All businesses, great and small, start out as a seed of an idea planted in the mind of the founder. Every one of them started out with the best intentions. No one starts out in business with the self-image of a villain. At the very least, they believe they are doing the right thing for themselves and their family.
All businesses start out as small businesses. No one gets enough venture capital to open an enterprise-level company on day one. There is no such thing as an overnight success. Some businesses become self-sustaining faster than others. But they all require some bit of work and time.
There is no such thing as a sure thing. So even the most successful companies had at least one moment when failure was most certainly an option. And every business that almost failed had to do the same things to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat. There are basic things, fundamentals that undergird business success today. Here is a short list of things you need to make sure are solid before attempting to move on to the next level:
Solid Internet
Why Slow Internet Costs Companies Money
50 years ago, a solid internet connection was not on any list of basic business needs. Today, if you don’t have a presence on the internet, you just as well not exist. Not only do you have to maintain a significant internet presence, you have to be able to communicate, make transactions, and service customer concerns online.
Since all businesses starts off as small businesses, you might be able to get away with a quality consumer line and save a bit of money. If you do that you should look for companies that have both consumer and business options for when you grown into our success.
You also have to decide whether to go with a national company or local company like i3Broadband, for example. The local companies are not as well-known. But they have the advantage of knowing the area where you live and work very well. They also live and work in the same area. So besides having a greater commitment to that community, they know what it takes to keep a fast and reliable connection up and running in those conditions.
If your online presence isn’t solid, your business will be offline before you know it.
A Secure IT Infrastructure
Your anti-virus software is not enough
50 years ago, no business had a secure IT infrastructure because they didn’t use information technology. When they did start using more technological means, they didn’t entrust the tech with everything. When they started trusting the tech for more things, they didn’t secure the tech sufficiently against the threats that were soon to come.
Some of the older businesses that were around during the advent of the IT age were among the first to be exploited by more tech-savvy criminals. If you run your small business like that, it will never live long enough to become a large business.
In this age, IT security has to be job one. You are not just securing your company’s trade secrets. You are also holding customer IDs, passwords, security questions, health data, financial data addresses, other contact information, and even some information about emergency contacts, friends, and relatives. If your IT infrastructure is not hardened against modern threats, stop what you are doing and make that the top priority.
A Strong Mobile Solution
4 Easily Overlooked Reasons Your Online Business Is Not Thriving
50 years ago, there was no mobile solution. When people left the office, they left work behind. If they did work out in the field, they were only as connected as the nearest landline telephone. But in the present world, mobile is the new desktop. Whether or not you are a traditional mobile worker, you cannot afford to be without the ability to do work just because you left your desk.
Mobile refers to a secure smartphone and a tablet or laptop. These are no longer luxuries for the wealthy. These are necessities for every small business owner that hopes to someday own a big business.
A solid internet connection, a secure IT infrastructure, and a strong mobile solution are table stakes for every business from now, and well into the distant future.
