One of the main goals of a business owner is to grow and strengthen your business over the years. As an entrepreneur, it’s important to amplify your business, capitalize on new opportunities, and create a safe and strong environment to push your company forward. However, the larger your company grows, the more effort you need to put into keeping your company and customer data safe from security threats.
If you’re in the process of scaling your business, it’s time to enhance your cybersecurity measures and provide support to your current customers.
What Does It Mean To Scale Your Business?
Scaling your business refers to enabling and supporting growth in your company. The first year is about starting out, collecting data, and then reevaluating your tactics to improve in the following business year.
“Before even starting your business, you might dream of what the future looks like, where the business will take you, how far of a reach you’ll have, and what your income will be. Growth takes time. As you do grow, it becomes more important to make good choices and put the safety of your employees and customers first,” explained Kim Wileman, Founder and CEO of No Makeup Makeup.
When you start to see success, should adapt to the needs of your customers and begin catering to their specific interests. Scaling your business is the ability to see where growth is possible, setting your goals, and working to achieve them.
Why Is Cybersecurity Important?
As your company grows, the need to keep your company, employees, and customers safe will grow, too. If you’re interacting with a higher percentage of customers, increasing your revenue, and taking on more responsibilities, you need to maintain strict cybersecurity measures to protect your data.
“Data is becoming highly sought after in today’s society. Companies need it to better understand their customers and how to improve their success rates,” shared Bill Polese, Head Of Sales at LexCheck, a company known for its AI contract review software. “This can come at a cost if they’re not implementing measures to protect this data from getting into the wrong hands.”
If you want to convince new potential customers to shop with you, you need to prove that you can be trusted with their data. Your company could be held liable if there is a data leak, which could discredit your credibility and push customers away.
The Intersection of Cybersecurity and Growth
The bigger your company, the more effort you need to put into your cybersecurity measures. A successful company can grow at an exceptionally fast rate, so it’s your duty to stay up-to-date on protecting data.
“Scaling a business involves adopting new techniques and measures to keep up with other companies. You have to be on the same playing field as your competitors, and right now, that involves a heightened sense of security and protection. People want to know you’re looking after their data and that it’s in good hands,” said Jim Mitchell, Chief Growth Officer of Awesome CX by Transcom, a company that specializes in customer experience solutions.
Many businesses utilize a variety of software and applications to store data, but there is always a risk of a cybersecurity threat. Without improved cybersecurity measures, your company may remain stagnant. If you can’t offer unwavering protection, it means that you aren’t quite in a position to grow.
How Can I Keep My Business’s Data Safe?
One of the only ways to see true growth in your business is to enact strong cybersecurity measures. Below, discover ways to keep your company data safe while growing your business.
1. Understand Your Current Cybersecurity Measures
Your business probably already has some cybersecurity measures in place, but be prepared to strengthen your cybersecurity as your business grows. Conduct an internal audit to understand what measures you’ve been using and what your weaknesses are.
“An internal audit should happen yearly, if not quarterly. This audit informs you of potential threats against your security system and helps understand where you should be allocating your resources when it’s time to expand,” shared Natalia Kuvelas, Marketing Manager of Custom Goods.
Audits analyze employee practices, data processes, and security infrastructure, and they can identify risks before there is an actual threat. When you’re in the process of growing your business, it’s important to know your weaknesses and strengthen them before implementing new practices.
2. Embrace Technology
Keeping up with technology that can benefit your business will improve your company’s ability to grow. Cybercriminals will take advantage of people who aren’t protecting themselves online, and what worked last quarter might not cut it this quarter.
“The goal of implementing technology in business is to facilitate efficiency and reduce costs. Allocating your time becomes easier when there are processes that are taking care of those redundant and menial tasks,” explained Greg Hannley, Founder and CEO of Soba Texas.
Technology can be a helpful asset when used meaningfully. Most security measures that you enact for your business are supported through systems and software that protect against unauthorized users. You have to welcome technology into your business to be properly protected in the digital era.
3. Build a Strong Team
Having a team with a strong foundation in tech and an understanding of potential threats can protect your company’s data. While technology is a useful resource, your employees are another line of defense against cyberattacks. A solid team will be able to identify potential threats and keep your data safe.
“From mentoring employees to choosing the right customers, people are the most important part of your business. Investing significant efforts in recruiting A-players at an early stage is an absolute requirement,” states Andy Klump, CEO of Clean Energy Associates (CEA).
Hiring individuals who are well-versed in cybersecurity and data protection is a wise place to start. Keeping your employees educated can help you to maintain this foundation as your company grows.
4. Implement VPNs and Encryptions
Part of growing your business is adding more employees. As you expand, you need to ensure new hires are accessing your server safely, which could mean providing company-owned laptops and tablets for work. You can download cybersecurity software onto these devices before giving them to your employees, so everyone has the same protections in place whenever and wherever they log on.
“As a business owner, you must put every protection into place to protect your company data and keep it out of the wrong hands,” said Amanda Howland, Co-Founder of ElleVet Sciences, a company that specializes in dog CBD. “Remote workers, people that access their emails from their phones, and new employees that are still in training can put your company data at risk if you aren’t taking the proper precautions.”
Virtual private networks (VPNs) and encrypted websites and servers make it so all of the data is inaccessible to unauthorized users. VPNs should be considered essential in your workplace and part of your employee training manual.
5. Use Multi-Factor Authentication
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) creates an additional barrier that cybercriminals have to get through before accessing your private data. Companies that require log-in information, whether for accessing email, a drive, or a server, should implement MFA into their process.
“The larger the company, the more of a target you become to people looking to access data that isn’t meant for them. Using multi-factor authentication may be more time-consuming, but it ensures that the right user is gaining access to valuable information,” shared Justin Soleimani, Co-Founder of Tumble.
MFA can be set up for email log-in and for entering into a company’s server. The extra step of verifying your identity can stop criminals in their tracks. Additionally, you are notified when someone has tried to log into your system but couldn’t get through the second authentication.
6. Monitor and Upgrade Your Systems
Photo Source: Adobe Stock
Your data can become compromised when your security systems are not upgraded. As soon as there is an upgrade available, you should be setting aside time to download it. This will keep your systems up-to-date with any new processes that will help keep your data protected.
“Hackers will find weakened systems and servers to get into well before you have even realized your system is weak. They are looking for this exact kind of problem,” shared Mara Dumski, Chief Fragrance Experience Officer of Pura, a company known for their smart home diffuser. “By updating your systems and having someone monitor your security measures, you can easily avoid this.”
Luckily, many computers and machines will notify you when there is an upgrade needed, but it can never hurt to do routine checks for all of your technology.
7. Align With Compliance Requirements
Compliance requirements are dictated by laws, regulations, and industry standards that inform businesses what kind of protections they need to have for their data. Businesses must stay updated on their compliance requirements so that they can maintain the protection of data and also stay out of legal trouble.
“Customers want to know that their data is protected and that your business is adhering to the regulations in place. As your company grows, these requirements might change. If you don’t adapt to them, you will face legal consequences, which will limit your ability to grow,” said Brandon Adcock, Co-Founder and CEO of Nugenix, the creators of the Instaflex Advanced joint supplement.
As a business expands, there are more rules that it needs to follow to be successful and protect its data.
8. Improve Company Communication
A growing business needs to have an effective communication system so it can improve productivity and efficiency. Effective communication can also help to streamline and maintain processes used to protect data.
“Small businesses can start by formalizing company policies. This level of consistency helps promote awareness as each new employee walks through the door and interacts with their peers and leaders, so all are in sync with expectations, standards, and accountability,” says Heather Sperduto, the Vice President of sales operations-accountant channel at ADP.
When there is a threat to your data, there needs to be a process that can be followed and understood by all employees. This will help to solve any problems in an efficient manner and keep your data protected.
9. Stay Updated on Growth and Safety Tactics
New security measures are constantly being fine-tuned and implemented into technology and business strategies. As a business owner, you need to understand what kind of growth and security tactics will be worth implementing in your company.
“Successful businesses are great at adapting and understanding what strategies to implement into their business. They are aware of what will help them expand their reach and understand what measures need to be taken to ensure their business’s security,” said Joe Roetheli, CEO of Pet’s Best Life, a company that strives to make the best dental chews for dogs.
Scaling your business will begin to happen naturally as your company seeks out new opportunities, but you have to make sure that you’re scaling all of your departments at the same time. Keeping up with your ever-changing business is made easier when you’re protected, your employees are well-educated, and your goal is making the customer happy.
Safety Enhances Your Growth
A company that is trusted by its customers is a company that has the potential to grow. People want to feel comfortable with who they are working with. Once you have earned a customer’s trust, it’s up to you to maintain that trust. The more you can offer to your customers, the more successful your company can become.
