Keep Yourself Informed and Your Employees Happy With 15Five

Keep Yourself Informed and Your Employees Happy With 15Five
5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Take in Investors
Things Are Gaining Traction
10 Online Dangers Your Business Faces

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 11:00 AM PST

For business owners and managers, running a successful company depends on a lot of factors: productivity, organization, marketing, quality products, and customer service, just to name a few. But one factor important to company success that can often be overlooked is team communication and happy employees.

SaaS provider 15Five aims to solve that problem with its constant employee feedback and communication system. The system gives business owners a snapshot of the inner-workings of their company from their employees' perspective within a cloud-based platform, while helping employees feel happy and engaged with their company.

15Five

CEO of 15Five, David Hassell, said:

"No employee is going to care about their work if they don’t first feel that the company cares about them and values their contribution. Putting a system like 15Five in place immediately sends a message to employees that their input is valued, that the company wants to hear their ideas, support them with their challenges, and make sure they’re happy and engaged."

The company, which just completed a $1 million seed-funding round to improve its product development and marketing, is so named because it takes employees about 15 minutes to fill out the feedback form and just 5 minutes for supervisors or business owners to review their responses.

Each week, employees fill out a short feedback form that includes updates on success, issues, morale and ideas for improvement. Then managers or supervisors review the short reports and round up the important points into their own reports, engaging in conversations with employees if necessary. Those supervisors can then pass along the highlights of these reports to the business owner or CEO. The photo above shows a small snapshot of employee feedback and updates.

The company says that the benefits to this program include informed CEOs, improved communication throughout the entire company, minimal time commitment from supervisors, and employees that feel valued and happy with their workplace.

Said Hassell:

"We’re now inundated with more and more communication and information these days, but quality of that information is declining. Gathering continuous feedback like this in an efficient manner that doesn’t take much time or effort makes sure that everyone always stays focused on what’s most important."

Hassell said that what sets 15Five apart from other systems for employee feedback is its simplistic approach. Many other systems require managers to create surveys or other forms that allow for limited responses, while 15Five gives employees the freedom to offer unique ideas or other feedback. It also opens up constant communication channels so that supervisors can get regular updates instead of only getting answers to questions when they are asked.

The system costs $49 per month for the first 10 people and $5 per month for each additional person, with volume discounting available for larger companies. The company also offers a 4-week free trial.

15Five was originally founded in May 2011 and the system launched in March 2012. This latest round of funding comes from Richmond Global and several additional investors including 500 Startups.

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5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Take in Investors

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 08:00 AM PST

investor questions So I was brainstorming with a couple of my partners for a start up venture we're about to launch. They seemed genuinely shocked when I said I didn't want to take in any investors.

I know the trendy thing today is creating a pitch that attracts VC firms. But as a rule, I usually don’t want them. Their job is to find investments they can grow and cash out. And that sometimes clashes with the best long-term objectives for a business.

Read INC, Entrepreneur or Fast Company magazines and everyone is proud of how many rounds of financing they've scored and how much money they've raised. This can get pretty intoxicating. You start to dream of making your pitch, and how much one of the Silicon Valley firms will come in on your deal for.

But That May Not Be The Best Thing For You

There is a very big difference between raising money and actually earning money. The first one is an obligation that needs to be repaid and creates additional pressure. Which is usually the last thing you need more of when you're starting a new business.

Obviously a lot of start up entrepreneurs are looking at investors, because banks aren't really doing much lending in their space. And outside of VC's, people are looking at angel investors and crowdfunding is gaining steam right now. But it may not be in your best interest to take in investors in any capacity.

Borrowing money is very seldom the path to prosperity. I do believe in leverage and definitely recommend it. (Real estate, for example.) However, if a venture capitalist wants to invest in your business, they need to leverage their money, which often means to grow the business and cash it out. Investors sometimes mean conflicting goals for the business – more pressure for quicker returns or even losing control of your business.

So think hard before you blindly jump at the idea of raising cash through investors.

Ask Yourself These 5 Very Important Investor Questions First:

Are you looking for loans or investors to cover up sloppy money management? Investments won't fix this and only waste other people's money like your own. You'd be much better off to fix the problem at the source.
Could you bring in a strategic partner – someone who buys into the objectives of the business and would add expertise that can help grow it? Someone who does this isn't looking to flip their money quick and is invested in growing a long-term business.
Would your customers finance you? It sounds crazy, but I have often seen customers advance money to a vendor they trust to ensure uninterrupted supply.
Do you play well with others? Most entrepreneurs are lone wolves. Most investors want a say in how their money is being used. Sometimes that is a very volatile mix.
What will the slower time it would take to build without investment mean for your business? Most companies would be much better off if they lived within their cash flow and grew their business from that. This forces them to manage cash flow, do the fundamentals right and only add overhead when it sustainable. Other times, if you don't get a quick infusion of capital you lose first mover advantage or market share to a better-financed competitor.

Here's My Experience

One hundred percent of entrepreneurs fervently believe they're in the latter category and need more cash now to compete. In reality, only about five percent really fit into that category. The other 95 percent would be better doing a slow build through the cash flow.

At the end of the day, it all depends on what outcome you are looking for. If you're looking to start a business and flip it for a profit – investors may be a good fit for you. If your business is your dream and your life's mission, you might be better to go it alone.

So whatever your objectives are – be mindful of them and approach investors with discernment.

Questions Photo via Shutterstock

The post 5 Questions to Ask Yourself Before You Take in Investors appeared first on Small Business Trends.

Things Are Gaining Traction

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 05:00 AM PST

business cartoon

“It’s an idea that’s really gaining traction.” A standard phrase you’ve probably read or heard once a week without paying any attention to it.

Unless you’re in the ice skating business or oil business or, in this case, the banana peel business. Then gaining that traction is newsworthy, indeed.

The post Things Are Gaining Traction appeared first on Small Business Trends.

10 Online Dangers Your Business Faces

Posted: 22 Feb 2013 03:00 AM PST

online dangers The Internet is full of possibilities, but it is also filled with dangers. A recent report suggests the Chinese military is behind alleged hacking into the systems of American corporations, organizations and government agencies, draining data from potentially critical operations.

According to another report, Apple Inc., Facebook and Twitter were targeted by malware attacks originating from an eastern European gang of hackers intent on stealing company secrets from all three firms.

Whether your company simply maintains an online presence for marketing and communications or actually has data residing on or accessible to the Web, you are likely vulnerable in ways you don’t even realize.

Here are 10 dangers your company faces online right now and suggestions for addressing them.

Online Dangers to Your Data

Viruses and other malware are a constant threat. Computer viruses, worms, spyware and other malicious software inhabit the Web. These viruses can damage your system’s data or performance. To protect your most valuable technology, it’s important to stay updated on the latest antivirus software. Here Darien Graham-Smith gives his picks for the best free antivirus software of 2013 with a link to a review of paid software options you can also consider. PCPro

Cloud sharing also comes with concerns. The appeal of cloud computing with its easy data sharing and almost limitless storage space at low cost is obvious, especially to small businesses with limited resources. However, companies using the cloud for collaboration or data storage must also understand the risks of having that data accessed by an unauthorized third party, says Charles Costa. Here are some tips to keep your business safe while using the cloud. Smallbiz Technology

Your social media accounts are not secure. Both Twitter and LinkedIn have already suffered security breaches, and in this post, Josh Constine suggests it is only a matter of time until the same thing happens to Facebook. The key to remember, whether you use social media for marketing, networking, or just communication, is that all the data you upload, even under privacy settings, might someday be compromised. Be careful you share via social media and never share anything that must remain private. TechCrunch

Even your lawyer’s office can be hacked. Security experts now suggest hackers may target smaller firms to get at the data of bigger companies with which they do business. This means hackers might attempt to get at your customers, vendors and suppliers through you or vice versa. In this post, Michael Holmes suggests that law firms are often targeted to gain access to the client data. Be sure to practice security when exchanging data with customers and business partners too. Small Business Trends

It’s hard to know who to trust. Doing business online requires a certain amount of trust. However, many of the traditional methods of establishing that trust are made more challenging thanks to the distances involved and the ease with which cyber criminals can mislead businesses about their true identities. The key is to follow authentication procedures when doing business with others you don’t know. Here attorney and security specialist Marc Weber Tobias explores some possible solutions for establishing trust online. Forbes

Mobile devices may pose a threat, too. A recent security advisory released by BlackBerry suggests that vulnerabilities could allow hackers to access your company’s servers through malicious code on a single smartphone or even through an e-mail or instant message. There have also been concerns that company data shared over mobile devices might somehow be accessed by a third party, especially if a phone is lost or stolen. An important step toward better security is to pay close attention to vulnerabilities when announced and update with improved software as soon as possible. Naked Security

Online Dangers to Your Reputation

Being hacked can damage your credibility. Whether it’s a hacker taking control of your company’s Twitter account, or getting a hold of sensitive data, being hacked can cause credibility problems for your business. At a time like this, it’s imperative to act quickly to contain the attack, repair the damage, and reassure your customers. Here are some suggestions from security experts about how to recover when the worst has happened. Fox Small Business Center

A rogue domain name could ruin your business. Look what happened when celebrity TV chef Guy Fieri failed to secure the domain name for his New York eatery Guy’s American Kitchen and Bar. The domain name fell into the hands of a New York-based programmer and Internet trickster, and soon joke menus were appearing online, making this online prankster a star. In this Internet age, securing the domain name of your brand is critical. The alternative may not be very funny to you at all. Fast Company

A default admin account could be your undoing. Having a hacker gain access to your blog may not necessarily compromise sensitive business data, but it could be a PR disaster to have someone hijack or disable your brand’s principle online voice. You may not have considered how easy it is for someone to hack into your blog, but Stephen Duckworth suggests that something as simple as failing to delete your default admin account on WordPress could be an open invitation to attack. Here are Duckworth’s suggestions for a more secure blog. Digital Internet

Protecting your brand is a full-time job. A big part of building a personal or business brand has to do with managing your online image and reputation. To do that, you must take control of the way your brand comes up in search, what conversations are taking place about you or your business online, and even how your brand and reputation are depicted by others. Blogger Daniel Sharkov suggests a number of techniques including constantly monitoring what is being said about you online and on the social web. Reviewz ‘N Tips

Danger Photo via Shutterstock

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