SFS: Small. Fast. Smart.

Small Business Information Technology

John O'Connell is a counselor at Greater Bridgeport SCORE.   

Small Business IT requirements will vary greatly depending on business type, the need for digital communications and the ability of the business to use basic computer software. Starting with good foundational elements and building out as business needs and cost/benefit dictates is the best way to leverage your investments, take advantage of new technologies and keep up with or outperform your competition. 

Planning and Managing

All businesses should go through annual planning cycles to assess their overall condition, understand shortcomings, strengths and opportunities and determine how best to improve and grow their business. Technology should be one of the elements reviewed, what’s the competition doing? Where am I on the technology curve? Even? Ahead? Behind? Playing catch up is very difficult once a competitor has leveraged technology to reduce cost, increase margins and acquire new customers. Let’s take a quick look at some things to consider.

21st Century Quality

Arthur C. McAdams III, Ph.D. is a senior lecturer in the School of Business at the University of Bridgeport.

It is tough being a Quality advocate these days. Up until a few weeks - and a few million recalls - ago, Toyota arguably represented the best application of this management philosophy. For the last several decades, many U.S. organizations have "implemented" Quality, with varying degrees of success, only to return to traditional methods or to embrace a new management trend. I believe Quality has faltered because we have not fully embraced its basic nature.

First and foremost, Quality is a systematic, holistic, and dynamic management philosophy. Quality leaders promote a continuous, comprehensive, and purposive examination of the organization’s goals, capabilities, and results to deliver the right product to the right market in the right way. Best practices include perpetual planning and review cycles at the immediate, short-term, and long-term time horizons to continuously improve the organization’s performance in a constantly changing environment. Quality tenets address many timeless challenges, such as pursuing progress and delivering innovation while providing stability and minimizing disruption. This type of thinking prevents problems - whether related to disappointing revenues caused by poorly conceived products or rising expenses due to shoddy production practices. Quality ideals foster mutually successful stakeholders (customers, employees, suppliers, owners, community, et al.) and are woven into the fabric of the "extended" organization.

Insurance Tips for Small Business Owners

James A. Benson, CPCU, is the Executive Vice President and Managing Partner of Merit Insurance. 

In today's economic environment, every business, big or small, is trying to find ways to cut costs.  One area that businesses naturally look at is their property and casualty insurance program, because this represents a sizable expense for many businesses.  The trick, however, is to manage the expense of insurance, without jeopardizing coverages that are crucial to properly protecting a business.

There are five basic coverage areas that a small business must evaluate when managing their insurance program:

1.  Liability

Virtually every small business should carry third party liability insurance.  This coverage protects businesses against law suits resulting from bodily injury and/or property damage to a third party.  This includes claims that could simply result from a slip and fall on the business premises.  We recommend at least $500,000 in basic liability coverage, but most small businesses can, and many times should, increase that protection to $1M at a minimal cost.

How to Increase Employee Motivation

Mark Schneider is President of The AXIA Group, a sales and management consulting firm based in Stamford, CT.  For more information please visit http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-schneider/8/30/672

The reality of businesses "doing more with less" is commonplace and it increases the need for managers to invigorate their staff. In today’s stressful economy where many have received pay cuts or work longer hours, managers must reevaluate their roles and become more active in inspiring their teams to peak performance.

Traditional theories of worker motivation, introduced by psychologists Abraham Maslow and Frederick Herzberg still ring true. Both contend that individuals are motivated by a sense of fulfilling ones potential and by receiving appreciation and praise. Some managers give these motivational areas little focus; however we must remind ourselves that an important role of a business leader is to develop and inspire their people. Larry Bossidy, former Chairman and CEO of Honeywell International said "…leaders need to commit as much as 40% of their time and emotional energy in one form or another, to selecting, appraising and developing people." Fortunately, implementing practices that create a motivated work force are generally simple and incur little to no cost.

Five Steps to Increased Employee Motivation

How to Comply with the Recently Enacted Data Protection Laws

Mark W. Klein is an associate with Brody Wilkinson PC in Southport, CT.

 In recent years, an alarming number of businesses have victimized by the theft of their customers’ and/or employees’ personal data. Many of these thefts occurred because the businesses did not have adequate safeguards in place. In response, new laws have been enacted requiring businesses to implement data protection policies and imposing stiff penalties for non-compliance. It is important for your business to comply with each applicable law.

Connecticut’s Law. Connecticut General Statutes §42-471, requires all businesses collecting personal information, including Social Security numbers, driver’s license, state ID card, alien registration and health insurance numbers, credit, debit card or account numbers to "safeguard the data, computer files and documents containing the information from misuse by third parties" and "destroy, erase or make unreadable such data, computer files and documents prior to disposal." It also requires businesses collecting Social Security numbers to create, and publicly display (including on its website) a privacy protection policy that: (1) protects the confidentiality of Social Security numbers; (2) prohibits their unlawful disclosure; and (3) limits access to them.

Welcome to our new small business journal!

This journal is a collaboration between the Bridgeport Regional Business Council and SCORE.

Dr. George R. Dunbar is a counselor at SCORE.  Paul S. Timpanelli is the President & CEO of the Bridgeport Regional Business Council.

In our effort to increase and improve the array of services that we offer to our small business investors, the Bridgeport Regional Business Council has entered into a new and exciting partnership with the local chapter of SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives). The purpose of this partnership is to produce a quarterly professional small business journal – a compendium of business related, timely, and useful articles of the "how-to" variety – that will serve to improve the business skills of our investor companies. Particularly in these difficult and challenging times that are taking their toll on small businesses. In addition, SCORE is ready to support this effort with hands-on counseling, both individually and in group sessions with over forty seasoned and experienced counselors.    

This is the first issue of "SFS – Small, Fast, and Smart", and we hope you like it. Here’s how it will work. At the end of each quarter with the support of the United Illuminating Company, at the time that you assess your recent sales and profit, we will distribute electronically a journal to all of our member investors that will contain 4 – 6 short, timely, experience based and solution based articles written by selected Business Council members or SCORE advisors. Each article is intended to provide useful information from authors that have experienced what you have experienced as a small business person.  Each will address problems, or opportunities that are common to small business practitioners.

These articles will cover the full range of business functions which will include financial issues, cost reduction methods, sales tools, marketing needs, operations, information technology, inventory control, and others. It is our intent to offer shared solutions and unique opportunities.

Another feature of the electronic distribution of this "SFS – Small, Fast, Smart" journal is its interactive nature. You’ll note below that we are providing you with our e-mail addresses as authors of this introductory piece. This will enable you to talk with us about what we’ve written. That will create an interchange of ideas that could remain private between us if that’s what the reader prefers, or could be shared with our readership to enable a wider interchange. Each article will be authored by one of our members and if and when you have questions about what you’ve read, you can ask the author immediately and that author will be available to answer your questions for three months, until the next journal is circulated

So, read on, and let us know what you think. But, remember, we’re not in this just to give you something else to read. We’re in this to help make your small business solutions faster and smarter, and make you richer.

     

 
Thank you to our sponsor,