Operations, Technology

The web designer ultimately chosen will play a critical role in the digital success of any small business.
Critically important is the need to be able to ask the right questions and identify obvious red flags during the interview process.
Recognizing and avoiding red flags can be the key to protecting yourself against a bad business deal.
When it comes to hiring a web designer or digital agency, there are a few bright-red flags that you should never ignore.

When it comes to implementing new technologies like the cloud, a key ingredient for success is employee adoption. Without having everyone on board, you risk losing out on the many potential benefits afforded by cloud computing, which can be critical to your company’s ability to staying competitive in the market.

Small businesses can be fatally hurt by a successful ransomware attack.

A ransomware attack attempts to extort payments from businesses in exchange for information held hostage on their computer.

The credit card landscape is changing, but it’s not always for the better.
Since 2015, the US has become accustomed to the shift to chip cards, and while it’s reduced in-person credit card fraud, it’s actually led to an increase in fraudulent online charges. In 2016, there was about $24.71 billion in reported credit card losses worldwide, with 47 percent coming from the US alone.

Ransomware is a cyberattack technique used with growing frequency to extort payments from businesses in exchange for the recovery of their information. Criminals have used this type of malware against countless organizations of every type -- including healthcare providers, media, and even police departments.

Every company needs to take a moment and think about what they are doing.
Mike Tinz, VP at Money Mailer, a leader in direct marketing opportunities for local businesses offers the following tips:

While under heavy attack, the neighborhood Mon-and-Pop store survives successfully in today’s world.
Based on his company’s interaction with these establishments, Laurent Therivel, Senior Vice President, Small Business Solutions, AT&T offers five tips on growing even the smallest business.

The growth in toys designed to teach coding and other IT related skills is moving exponentially and at a world-wide basis.
One of the latest such toy-tool is Cubetto, the award winning, Montessori-approved coding toy for children ages 3 and up.
Cubetto is the only screen-less programming system, powered by a revolutionary coding language made of colorful blocks that lets children write their first computer programs.

As more and more consumers purchase prepared food rather than cook at home, the currently attractive margins for such offerings face mounting challenges.  Not the least are labor costs, which are under pressure from economic and regulatory trends.  Integrating higher labor costs into the pricing algorithm represents the next major challenge for food sector leaders.

Whether a neighborhood deli, central food kitchen, gourmet restaurant, or fast casual franchise the need to find ways of doing more with the same or fewer employees is expected to become more important in 2017.

All businesses look similar at the highest level of function and operations. Whether a $25 million or $500 million company, the same basic blueprint of business functions – sales, marketing, operations, customer service, IT, finance and HR – are required.