The ways forward are leadership, cooperation and resilience.

Contributed by Jarno Limnéll, Director of Cyber Security, Intel Security

T-Mobile Plan Offers More Data, But Wireless Plans Are Like Apples and Oranges

T-Mobile enters the fray with a plan offering more data transfer. But picking the best plan among the big carriers is still like comparing apples and oranges.

T-Mobile’s latest pricing plan structure shows the mobile industry is adapting to user habits. Services like unlimited national talk and text are almost standard issue today.

Now, how much you use your smartphone to do everything but talk and text will determine how much you’ll spend per month.

Plan structures based on data use are the norm now among the major U.S. carriers, T-Mobile, Verizon and AT&T. So the real competition among carriers these days is in data transfer.

That’s when you use your smartphone to search the Web or use apps. If you work from a laptop most of the time, for example, and use your phone only for the occasional voice call, you may not need to budget for a lot of data transfer in your plan. But if you use your phone regularly to run apps and search the Web throughout the day while on the go, more data transfer may be exactly what you need.

For example, T-Mobile’s new plans start at $50, according to a report from The Verge. That includes 1 GB of high-speed data transfer, on its 4G LTE network. And like the other carriers, the price per month goes up based on your data consumption.

Newly released plans from AT&T start at $65 per month with 2 GB of data included, reports the LA Times.

But other carriers like Verizon offer other options, too. With its new pre-paid data plans for smartphones, called Allset, you can buy extra data transfer packages that can be tacked onto your existing plan. This additional data can be rolled into the next month or two (depending how much extra you buy) when your new month of service starts.

There are more and more opportunities to customize your smartphone service depending how much data transfer you use. To help you estimate how much data you’ll use in a month AT&T and Verizon have created online calculator apps to give you an idea.

Apples Oranges Photo via Shutterstock