* Valuable resources from odd places
Everybody needs a little help now and then. Small businesses certainly need help on a regular basis, especially when new and striving to become bigger businesses. While you might think the best information will come from your bank or your accountant, that’s not always the case. You may find great information in odd places, like the official Michigan Web site or Home Depot. Yes, Home Depot.
Dan Lohrmann, Chief Information Security Officer for the State of Michigan, introduced me at my keynote speech at the ITEC Detroit show and sat on my “How to Fix IT” panel of experts. Dan’s a smart guy and his enthusiasm for good security and best practices in technology bursts past the borders of Michigan. The state collaborates with several other states in multiple programs to provide better security for state government, which you would expect, and information to citizens, which surprised me.
In a fit of Texas pride, I checked the Texas.gov Web site. Alas, Dan and his cohorts in Michigan beat the Texas Web site like a dirty rug when it came to cybersecurity information for citizens. Michigan has plenty, but I couldn’t find a thing on the Texas site. So much for Texas pride.
Luckily, citizens from every state can read the information here. During the panel discussion in Detroit, the issue of Acceptable Use Policies came up and how to use one to protect your company from employees surfing, um, inappropriately. Having an Acceptable Use Policy spelling out what’s appropriate and not, even though you may think common sense would be the guide, makes it easier to discipline and, if necessary, fire employees causing trouble. Since lawyers love discrimination lawsuits against employers, covering your, um, tracks with paper when discharging an employee will reduce legal exposure considerably. Michigan’s Web site has a policy you can download and use for no charge.
The Michigan Department of Information Technology site has much more than just a few policy templates. You’ll also find training about all types of security, including identity theft and credit card security. One thing I really appreciate (Thanks, Dan), is that backup ranks No. 4 on the Security Best Practices list. Not everyone considers backup a security issue, but I do, and I’m glad to see Michigan agrees.
Another good source of information is Home Depot. I appreciate retailers that provide business information to help customers. Office Depot, for example, provides a huge amount of business information, and you might expect that given the office supply store sells products for every business. We’ll cover them in a bit, but a retailer that surprised me with the depth of general business information provided on their Web site was Home Depot.
Home Depot’s Business ToolBox was listed as a good source for small businesses to get health insurance, so I checked it out. Surprisingly, they not only have insurance references but information about Computers and Technology, Credit Card Processing, Payroll Processing, and even Online Education and Training. They also have information more in line with construction, such as Dumpster Rentals. Links for Online Education and Training point to Red Vector, a company providing online courses in all manner of licensed trades, like electrician, building inspector, and Well Driller and Pump Installer, among many others. Yes, you have to get licenses in most states for those jobs.
Office Depot (.com) places their Business Resource Center link at the bottom of their home page. Clicking there leads to a wide range of general and specific business information resources for SMBs. Want some sample business documents, such as OSHA forms or a drug testing consent form? Got’em. Webcasts and audio podcasts of business topics? Got’em. Small Business Handbook? Online for free.
Does this type of content on a company Web site bring customers back? Yes. Does that automatically mean your sales will skyrocket? No, but the more your customers relate to you, and the more “real” you are to them, the more they will do business with you. Do I check Office Depot first before Office Max and Staples, neither of which have business information visible on their Web sites? Yes I do.
Keep an eye out for good information that can help your business. If you’re in a position to provide help to your customers through content on your Web site, I believe the time and money spent will be returned by your customers many times over.
