Small Business Matters

Connection Calendar

PRESENTED BY

August 31

Want more information and resources on this week's topics, ideas and events? Go to www.cose.org/smallbizmatters.i

Check out www.cose.org/events for all the latest happenings.CONTENT PROVIDED AND PAID FOR BY THE COUNCIL OF SMALLER ENTERPRISES

COFFEE WITH COSEGet an early start with other COSE members

at this casual round table session. Discuss tips and tricks of the trade over a cup of coff ee. Share your challenges and successes with your peers,

and get real advice on how to grow your business! SEPTEMBER 168:30 – 10:00 AM

Panera Bread, Solon

Cost: $5Register at www.cose.org/events.

COSE WEBED SERIES: TRADE SHOW EXHIBIT SECRET SAUCE

Are you and your team struggling to unlock the keys to trade show success? Rock The House

Founder/CEO Matt Radicelli shares their team’s secret sauce that keeps the troops happy and the leads

pouring in. This informative presentation will begin with an interactive assessment of your current trade show

tactics and strategies, then build on a series of industry best practices and methods that just plain work! Matt

will also share creative ideas about booth design concepts, motivating and managing your team, and

keeping it all fun in the process!SEPTEMBER 18

Register at www.cose.org/events.

By The NumbersBYOD Usage

SOURCE: TECH PRO RESEARCH

60% of employers allow the use of personal devices

for work purposes.

14% have plans to

implement such a policy this year.

10TH ANNUAL COSE SMALL BUSINESS CONVENTION Now in its 10th year, the COSE Small Business

Convention is the premier event for entrepreneurs and small business owners in the Midwest. Partners from across the region come together to produce the ultimate experience for small business professionals,

complete with nationally-recognized keynote speakers, a business-to-business trade show, special events and

unforgettable networking experiences. OCTOBER 21-22

Cleveland Public Auditorium & Conference Center, Cleveland

Cost: COSE members $159, non-members $310 Register at www.smallbizconvention.com

Employees are increasingly using their own devices to do at least some of their work. BYOD (“Bring Your Own Device”) examples range from accessing company email and calendar remotely to working from home on a computer connected to the company network. Users often prefer to use their own tablets or laptops to access company systems, especially when working remotely.

BYOD can be a boon to productivity. It’s convenient and users like the ability to work with the devices with which they are most comfortable. Additionally, there might be cost savings for the company when users provide their own hardware. Large organizations often enforce formal policies to realize advantages while mitigating risks of BYOD. They also invest in technologies that make it easier for IT departments to safeguard corporate data even when it’s accessed from a device the company doesn’t own. Small business owners, however, could wonder whether it is worth the expense to implement.

It would be a mistake for any business owner to ignore the BYOD question. “Just Say No” probably won’t work because some users will easily fi gure out how to connect their smartphones and tablets to the company’s email system and perhaps even to its internal network. “Just Say Yes (And Hope for the Best)” might also be a costly mistake. Is there another choice?

A thoughtful, practical alternativeThe alternative is implementation of a

BYOD policy that balances user wants with the company’s need to support productivity, protect resources, and manage costs. A qualifi ed IT service vendor can help with this. A budget-conscious business owner might

start by doing research and adapting BYOD policy examples from other organizations to fi t his or her business. A BYOD policy should complement and extend your information security policy and acceptable use policy.

Your security policy should provide rea-sonable safeguards against unauthorized access. Passwords shouldn’t be “1234.” Those responsible for IT should have pro-cedures for granting access to company re-sources, including in emergency situations. Rules should clarify what can be shared in public-facing resources such as public or shared Dropbox folders or FTP servers.

Your acceptable use policy should be de-signed minimally to prevent abuse of IT re-sources that aff ect other users and prohibit users from damaging the company’s reputa-tion or even exposing it to legal risk. Among other things, this would mean prohibiting the use of company resources to publish spam, hateful or other illegal speech or to adversely aff ect internal or external systems.

With your security and acceptable use policies in hand, consider what new

implications arise from the use of employee-owned devices. You might need to revise and strengthen some of your existing guidelines. You should identify and answer the unique questions raised by BYOD:

• Will the company pay or share the cost?

• Will IT provide tech support on user-owned devices?

• Will there be a list of approved hardware, operating systems and applications?

• Will the company have the ability and right to remotely “wipe” a device that has been lost or stolen (or when the employee is terminated or leaves the organization)?

BYOD is here to stay. The “consumer-ization of IT” is a cultural phenomenon and business trend. A thoughtfully-developed policy will help manage risks and maximize BYOD benefi ts.

Want more expert advice? Check out Linktunity (www.cose.org/linktunity), an online forum connecting business owners with creative solutions to the tough questions they face every day.

52 TIPS FOR YOUR BUSINESS

#35 – BYOD Can be a Boon to Productivity

Tony Felice,Inline Technology Services, LLC

i

Ensure your business is ready to make the leap to BYOD, or you might be dealing with headaches later on.

COSE’S TAKEAWAY

Target Your Most Profi table CustomersCONTINUING EDUCATION

All customers are not created equal. Some are more profi table than others. Focusing on those customers who are more profi table can mean a big bottom-line increase for your business.

But how do you do that? Jeff Susbauer, co-developer of the COSE Strategic Planning Course, has identifi ed three key steps businesses should take to fi nd out the answer to that question.

Know your own costAt the end of the day, Susbauer says, customers don’t care in the

least what your costs are. They just want to satisfy their own needs. This means it’s up to the individual business to keep a watchful eye over its own cost structure.

All businesses should ask these questions of themselves, Susbauer says: “Can you fulfi ll customer needs with the cost structure that’s in place? Does that cost structure enable you to make a profi t?”

Understand what the competition is doingIf the business down the street is

selling the same thing you are for less than you are, you will probably be in trouble

when that business starts going after your customers. What are your options if this happens? Susbauer says in addition to changing your cost structure, you can also improve the perceived value of what you’re off ering.

How do you do that? It could be as simple as off ering a “buy one, get one” deal, coupons, or a free consultation.

Know your marketAs hard as you might try, you’re never going to be able to take

down Wal-Mart, Susbauer says. The retail giant can aff ord to lose money by selling below cost. You can’t. What you can do is know your own market inside and out. You

should have a laser-like focus on those customers who meet what you have to off er. Figure out who those customers are and go after them.

“Sales are vanity,” Susbauer says. “Profi ts are sanity.”

1STEP

2STEP

3STEP

The COSE Strategic Planning Course is a six-month, results-oriented process that delivers concentrated executive-level busi-ness education and exceptional networking opportunities. The course is designed to help you overcome obstacles while building the foundation to take your business to the next stage. Learn more at www.cose.org/spc