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San Francisco Bay Area Business

Cybersecurity

5 Cybersecurity Steps all San Francisco Bay Area Business Owners Should Take

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From making sure that nobody is doing Zoom calls in their bathrobe to ensuring that work actually gets done on time, you’ve got a few extra things to worry about as a San Jose area business owner these days. Chief among those new concerns, however, should be cybersecurity. Cybersecurity steps are one of those painful, annoying topics that nobody wants to think about in a small business environment (kind of like *ahem* taxes and accounting) … but one that rears its head as a terrible, business-killing beast when left unattended. There’s an entire slew of “information security” concerns that may not have been top of mind back when all the files and sensitive data were locked up nice and tight back at the office, but should be at the forefront now for all San Jose area business owners. Before we dive into that, though, a quick reminder on an important business tax deduction… As your favorite San Francisco Bay Area restaurants re-open, don’t forget that recent stimulus legislation bumps the business meal deduction all the way up to 100% for both takeout meals and meals consumed at the restaurant. If you’re traveling for business or take a customer or prospect out to eat, that totally counts. What doesn’t count are prepackaged foods, such as prepared sandwiches and wraps, that are purchased from places like San Jose area convenience stores. During that customer meeting at your favorite local eatery, let’s delve into some important tips that you should pay attention to before connecting to the restaurant wi-fi (among other things) … 5 Cybersecurity Steps all rea Business Owners Should Take“You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.” – Margaret Thatcher Whether your San Jose area business is in full-on work-from-home mode, or your business is such that this is a totally foreign concept, the reality is that cybersecurity steps are something you absolutely need to address. Your office computers, employee laptops and tablets, cloud services (which can be accessed remotely), and even company cell phones all have an insane amount of information on them that hackers would love to get their digital hands on. Along with customer credit card numbers and employee SSN’s and DOB’s, your digital records contain a wealth of valuable information. Even something as seemingly innocuous as customer estimates and invoices can look like hidden treasure to the world’s digital pirates. Taking basic cybersecurity steps is cheap protection against potentially embarrassing and expensive data breaches. If you do have employees working remotely, it’s your responsibility to protect customer and employee data. Just like the IRS sets minimum requirements for us to protect YOUR private information, you should also set minimum standards for cybersecurity in your own business. A recent study by Shred-it (business document destruction company) stated that a whopping 96% of American consumers consider a business’s employees to be the largest risk factor for a data breach. So, how do you put your San Jose area customers at ease, do the right thing, and help prevent data breaches and ensuing expensive lawsuits? Step 1: Have a Written PolicyThe first of the five cybersecurity steps you need to do in order to protect against data breaches is to have a written policy at your San Jose area company about data security. You need to put rules in place that both protect data and prevent your employees from taking shortcuts that put valuable information at risk. For example, you’ll want a policy that covers minimum password complexity as well as a process in place for ferreting out all those “abc123” and “password” passwords. Your written cybersecurity policy should outline the basic things your staff should do to keep things secure. Be sure that your policy includes the use of proactive defenses like anti-virus/anti-malware scanners, drive encryption, and software firewalls. You’ll also want to specify what software programs and apps are okay for your employees to use when accessing company information. Step 2: Use Secure ConnectionsUsing secure connections is the next one of the cybersecurity steps to take. One of the most common ways that criminals access company data is when employees are using unsecured, public Wi-fi networks, and that includes those in San Jose area. Even if they’re at home, most people don’t properly secure their home routers. It is essential to provide some level of technical support, at company expense (deductible, of course!), to help at-home employees secure their Wi-fi connections. You should also consider subscribing to a secure VPN service. These services are affordable and provide a secure “tunnel” between an employee’s home internet and your business network. Make sure to choose a service that uses top level encryption across the entire span of that “tunnel.” Step 3: Use Password ManagersOf the many cybersecurity steps you should take, this might be the most important one across the board. Weak passwords (remember “abc123”?) are everywhere. This tends to be one of the weakest links in cybersecurity, especially for small San Jose area businesses. With all the services and software that your business runs on these days, your employees likely have a metric boat load of passwords that they can’t possibly remember. Which means they are probably “recycling” their passwords. (Yeah, that’s not a good thing.) While choosing more secure passwords is a good starting point, it may be worth investing in a password manager for every member of your team. Tools like LastPass and 1Password are very affordable and go a long way with helping your employees create secure, unique passwords for all the services they need to access. Step 4: Use 2-Factor AuthenticationTwo-factor authentication (or 2FA as the cool kids call it), adds a layer of security on top of passwords. Even if a password gets hacked, 2FA is one of the very difficult cybersecurity steps to hack. 2FA requires that you enter a code to access an online service. This code can be sent as a text message to an approved cell phone or can use a special security fob that shows a number

Business Growth, Business Tax Planning

What San Francisco Bay Area Business Owners Need to Know About Commercial Real Estate Mortgages

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Does the thought of paying rent to your San Jose area commercial landlord for eternity make you cringe? Do you get a little bit of FOMO when you hear stories about other people building empires with real estate? The decision to purchase your own space from which to operate your San Francisco Bay Area business is a major one. MAJOR. And one of the biggest complexities of that decision has to do with the vagaries of commercial real estate mortgages. Before we get into that, we do have a very time-sensitive notice for San Mateo restaurant owners: THIS WEEK, the SBA opened applications for the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF). This new program provides relief funds for restaurants, bars, and other food and drink establishments that have lost revenue due to the pandemic. To read the SBA program guide, go here. Please share this helpful info with any San Francisco Bay Area restaurant owners you may know, to make them aware of this program. It is expected that the funds allocated to this program will go quickly, so we want to make sure that all San Francisco Bay Area restaurant and bar owners are aware of it. Now, let’s explore how to make your dream of owning your office, store, or shop a reality. What San Francisco Bay Area Business Owners Need to Know About Commercial Real Estate Mortgages“You just can’t beat the person who won’t give up.” – Babe Ruth For many people, the American dream includes a cozy home with a manicured lawn, and our home loan system is merrily set up to make this dream a reality for quite a few people. But for entrepreneurs dreaming of owning their own store, shop, or office location, the dream is a lot murkier. There are quite a few differences between residential mortgages and commercial real estate mortgages, and you need to be sure you fully understand what you’re getting into before taking the plunge into commercial property financing in San Francisco Bay Area. Primary Differences from Residential LoansThe United States has some of the best home loan options in the world. The most common loan type, which you’re probably familiar with, is a 30-year, fixed-rate loan. These residential loans are readily available, have low interest rates, fairly low fees, and carry no prepayment penalties. Commercial real estate mortgages tend to be the polar opposite. Commercial mortgages tend to be much shorter time periods. Five to ten years is a typical loan term. The monthly payment is often calculated based on a 20 or 30 year time period, but the loan itself comes due much sooner. At that time, a balloon payment is required, which means that you must either have the cash to pay off the loan, or you must refinance it. Most business owners end up refinancing into a new loan. But you don’t want to refinance too soon. No, no. Unlike residential mortgages, commercial loans almost always have a prepayment penalty for refinancing too early. For example, a five year loan will typically have a two or three year prepayment penalty. It’s pretty common for a 10-year loan to have a 5-year prepayment penalty. These penalties are pretty stiff, also. A common structure is to have a gradually decreasing percentage of the loan balance as the penalty. For example, a loan with a 5-year prepayment penalty period might charge 5% of the loan balance if you pay it off in the first year, 4% in the second year, 3% in the third year, 2% in the fourth year, and 1% in the fifth year. This is referred to as a step-down prepayment penalty. There are also other methods for assessing this penalty that get pretty complicated. You may be able to avoid prepayment penalties by agreeing to other terms that benefit the bank, such as a floating rate loan. As the name suggests, this is a loan with a variable interest rate. Your mortgage contract may stipulate a min and max interest rate, and the time period in between adjustments. In a low interest rate business environment like we have right now, it can be a difficult decision to choose between fixed and floating rate loans. You’ll also find that interest rates on commercial mortgages will usually be higher than on residential loans. This is because of the government-backed entities, such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, that buy up residential loans. Since this doesn’t exist in the commercial mortgage world, banks must manage their lending risk themselves, and thus they tend to charge higher rates for that risk. Commercial properties are going to require significantly greater down payments than residential loans. While no money down, 3.5% down, and 5% down loan programs are quite common for homes, commercial loans will almost always require a minimum of 20% to 30% down. Lastly, the fees that you’ll pay in obtaining a commercial mortgage might make you shed a few tears. Residential mortgages tend to have total fees in the range of 1% to 2% of the loan amount, whereas commercial mortgages frequently have fees in the range of 3% to 5% of the loan amount. Still craving your own San Mateo office building? Let’s talk about qualifying for this loan… Commercial Mortgage QualificationAs crazy as this may sound, it’s absolutely possible for a person to buy a home with no money down, a 580 credit score, a bankruptcy filing on their record, and even while owing back taxes to the IRS. Such loan programs not only exist but are also promoted and backed by federal agencies. Qualifying for a commercial real estate loan is another beast altogether. Qualification for commercial real estate mortgages is primarily based on the ability of the property to support itself. In other words, banks want to see that the property can generate enough rent to cover the mortgage payment, taxes, insurance, and other expenses, plus have a little extra left over every month. This is far more important than your own personal credit score or personal income. A lender will want to evaluate

Business Growth

5 Helpful Tips for San Francisco Bay Area Businesses To Be More Resilient in Crisis

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The overall economy is on a tear right now, but for some businesses, things don’t look so rosy. By the way, if that is you and your business (not so rosy), there are a multiplicity of grants, tax credits, and very favorable loans available — though doing it properly can be tough to navigate. Let us help you: (408) 241-4100 According to the latest federal estimates, about 200,000 MORE businesses permanently closed last year than would have in a normal year. And I sincerely hope that your business is either back open, will be soon, or never fully shut down in the first place. But regardless of which bucket you fall into, there are a number of “best practices,” which have been put forth by management consultants, business advisors, and those MBA “thought leader” types about howlargebusinesses should be opening back up. So, I thought it would be useful today to distill some of those lessons down into practical tips for small San Francisco Bay Area businesses to become more resilient in crisis. A couple quick reminders first… Now, let’s dive into some tips for getting your San Francisco Bay Area business back up to speed as the events of 2020 start to fade into the rear-view mirror… 5 Helpful Tips for San Francisco Bay Area Businesses To Be More Resilient in Crisis“The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” – Eleanor Roosevelt As the economy reopens and things begin to return to normal, one thing is clear: Normal ain’t what it was. I cringe every time I hear the phrase “new normal,” so I won’t use that phrase. Oh, drat, I just did. That was the only time, I promise! So, as lockdowns are lifted, vaccines are doled out, and people leave their caves to see sunlight for the first time in a year, what can San Mateo business owners do to not only ease the transition back into business-at-full-speed, but also make your business resilient in crisis? TIP #1 To Be More Resilient in Crisis: Make a Plan You Can Believe In We don’t get into politics around here. We understand that everybody has different opinions on various things, and we respect that. Whatever your personal opinion happens to be about various actions over the past year, what’s been done has been done. That’s just the reality of where we are. Thus, your San Francisco Bay Area business re-opening plan has to take that reality into account. As you re-open your business, expand services, and the like, you need to be comfortable with how you operate. So do your employees and customers. If they don’t feel safe interacting with your business, then employees won’t show up for work, and customers won’t give you business. Be sure to have a rational conversation with your employees about their expectations (and yours) regarding things like disinfecting surfaces, use of PPE (which is tax deductible!), social distancing, and other factors. Everybody should be on the same page, and you can’t get there with your employees if you don’t have the conversation. Most importantly, don’t ignore your customers. Develop an understanding of what YOUR customers will want your business to look and feel like as things return to normal. This doesn’t even necessarily have to be about whether you require customers to wear masks or not. No, this is about bigger picture things, and I want those in San Mateo to be bigger picture thinkers. For example, many consumers have been spoiled by home delivery. This is now a permanent part of the business paradigm. Is this something San Francisco Bay Area customers expect? Can you increase revenue by adding this service if you don’t already have it? Consider the different products and services that you sell. Will some start to sell again faster than others? For example, it’s a great time to be a homebuilder right now because demand is so high. Figure out what will be in highest demand from your customers, and be prepared to meet that demand with extra inventory or expanded service capability. If your business requires you or your employees to physically visit San Mateo job sites, make deliveries, or other on-site services, what are your customer requirements going to be for your staff? Some businesses are mandating that visiting service personnel be vaccinated, for example. You’re going to need to determine how to address this within your own business and with your own staff. TIP #2 To Be More Resilient in Crisis: Shore Up Your Supply Chain Sawmill shutdowns (resulting from a combination of government orders and sick employees) have caused the price of lumber to more than triple. Computer chips (and a current shortage of them) needed to make everything from cars to talking children’s toys have caused shortages of other goods and price spikes. One tiny boat plowing into the sand disrupted the global supply of motorcycle parts. Supply chain disruptions happen all the time. Always have, always will. But as the business norm has shifted in recent years to “just in time” delivery, these little hiccups cause more harm than they used to. Just because you’re a small San Francisco Bay Area business doesn’t mean you’re immune to them. Several of our clients have already shared such stories with us. Here are some quick tips to help ensure the survivability of your supply chain: TIP #3 To Be More Resilient in Crisis: Embrace the Digital Another permanent change to the economy is a greater reliance on all things digital. If you’re a bit of a technophobe, or you know that your business is technologically backwards, it’s time to step up to the plate. There are certainly some big changes such as some jobs now becoming permanent work-from-home situations. If you have jobs like this in your company, you’ve already had to embrace the change. If not, take the time to evaluate which roles can be performed in this manner, and embrace the change. Some employees may need it, plus it can reduce your costs in other areas, like how much office space you need to lease. Certain sales and service items are worth moving online

Business Growth, Business Tax Planning

Expense Reimbursement vs Company Credit Cards: What San Francisco Bay Area Business Owners Need to Decide

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If you’ll forgive us, we’re going to get pretty geeky today. You probably didn’t realize that there are actual pros and cons to expense reimbursement for employees, etc. or using a company cc. Oh my San Jose area readers, we’re going to take you down a little rabbit hole today, yes we are. But first, a quick update on some relief programs we’ve previously discussed. First, the SBA has stopped accepting new PPP applications as most of the funds for the program have been allocated. So, if you didn’t already apply for a PPP loan for your San Jose business in this funding round, you’ll no longer be able to do so. Second, the Restaurant Revitalization Fund (RRF) program that kicked off last Monday is now in full swing. So far, the fund has received almost 200,000 applications from bars, restaurants, bakeries, and similar businesses. In our opinion, this is still a small proportion of those who actually need it. If you run such a business in San Francisco Bay Area, or know somebody that does, funds are available to help with payroll and rent. Funds are on a first come, first serve basis for approved applicants. So, just like applying for PPP loans, timing is of the essence. This is a great program for the right business. To read the SBA program guide on the RRF, go here. And as we mentioned last week, please do forward this email to any San Jose area restaurant owners you may know to make them aware of this program. It is expected that the funds allocated to this program will go quickly, so we want to make sure that all San Francisco Bay Area restaurant and bar owners are aware of it. Now, let’s dive into handling business expenses paid by employees. Expense Reimbursement vs Company Credit Cards: What San Francisco Bay Area Business Owners Need to Decide“The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain You gotta spend money to make money. All businesses need supplies, materials, and services to help produce their own goods and services. Depending on the nature of your business, your employees may need to make independent purchase decisions on a frequent basis. Empowering your employees to make these purchases on their own can make your business run much more efficiently. After all, do you really need to be involved in the decision to buy a new toner cartridge for the printer? Common expense types your employees may need to pay for include: All of these expenses, and many others, are necessary to complete tasks required to run your San Francisco Bay Area business. The critical question you need to address up front is this: Will you reimburse employees for expenses they pay or provide them a company credit card to pay such expenses? This decision comes with important tax and accounting consequences, and you as the business owner need to know the pros and cons of each method. Time SavingsOn the surface, issuing employees a company credit card may seem to be the better option in terms of saving time. With a credit card there are no expense reports to be completed, no reimbursement checks to be cut. Sounds good, doesn’t it San Mateo friends? But think about this: Do you need to allocate expenses to specific clients? If your employees are, for example, purchasing parts and materials needed to complete a job for a customer, then those credit card charges ultimately need to be assigned to that customer’s account for invoicing. This means somebody has to go through the credit card statements and reconcile them against receipts and job orders. Oops! There went the time savings. If you don’t need to do this for tracking expenses back to specific customers, then a company credit card can certainly save a lot of time. Otherwise, having employees complete expense reports and reimbursing them for business expenses they paid out of pocket may actually be faster and easier for your business. Trust IssuesWhen you provide a company credit or debit card to an employee, you’re placing a significant amount of trust in that person. You need to have faith in your employees that they won’t go on a wild Amazon shopping spree. If this is a concern, running a reimbursement program might be the better way to go. We’d say this is particularly true if you happen to have a fair amount of employee turnover, or if you operate multiple locations inside and outside of San Francisco Bay Area wherein you don’t necessarily know each and every employee. As your business grows, you won’t have direct connection with every single team member, which can exacerbate trust issues. Use Tax AuditsAs more people have worked from home over the last year and have taken their company credit cards with them, one issue in particular has grown quite a bit larger. This has been compounded by state budget issues, causing states to step up their enforcement efforts in order to collect more revenue. What are we talking about? Use tax. Use tax is a tax you’re supposed to pay when sales tax wasn’t paid on items used in your San Mateo business. If your employees are working from home and order supplies online, for example, those supplies may be being ordered on a website that doesn’t collect and pay sales tax in our state. Thus, you’re supposed to pay the equivalent sales tax in the form of use tax and file a separate tax return for this purpose. The credit card statement that shows the transactions your employee is making can be demanded by the state when they conduct a use tax audit. As they scrutinize purchases that you may not even really be aware of, they’re looking for those online transactions for items used in your business that were shipped in from out of state, and then you may be liable for a use tax bill or, at the very least, have to pay the cost of us to represent you to fight that tax bill. This is a clear downside

Business Growth, Business Tax Planning

5 Tax Planning Tips to Give Your San Francisco Bay Area Business a New Look This Summer

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Before we talk about some tax planning tips to give your business a new look this summer, we first want to say that we hope your Memorial Day weekend was special. Even though this San Francisco Bay Area business owner had some work to do, a quiet office is my friend. In thinking about the spirit of this past weekend, we are reminded of how very grateful we are for our servicemen and women who made the ultimate sacrifice. May all of us live our lives as a reflection of their honor and the gifts we too easily take for granted. Let us never take those freedoms as “automatic.” And as Memorial day also serves to remind us, summer is finally here.But, lest you think we just sip margaritas by the pool all day after tax season… What we really spend a lot of time doing in the summer issitting down with San Jose area business owners to carefully analyze their tax situation — BEFORE the winter strikes and the moves become much more limited. This is called “tax planning,” an essential move to get the maximum tax savings possible. And with what *might* be coming down the pike from Congress, wisdom says it’s time to get your ducks in a row and plan for what lies ahead. If you’re ready for some tax planning tips, let’s chat: Patti (408) 241-4100  Gale 408-775-7800 These sort of issues are what we specialize in worrying all about — so you don’t have to. Because YOU have to keep your head in the bigger picture. Some thoughts for that below… 5 Tax Planning Tips to Give Your San Jose area Business a New Look This Summer“If you think you are too small to be effective, you have never been in the dark with a mosquito.” – Betty Reese Entrepreneurs know that hard work and a great idea don’t guarantee success. Fortunately, most of them also know that failure isn’t final — almost every successful business owner has crashed and burned at least once in their career. One of the best ways to pick yourself and your San Jose business back up off the ground is to take a fresh look at things you “thought” were set in stone. Here are some strategies that could give your business a fresh lease on life this summer… Tax Planning Tip #1: Re-target your market.In the heat of start-up passion, entrepreneurs frequently try to interest too broad a market: “Everyone will want to buy this!” The result: getting lost in the crowd. The more closely you define your market, the more success you’ll experience. Tax Planning Tip #2: Re-examine your price.Price is obviously supremely important. See how you can lower your overhead or cut production costs. Perhaps there’s a new way to package your products, so that your average transaction value can go up? Tax Planning Tip #3: Identify and push your best product.Focus on what works. If your hot product is coffee cups, look for ways to highlight and expand that niche instead of veering into new territory. How about different colors and holders for those cups? Tax Planning Tip #4: Make your marketing materials more memorable. Emphasize the benefits — SPECIFICALLY how features of your product or service will improve business or the quality of life for your customer. And scrutinize your advertising. Using big media is not always the answer, especially when you have narrowed your market. Don’t overlook narrowly-targeted marketing efforts or joint promotions. Tax Planning Tip #5: Keep promoting.Make sure your message sinks in. Find affordable ways to reach your target market, and use these avenues as often as you can. Try social advertising! These are just a few ideas to get you started. There may be longer conversations to be had. And that’s what I’m here for. To getting things done, Patti ONeill and Gale Bergado

Business Growth, Business Valuation

A Financial Systems Check-Up For Your San Francisco Bay Area  Business

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Your San Francisco Bay Area business obviously makes and spends money. The pluses and minuses add up (you hope) to being able to stay in business, and a look at the books tells you if your San Francisco Bay Area business is doing okay or headed for trouble. What are your books telling YOU? In our experience, it’s often the company’s financial system (or lack thereof) that makes the answer easy to discover or downright difficult. Have you looked at your own business’s financial system lately? Would you know how to read between the lines to interpret what you see there? Because a financial system for a San Francisco Bay Area business should provide a clear answer to that question. Such a system helps you function and takes the form of different records that let you — and such others as investors, lenders or auditors — see how your business is doing. Let’s take a closer look at what folks like us will be looking for, shall we? A Financial Systems Check-Up For Your San Francisco Bay Area  Business“I value self-discipline, but creating systems that make it next to impossible to misbehave is more reliable than self-control.” – Tim Ferriss First, a definition of terms to get on the same page. What you bring in and what you spend travels under a few different names. Bookkeeping. Aka recordkeeping, bookkeeping is the foundation of any business financial system and lets you keep tabs on what’s flowing in either of the two directions that money takes in your business (in your door and out your door). Depending on the size and complexity of each business, we’ve seen literal books kept, even handwritten, in a ledger or loose sheets of paper. You can also create simple electronic ledgers using Excel or some other spreadsheet program, or using a function in of the simpler business accounting software packages. Invoicing.First step in generating income is invoicing. You must get paid. The invoicing segment of your system should accomplish three things (these aren’t complicated): 1) Ensure that you get paid in a timely way. 2) Be something that you don’t need to spend too long maintaining 3) Communicate clearly to you and your San Francisco Bay Area clients. (Is the amount the customer owes front and center on your bill?) While most businesses include due dates on their invoices, many do not state their consequences for late payment. And how do you know it’s being delivered? Get a dependable delivery system: beyond snail-mail, a lot of businesses use email with a read receipt. Income. Today there are a dizzying number of ways to get paid. Cash or checks remain okay for many businesses — though as always be sure to have safeguards to validate personal checks. You can use electronic transfers and payments direct to your bank, or you can use online payment services such as PayPal or Venmo. Your payment policies can be more complex. These are the details of your payment schedules and discounts. For instance, does your customer get a discount for paying early or incur an extra fee for paying late? Refund policies are also key: spell them out clearly and completely because often there’s eventually conflict in a refund or return. A word of caution here: managing cash flow is another part of a financial system, and one that can cause confusion. Cash flow isn’t just income and outlay, but a matter of your day-to-day liquidity. If your business needs something, do you have the cash to pay for it? Cash flow is distinct from profitability, which tends to be more long-term. Managing cash flow also means having a sense of timing, knowing if you can spend cash against income that isn’t actually in your account yet. Filing.Your financial system can’t exist without good records: the bills, receipts, invoices, and many many many other documents that pour into your business. You need to keep these on hand and in clear order for a set period. You can keep paper copies in a filing cabinet, or go digital and scan and store documents in the cloud or on such external media as thumb drives. Most companies these days pick the digital option for convenience, space savings, and, hackers aside, security. The taxman cometh. One more reason to keep good records is taxes. Good document management saves the stress of scrambling for records when it’s time to prepare your tax return for filing — not to mention backing up your argument in a dispute with a tax authority like the IRS. Often storing documents is the least painful of preparations in this segment of your financial system. The bigger challenge is usually paying the taxes. It’s key that your financial system can help you estimate and bankroll for federal, state, and local taxes. Once or twice a month you will need a good system to check the books and either set the money aside or send the amount due. Mess up in this part of your plan and you can face fines (or worse). Financial systems differ with each company. If your business needs help with this, let’s talk: Patti  (408) 241-4100 and Gale 408-775-7800 To making business easier, Patti ONeill and Gale Bergado(408) 241-4100ONeill & Bergado

Business Growth

A Small Business Growth Strategy for San Francisco Bay Area Business Owners

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We really loved watching the Olympic games the past few weeks. There was so much to see, be inspired by, and even something to learn about growing a small business. Yep, you read that right. Hear me out… It’s so hard to appreciate the amount of training and work that goes into one ten-second race. We here in San Francisco Bay Area only get to see the ten seconds. But these athletes have been preparing for years for those ten seconds. They’ve learned what their body needs to get it ready for its peak performance. And here’s the tie-in: a high-performing business needs the same kind of understanding. Think about the questions you ask yourself about your San Mateo business every day: What’s coming up that will impact our cash flow? What’s our schedule to pay off debt? Are we on track to avoid tax trouble? How can we find time for those projects we’ve wanted to start? It all takes time, experience, and intentional planning to build. Your business has two pulses. One for your money and one for your future business goals. Getting a handle on both opens the door to short-term success and long-term profitability. The best way to answer these and other questions is to create a schedule (a training schedule, to continue the analogy) around the rhythm of your business… a very important small business growth strategy. A Small Business Growth Strategy for San Francisco Bay Area Business Owners“Rhythm is something you either have or don’t have, but when you have it, you have it all over.” – Elvis Presley Good businesses use strategic planning (probably an annual process) that involves activities happening by a set date. What are those dates in your San Francisco Bay Area business? How do you and your team work toward them? That’s your business rhythm. And establishing a rhythm is a key small business growth strategy. Basically, you’re trying to map the big events of your business — including deadlines, activities, and development opportunities — to make sure your entire staff is on the same page of the calendar. This helps your team collaborate and reduce redundant tasks and lets you see what your business must accomplish over the coming year and beyond. (You can pick any length of time you want, but a year is generally the easiest short-term period to examine). Let’s take your finances first. Your long-view aim is to grow profitability. It’s hard to do that, though, without a firm view of your current numbers — and the rhythm of when those numbers become available. Are you getting a look at final numbers as fast as possible? When do the books become final so you can see if everybody’s staying on budget? Do you get financial statements in time to act on them, or are they stale when they hit your desk? (Maybe it’s time to bring your finance team in for a chat.) Now, look through your past calendar to find milestones for your business over the previous year. You’re looking for events, initiatives, product or project launches … anything big that requires work beforehand. Notice when planning started for each and whether you think the team involved had enough time to get the job done. If they didn’t, you’re about to tinker with the rhythm of your business. Leverage the calendar The next stage of this small business growth strategy involves setting targets that build toward objectives, monitoring progress using financial benchmarks, and adjusting procedures as needed. (Again, your fiscal calendar may have a lot to do with this.) Let’s say you want to expand into a certain market segment but have been too slow and have lost ground to competitors making the same move. We might want to set target deadlines to begin networking or advertising in that segment, followed by monitoring to make sure you hit the deadlines as well as adding staff or resources if you missed them. How to accomplish this? If you’re going to continue developing this small business growth strategy, you first have to make sure the money’s there. Everyone should have a realistic budget (and agree to stick to it). Next, who needs to do what to make the deadline? You’ll need a timeline of the meetings and other activities and a schedule of tasks (with both short-term and final deadlines). If deliverables are involved in any of the target dates, work backward to set reasonable start dates for those deliverables. To use our earlier example, if the team designing an ad for that market segment has to get the ad to the San Francisco Bay Area media by a certain date before your sales team hits the field, make sure the designers are coordinating their work in time, and that the sales team is looped in. Everybody has to know what’s expected of them and when. And share this timeline. You can use anything from an intranet to a bulletin board. Whatever it is, put this timeline calendar in front of your staffers. The timeline for the above steps could cover the course of a year (as previously discussed). But simply changing the priorities and lengthening the time involved will allow you to set a similar rhythm for the long-term goals of your San Mateo business four or five years out. How’d it go? Get 360-degree feedback from your people and from (if any) your peers and supervisors to see what went right and wrong and how to refine the process. Fixing anything broken is important since you’re going to use this plan and rhythm to meet goals next year and in the long term. We’re happy to discuss this small business growth strategy and any other concerns about your business. Let’s set up a time to talk. (408) 241-4100 To making business easier, Patti ONeill and Gale Bergado(408) 241-4100ONeill & Bergado Feel free to forward this article to a business associate or client you know who could benefit from our assistance. While these particular articles usually relate to business strategy, as you know,

Business Growth, Cybersecurity

Ransomware Defense Steps to Protect Your San Francisco Bay Area Business’s Computer Systems

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No matter your line of work, your computer might be one of your most glaring vulnerabilities … and it’s one that too many San Francisco Bay Area business owners I’ve worked with don’t fully address. Even if you work with your hands, and you’re a sole practitioner (a contractor, a landscaper, a mechanic, etc.) … the little computer in your HANDS might hold the keys to your business. And whether you care to think about it or not, there are bad actors out there who want to break into it. One of the ways they are increasingly doing this is a nasty little thing called ransomware. So, as someone who cares deeply about YOUR business in its every dimension, I wanted to take a few minutes to give a rundown of known culprits and their recent attacks, as well as some ransomware defense steps, to help combat any possible breach of your San Mateo business’s data. (And yes, I’m keeping a sharp eye on the doings in Washington as it relates to this infrastructure bill … as of this writing, it has NOT yet been signed — but when it is, I’ll address what business owners need to know). Ransomware Defense Steps to Protect Your San Francisco Bay Area Business’s Computer Systems“You can never be too prepared.” -Regina King Let’s hear it straight from the FBI: Ransomware is malicious software (“malware”) that blocks you from accessing your computer files, systems, or networks and demands you pay a ransom for their return. You can download ransomware without even realizing it by opening an email attachment, clicking an ad, following a link or just visiting a website that’s embedded with malware. You usually discover the attack when you can no longer access your data or you see computer messages demanding ransom. Headline hacks A recent report showed that in 2021, a ransomware attack against businesses will occur every 11 seconds. Cybercrooks carry out more than 4,000 ransomware attacks every day worldwide. The big targets are companies in legal, manufacturing, automotive, technology, and healthcare industries. (The first documented ransomware attack, in 1989, targeted the healthcare industry.) Often the crooks don’t get the sky-high figures they demand, but on average organizations pay a ransom of nearly a quarter-million dollars. Ransoms are usually paid in virtual currency. Earlier this year, Colonial Pipeline coughed up millions to cybercriminals who’d hacked the oil giant’s network and sent East Coast fuel supplies into a tailspin. And only last week, the global consulting firm Accenture was attacked by the LockBit ransomware gang. A few cybercriminal gangs are behind many big attacks, such as the increasingly infamous REvil criminal gang of Russia (responsible for Colonial and for JBS Foods, which was attacked this summer and had to surrender an 8-digit ransom). Another nasty bunch is Egregor, which has connections to Ukraine and has cyber-extorted Barnes and Noble, Kmart, and others, sometimes publishing customer data on the dark web. Think you’re too small to get hit? About six weeks ago, a global chain reaction affecting thousands of businesses from pharmacies to grocery stores started with a back-door hacking of a common American software that all those businesses used. This shows that your business may be vulnerable in ways you don’t even realize. Ransomware defense steps you can takeIt could be only a matter of time before you and your San Mateo business have to deal with this crime. And a ransomware attack can really hurt your business, costing you both dollars and customer confidence even if you don’t pay a ransom. – Your best first ransomware defense is common sense. Download or open nothing you’re unsure of. – Keep your operating systems, software, and apps strong and updated, and make sure your anti-virus and anti-malware defenses are set to automatically update and scan your systems regularly. – Backing up data remains critical. Whether you use external media like thumb drives or back up in the cloud, double-check that those backups were completed. (Note: If you do back up using a cloud solution, you may be worried about the tech company being hacked. That’s a legit concern, but agreements with these companies often include responsibility clauses in case of a cyberattack. Check your contract. Also, cloud companies often have firewalls and other security far superior to what your company might be able to afford.) – Layout a plan for your company’s response to a cyberattack. Details here include who on your staff will be notified, as well as when and how; how to contact your insurance company and law enforcement; and prepared language to notify customers. (Most companies have used phrases citing their regret for the attack and that they moved quickly to address it.) – If you speak to your insurance carrier about coverage for a ransomware attack, expect a lot of questions about your cybersecurity – and talk of higher premiums. The insurance industry is still pretty new to this particular risk. It happened anyway – now what??You come into work one morning and find your data locked and some foul-looking screen telling you to fork over a ton in Bitcoin if you ever want to see your business info again. Don’t panic, for starters. Don’t believe this cyber-danger will simply go away. If we can offer any help on protecting yourself, please let us know. Besides providing some ransomware defense steps, here’s what we are EVEN better at helping you with: protecting your business from financial vulnerabilities. Whether that’s leaky books or a future tax-related disaster … we can spot problems coming from a mile away. If that’s something you want in your corner, let’s chat about it:(408) 241-4100  To your bottom line, Patti ONeill and Gale Bergado(408) 241-4100ONeill & Bergado

Business Growth, Cybersecurity

Cloud Computing Benefits and Risks for San Francisco Bay Area Businesses to Consider

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In the olden days, San Francisco Bay Area business owners kept track of their records by hand in the old reliable notebook or ledger. So what an innovation it must have seemed to move business information to a floppy disk that could plug into a computer. The disks got smaller (and a lot less floppy – thankfully), but the idea fundamentally remained that be it floppy, hard drive, thumb drive, or even your own server, your customer and other business data were where you could locate it, most likely right on your premises. I personally know of many businesses that invested quite heavily into onsite server architecture and maintenance so they could keep up with the ever-increasing piles of DATA. Then, all of this was overshadowed by the cloud… Let’s take a look at cloud computing benefits and risks… Cloud Computing Benefits and Risks for San Francisco Bay Area Businesses to Consider“Saying that cultural objects have value is like saying that telephones have conversations.” -Brian Eno Basically, storing data in the cloud means uploading it via the internet to a third party’s electronic storage. You access the information there any time you want and somebody else has the worry of keeping your information accessible and safe. (“Cloud” supposedly comes from a cloud symbol to represent the internet on flow charts half a century ago.) Think of the cloud like a utility. You pay somebody to deliver electricity to your office even though you could try powering the place yourself with your own generator. As long as you keep the generator running, you’ve got power and are able to remain independent of using an outside provider. But suppose a fire or a flood destroys your generator? Out go the lights. Substitute “server” or “on-premises hard drive,” and that same flood or fire destroys your data. Who wouldn’t want to mitigate that risk? But as with all risk management, there are plusses and minuses – and that is also true of using the cloud. So, let’s talk about some cloud computing benefits and risks for San Francisco Bay Area business owners. The good points No hardware headaches. Storing data takes expensive hard drives and other hardware. All you need to store data in the cloud is an excellent internet connection (and of course a good computer – which you’d need even if you didn’t use the cloud). Providers by their nature must have the best equipment; costs of maintenance and repair also flows to them. Scalability becomes easy from your perspective, and, despite startup costs, long-term savings can also add up as you pay only for the cloud services you use. Just make sure upfront that it’s clear what services you’ll be able to use. Work on the run. Anytime access means you and your staff can work on business data anywhere from any device — which also means improved productivity. Support system. With the right cloud provider, you just hired a first-rate tech department. Most services have help available to you 24/7 – and because providing service to many clients is the providers’ bread-and-butter, their IT people are generally really good. Similarly, the cloud provider also must handle all the outage dangers and security updates (see below). They usually have a lot of backup servers in different locations to guard against downtimes and disasters. Risky business. If you’re leaning toward cloud storage, this can be the clincher: The provider has the burden of security. The one who’s really hurt most by a hack, the provider, will and can invest more than you in firewalls, encryption, backup servers, and other cutting-edge cybersecurity. Now for some cloud computing risks… Troublesome questions Bad connections. As I said,to access your cloud service, you’ll need an internet connection. Break that link for whatever reason, and you can’t get to your data – and this “downtime,” even for a short period, can cause a lot of pain. Control issues. Having someone else oversee and maintain the cloud infrastructure that houses your data can make you feel you’ve lost control. You populate the infrastructure but have little administrative control over how the data is stored. How easy is it going to be to migrate your data? Are you subject to vendor lock-in? Spotty support. That top-notch tech crew we talked about: Do you have access to them or are you expected to first try endless FAQs and online DIY fix-its? Security. Do you really want someone else guarding your data, even if their controls, firewalls, and other security measures are probably far superior to yours? Research does show that most data breaches and cyberattacks come down to customers’ mistakes and human error, so the provider can probably take good care of your data. But what if they can’t? Who’s liable? What are the damages and coverage? For that matter, what happens to your data if your provider is acquired by another company? Have these matters spelled out in your contract ahead of time. Sending your data to the cloud is appealing, but it also comes with some catches. And before you up the ante on storing your business data, you’ll want to think through some of these cloud computing advantages and risks. If you want some help with making the right decision for your San Francisco Bay Area business, let us know. Another thing we can help you with is protecting your business from financial vulnerabilities. Whether that’s leaky books or a future tax-related disaster … we can spot problems coming from a mile away. If that’s something you want in your corner, let’s chat about it: Patti (408) 241-4100  Gale 408-775-7800 To your bottom line, Patti ONeill and Gale Bergado(408) 241-4100ONeill & Bergado

Business Growth, Business Tax Planning

Disaster Recovery Planning Your San Francisco Bay Area Small Business Probably Needs

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The phone rings in the middle of the night and a voice says your office is on fire. Early on a long weekend, that old pipe in the back finally bursts and no one will see the water for days. Or suddenly the Weather Channel’s saying a hurricane is barreling in your city’s direction. Oh, it’s always the other guy, you say? Ask the folks in Louisiana and Mississippi this week, or those out West most of this summer. Nobody in New York City ever used to even think about flash floods … According to FEMA, about *half* of small businesses never reopen after a disaster. Worse yet, one in four fails within a year, and nine out of ten shut their doors within two years. Not odds you want to bet against. So what do you do? If you’ve thought ahead, you pull out your disaster recovery plan for your San Francisco Bay Area small business. Disaster Recovery Planning Your San Francisco Bay Area Business Probably Needs“Success is the residue of planning.” – Benjamin Franklin When disaster hits, you have two jobs: 1) Stay open that day and 2) stay open in the days ahead. So, let’s take a look at the difference between a business continuity plan and a disaster recovery plan for your San Jose business, and why and when you need both… First off, both plans are actual documents (and they work best if you develop and use them together – in fact, a lot of people use the terms interchangeably). Unlike all those other reports you read once and then buried, these plans you pull out once a year to keep up to speed on preemptive approaches – in other words, you’re not waiting for those floodwaters to seep under your door before you know what to do. Your business continuity plan outlines how your business will keep going during a disruption. It includes procedures and instructions you and your team will follow when bad stuff drips (or gushes) down. Disaster recovery is how you’ll pick up your business again after a disaster… how you’ll get the doors unlocked… how you’ll start seeing customers again in the days ahead. Seems like common sense, right? But can you believe that a survey last year found more than 50% of companies don’t have a business continuity plan? Or that one in five execs of small and mid-size businesses don’t have a recovery plan? It’s difficult to imagine why anyone would risk the lost business, make themselves vulnerable to legal risk, a damaged reputation, or even possible fines and the loss of a business license. Just keep going To put it in simple terms, your business continuity plan looks like driving to the gas station while your engine warning light is still on — you’re trying to keep things going while the emergency is still happening. It doesn’t have to be a storm or wildfire on national news, either – you can even get hammered by something as small as a local power outage. The key is to assume that (for a little while) your equipment, workforce, office or workplace, third-party vendors, and just about everything else are unavailable. Here are a few questions you’ll want to answer on this front: – What jobs around your business can you NOT survive without, and who does those jobs? – How are you going to contact your people? Calling on the phone is everybody’s first thought, but don’t forget about texting and social media. You can keep staff updated on your Facebook page if you need to. – Who should your employees contact first? What shouldn’t they do? (Want ‘em talking to the local news?) – How will you keep phones and computers/servers working? Are there laptops somewhere else you can run on for a while? – Will you have to move your business, even temporarily? Where could you go? Your new normal Your disaster recovery plan tells you how to get your business back to normal as fast as possible. For instance, your recovery will probably hinge on technology. Part of your plan could be laying hands on your backup files that are in the cloud or on a portable hard drive that you keep somewhere far from your office. What’s your long-term plan to finance ruined computers? And of course, in this wonderful world, not all disasters involve water, fire, or wind. Suppose your business gets caught in a public relations mess… a bad lawsuit or a data hack. Part of your recovery plan should cover what statements you’ll make (deny all knowledge, we’re investigating, we can’t comment at this time, etc.) Both is better A lot of people combine the business continuity and disaster recovery plans. Suppose your inventory goes up in a warehouse fire. ‘Continuity’ means you call all your employees and vendors. Your recovery involves telling staff what to tell customers and notifying the right people at your insurance company. The point is, both types of plans work to keep you ahead of a problem. Do not wait to make them. If we can help let us know. You can even make that part of the disaster recovery plan for your small business. If that’s something you want in your corner, let’s chat about it:Patti (408) 241-4100 Gale 408-775-7800 To your bottom line, Patti ONeill and Gale Bergado(408) 241-4100ONeill & Bergado

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