Learn and Grow Your Biz with These Events and Awards |  |
- Learn and Grow Your Biz with These Events and Awards
- Cyber Criminals Have Small Businesses In Crosshairs, Says Report
- Senate Considering New Visa Program To Encourage Tech Startups
- Entrepreneur’s Trap is a How-To Guide for Stressed-Out Business Owners
| Learn and Grow Your Biz with These Events and Awards Posted: 20 Apr 2013 03:00 PM PDT Welcome to the latest small biz events, contests and awards list. If you own, manage or work in a small business or startup, or if you are an entrepreneur, we’ve got an awesome list of resources for you. Below you will find educational events to attend — and opportunities to network with peers and prospective customers. We also include contests and awards programs that can deliver valuable publicity and even financial resources to grow your company. This listing is open to the community. All submissions are carefully reviewed for relevancy. To see a full list or to submit your own event, contest or award listing, visit the Small Business Events Calendar. Featured Events, Contests and Awards
Marketing and PR professionals from companies of all sizes will gather at the 3rd annual Content Marketing Strategies Conference, hosted by dlvr.it and Business Wire, to gain practical “how to” advice on content marketing SEO, content distribution optimization, content ROI, and learn from case studies by brands including Red Hat, New Belgium Brewing, FOX’s hit show Glee and much more.
A half-day search marketing conference educating small businesses about local search. Local University is a training program that travels to cities around the country. The New Orleans event is provided by the local-search practitioner experts, under the support of Google, Search Influence, The New Orleans Chamber of Commerce, Greater New Orleans, Inc. and Nokia.
Join us at the Navy Pier to learn how you can raise capital for your small business. Meet 1:1 with loan officers. Attend panels on traditional and alternative lending options, start-ups, crowd-funding, and more. More Events
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This weekly listing of small business events, contests and awards is provided as a community service by Small Business Trends and SmallBizTechnology. The post Learn and Grow Your Biz with These Events and Awards appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Cyber Criminals Have Small Businesses In Crosshairs, Says Report Posted: 20 Apr 2013 12:00 PM PDT
Cyber attacks on small businesses continue to rise. And small businesses are vulnerable targets. That’s because small businesses are the path of least resistance for cyber criminals, according to a recent report by Internet security provider Symantec. Symantec reports that companies with fewer than 250 employees were the focus of 31 percent of all cyber attacks in 2012. That’s a dramatic jump from 18 percent in 2011. The “Internet Security Threat Report 2013” is the latest annual update on the state of cybercrime by Symantec, which has been issuing such reports since 2002. The report notes, “While it can be argued that the rewards of attacking a small business are less than what can be gained from a large enterprise, this is more than compensated by the fact that many small companies are typically less careful in their cyberdefenses.” A false sense of security is one reason small businesses may take less care. An earlier survey by Symantec discovered many small businesses believe they’re “immune” to a cyber attack. They believe no one could possibly stand to gain from cyber attacks on small businesses. What Cyber Attacks on Small Businesses SeekHackers attack small businesses looking for customer data (such as credit card numbers), intellectual property and small-business bank account information. Attacks often seek information small businesses have obtained from their customers through online transactions. For example, hackers could plant malware software on a small business website. A customer or client visiting a compromised site then unknowingly shares their information with the hackers. When targeting companies to attack or steal data from, hackers do not just target upper management. Attacks are frequently launched against every level of an organization. Knowledge workers, i.e., employees in roles such as research and development, as well as sales employees are the most targeted. Ultimately criminals are seeking information or activity that they can make money from. Cyber Attacks Move to Social Media and MobileSocial media has become a frequent place for spam and phishing attacks aimed at collecting confidential information. Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr include some of the often-targeted places. Here’s the anatomy of one type of threat — suggesting you be careful what you click on in social media:
Protecting your computers may not be enough, either. Attacks on mobile devices continue to increase as the devices become more popular. The Symantec report identifies a 58 percent increase in mobile malware from 2011 to 2012. Nearly one-third of those attacks also aim to steal information. If all this news sounds worrisome, there was a bit of good news. Email spam is down. In 2010 spam was a whopping 89 percent of all emails sent. In 2012 spam accounted for just 69 percent. According to the report, better email filtering and law enforcement’s ability to shut down some spam bot networks has helped. However, social media spam has replaced some email spam. So the news may not be as positive as it first seems. The report comes as a major piece of cyber security legislation is under debate in Washington, D.C. Large companies (targeted in about half of all cyber attacks) support the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act (CISPA). But some privacy advocates worry that the price may be too high, fearing the proposed law would force surrender of too much data to government officials unless adequate restrictions are built in. [Disclosure: Symantec has been a sponsor of this site and its events.] The post Cyber Criminals Have Small Businesses In Crosshairs, Says Report appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Senate Considering New Visa Program To Encourage Tech Startups Posted: 20 Apr 2013 09:00 AM PDT
The U.S. Senate is considering legislation that would create a pool of 75,000 immigrant visas. The idea behind these visas is to encourage new business startups. Supporters cite data suggesting Startup Visas, as they are called, could eventually create 1.6 million new jobs over the next decade. According to an article in The Economist, the United States is falling behind due to its immigration policies. A number of top CEOs have recently stated that the nation’s immigration policy needs to be less restrictive. They say the system should encourage people wishing to come to the U.S. to start new tech businesses here. The Senate is considering the creation of 75,000 Startup Visas in the bill known as Startup Act 3.0. The stated goal is to encourage foreign individuals to create startup businesses in the U.S. The visas would offer speedy access to permanent resident status if an immigrant entrepreneur’s business can earn or invest at least $100,000 and employ two full-time people not in the immigrant’s immediate family in the first year. If an entrepreneur’s business fits these criteria, he or she will get a three-year visa and eventually can apply for permanent resident status. Historically, immigrants who have lived the American Dream, coming to this country and starting their own businesses, have boosted the economy. A report from The Kauffman Foundation suggests the proposed visa plan could create between 500,000 and 1.6 million new jobs in the next decade. The organization’s data suggests that about one-half of all those visas would be used by immigrants wanting to enter the tech or engineering sector. The Economist cites another recent study showing that for every job created by a tech startup, another 4.3 jobs will be created in the tech company’s local economy. These jobs are often in the service industry and cater to the spending habits of those employed by the startup. The report notes, “They also have a broader impact on employment … Well-paid techies shop a lot and hire others to iron their shirts.” The Kauffman Foundation states that the number of tech startups in the U.S. has fallen from 52 to 44 percent since 2005. One entrepreneur, interviewed in the Economist article, suggests the drop is the result of fewer immigrants seeking permanent residence because of the difficulty in the process. To get a Startup Visa under the proposed law, an immigrant must already be in America on an H-1B or student visa. The Economist reports demand for H-1B visas in the U.S. is already so high that the annual supply of 65,000 visas for these workers was oversubscribed in just one week. The Startup Visa program, like most things related to U.S. immigration policy these days, has had its detractors often along political lines. Still, there’s support from many quarters, especially in Silicon Valley, and there’s even a website called StartupVisa.com. Immigration Concept Photo via Shutterstock The post Senate Considering New Visa Program To Encourage Tech Startups appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
| Entrepreneur’s Trap is a How-To Guide for Stressed-Out Business Owners Posted: 20 Apr 2013 06:00 AM PDT
I'm already going through the spring cleaning process at home, so this week, I've vowed to take a fresh look at my business and clean out all the wasted time, projects, clients (yes, even clients) that are mucking up my money making machine. For help and assistance, I turned to an unlikely source – a new business book I just received as a recommendation from a friend The Entrepreneur’s Trap: How to Stop Working Too Much, Take Back Your Time and Enjoy Life. From the title, you'd think this was a book that was written to warn entrepreneurs about the obstacles that will get in the way of your success. It's about so much more than that. Are You Working Too Much? Stop it!The Entrepreneur’s Trap is a short, practical book. It's written for the independent business professional, solopreneur, consultant or coach – although, there is great wisdom in here for all kinds of businesses. Forsyth is writing this book for business professionals who decided to pursue their dreams of owning a business with the primary goal being to have control of their lives. They want to have a say in how things go, how they spend their time and who they work with. But, somehow, in the process of building and growing a successful business, they have found themselves being controlled by the business itself. Blech. If that sounds like you, at any level, then this is the book for you. You'll get through this book in a day or a weekend, that's how short it is. It's written in such an easy and engaging style, you'll feel like you're having coffee with a long-time friend. I'd say the book really takes you on a journey from realizing that you've fallen into the trap of being run by your business, to showing you how to use automation to multiply yourself and your time. To build the business systems and mindset to create a business that practically runs itself. The Entrepreneur’s Trap is Loaded with GoodiesOne of the really great things about this book is that it has online resources. There are worksheets you can download with a password that's given in each copy of the book. In addition to that, Forsyth also gives you access to her THRIVE Hiring Systm ™ so that you can build a team to support your business. Tina Forsyth is a ForceLet me tell you a little about Tiny Forsyth (@TinaForsyth). She is an authority on establishing systems and building virtual teams. She is the Founder of the International Association of Online Business Managers and the creator of Automate Your Growth Business School, where she teaches entrepreneurs her process of building a strong business. Don't Ignore The Entrepreneur’s Trap – it's Short, Easy to Read and PersuasiveWhen you get your copy of The Entrepreneur’s Trap, you'll notice that it's loaded with accolades from experts from the information marketing, coaching and online business worlds. Do not make the assumption that this is a book trying to sell you something. Forsyth does offer a "contact me for help" page at the end but that's it. What you may not know about the people who have made testimonials for The Entrepreneur’s Trap is that they are masters of building and developing business systems. Masters. That is all I can tell you. When you see them talking about developing a "freedom lifestyle" and doing videos by the beach, it's not because they don't work. It's because they have worked on their systems. They have entire teams dedicated to running the system so that they are freed up to create and develop products. Another reason I loved this book and was inspired by it is that it teaches small business owners how to hire people. I've made it my mission to help small businesses hire "just one more person" and this is a book that I'm using to make that happen. I can already share that I've been on this journey of building a business infrastructure for over a year and have built and developed a team of about 6-10 people. I can tell you that the more I work on the system, the more my business grows and the more people I hire. Pick up a copy of The Entrepreneur’s Trap and start building your own business system. Stop trading time for money and start living a life you love. The post Entrepreneur’s Trap is a How-To Guide for Stressed-Out Business Owners appeared first on Small Business Trends. |
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