by Nick Throlson | Aug 27, 2016 | Guest Post, Website Security
To make it in business, you have to look for little things that give you an advantage over your competitors. Most of the time, it?s the simplest of things that have the biggest effect. Sometimes, it?s something that you never even realized would make such a difference. As you can tell from the title, I?m talking about network security. Yes, I believe your business can see some amazing benefits with this simple thing. If you don?t believe me, then that?s fine. But, I?m ready to convince you that I?m right!Read through this post and you?ll find some of the unbelievable ways your business benefits from network security. However, there are a couple of things to get out of the way first. To begin, I?ll tell you what a business network is. 
A Business Network
First things first, let?s make one thing crystal clear. I?m not talking about a business network where you build up a set of contacts. That?s a different type of business network and is used for marketing purposes to grow your brand. What I?m talking about is an IT network, setup for your business. It?s something that connects all the devices in your business to the same network. These devices will also gain access to the internet via this network. Most companies will have one set up, as it can be very valuable for them. Of course, as already stated, I?ll tell you some of the big ways your business benefits later on. For now, think of your network as a spider's web. At the center, you have your network router, and all the other webs leading off it are your devices. You computers, servers, everything, connects to the router.You can set a network up on your own, or get a company to do it for you.Now you know what a business network is, what about network security? Before we run through all of the benefits, you need to understand what it is. So, I?ve written a very short guide to understanding network security. You can find it down below:Understanding Network Security
Network security may sound like a scary concept, but it?s very easy to follow. It refers to anything that?s done to protect your business network and keep your data secure. Typically, network security uses a variety of software and hardware. Some of which you can buy from any store online. You?ve probably seen antivirus and firewall software out there, right? Well, this is a type of IT cyber security. Firewall software prevents your network from being breached by unknown sources. Only those with access can get through the firewall and connect. Antivirus software is fairly self-explanatory. It prevents your network from getting any harmful viruses that can cause it to go down and lose data. You can also get firewall hardware that you can connect your network too, and it does the same job. The benefit of hardware is that your business doesn?t have to fill up storage space by downloading software on every computer. To get network security for your business, you have a couple of options. Firstly, you can buy any of the standard software/hardware that?s available. This is probably the cheapest way to go about it if money is an issue for you. If you?re willing to spend more, then you can get a tailored network security service from various companies. They have specific software for businesses, and will monitor your network at all times. It?s a complete security method, but some prefer the cheaper option. So, now you know what a business network is, and what network security is too. Now, we can move on to the bit you?ve all been waiting for! Listed below are some of the incredible benefits of network security for your business: 
Keeps Your Network Up And Running & Improves
The obvious benefit of network security is that it keeps your business network up and running. I know this may not sound like an amazing thing, but it is! If your network is always up, then it means your employees can be far more productive. They won?t spend their days doing nothing as their computers struggle to connect to the internet. Without network security, you run the risk of frequent outages. This is normal because too many people are connecting to your network as you don?t have firewall protection. The office above you is connected and using your network as their own. Everyone?s joining in and having a blast! As a result, it becomes overloaded and drops. So, you end up in that situation where your employees can?t do any work, and the office is unproductive. 
Increases Employee Collaboration
Another great benefit is that network security encourages your employees to collaborate. Their devices can communicate with one another thanks to your business network. And, when your network is secure, it means they can collab on projects. Employee collaboration is always a good thing, and let me tell you why. When people work together, they start to form friendships. If your staff are friendly with each other, then it?s good new for your business. It leads to increased levels of employee retention. No one will look to leave a job when they like everyone there and are happy to work. All of this comes from you having a secure network for them to collaborate on. If you didn?t have network security, they wouldn?t be able to do this, and you?d be missing out. 
Boosts Customer Confidence
Your customer can also benefit from network security. They gain confidence in knowing that you have a secure computer network. If you were running everything through a standard router that you have at home, they wouldn?t be so confident. There?s very little security with that method; they?ll feel like their data is at risk. But, with network security, you ensure that all their private information is locked away safely. No one accesses it unless you allow them too. This builds customer trust, which is essential if you want to do well. If you didn?t believe me at the start of the piece, I bet you do now! Network security brings some amazing benefits to every business.
by Nick Throlson | Aug 25, 2016 | Guest Post, Social Media
There?s nothing more important to the welfare of a small business than growth. Without it, you?ll be constantly dealing with a high degree of risk, and your business will forever be in danger. There are lots of ways to try and pursue that growth, and lead generation is one of them. You need to make sure that you?ve got that strong source of sales, or you?ll be failing to make profits. But, every other business is trying to do the same thing as you. Your lead generation tactics need to be smarter than theirs. How can you make sure of this? Let?s find out. Lead Generation ProgramsLet?s start with the easiest option available to you. Lead generation programs exist to do all the hard work on your behalf. They?ll focus on the areas they think are most important to ensure that you gain more sales. Of course, this is going to cost you money to implement, but you?ll hopefully reap the rewards via substantial growth. By buying into the right type of lead generation programs, you?ll have a great chance of success. Social MediaWe?ve gotten to a point where your business simply can?t afford to ignore social media any longer. Your customers and potential customers will be spending masses of time online. This is your chance to invade their viewing space and attract them with excellent lead generation tactics. How you do this is up to you, and if you?re not so clued-up, you might want the professionals to help out. Paid AdvertisingThere are loads of forms of paid advertising that can help when it comes to lead generation. Social media is the first example. Facebook & Twitter are just two platforms that provide paid advertising services to reach more viewers. You can also think about boosting your website with SEO or engaging in Pay-Per-Click advertising, for example. Events & ConferencesThere?s a reason why events and conferences still haven?t died out, despite the reach of the internet. There?s a personal touch that you just don?t get online. Because of this, these events can be incredibly beneficial in the right circumstances. They cost a lot in money and preparation time, but you might just find that they?ll generate a significant number of leads. Pick a reputable and relatable event with the right type of audience, and you?ll go far. Inbound Lead GenerationThis is the one that many businesses forget! Inbound lead generation encourages the customers to come to you. It?s really easy to put into action, too. All you need is to spread your contact details around. Advertise them on your website. Put them on your social media profile. Include them in your emails to your mailing list. The more services you provide, the better. In particular, live chat room services are becoming a fantastic way to generate inbound lead generation. Once you?ve generated those leads, be sure to keep a close track of them in the future. Be sure to build a database of customers and potential leads that might just lead to sales down the line. We wish you luck!
by Nick Throlson | Aug 23, 2016 | Guest Post
Every local business has a local rival. If you find yourself lagging behind this rival, then now is the time to take concrete action and turn things around. There is nothing stopping you from getting the edge over that rival if you are willing to put in the necessary time and effort to do so. Here are some easy ways that are sure to have your business outselling its rival in no time.
Host an In-store Event and Slash Prices for a DayOne big event can attract a lot of new people to your business who would not have considered buying from it before. This is something that you should aim to make the most of when you run a business and want to get an edge. You can easily slash prices for one day, and this will attract new people. Combine it with some kind of in-store event, and you will have the store packed in no time. The thing you need to do is attract lots of people and then hope that as many of them as possible come back in the future. If they like the experience and what they buy, this should happen.Rank Higher on Search EnginesSearch engine ranking matters, even when you are trying to beat the store down the road. When people are looking for a business to buy from, they will often search for them online too. And if they?re looking for the options in the local area, they will be presented with various search results. As we know, people tend to click the link that is ranked highest first. So, you want to improve your search engine optimisation and ensure that your website can rank as high as possible. The Chatmeter Platform can help you to do this.
Build a Stronger TeamThe strength of your team can be very important as well. When people enter a store, they have to meet the team of people you employ. If that team is too small or not helpful enough, then making a sale becomes harder. To be clear, it?s not about pouncing on browsing customers and giving them the hard sell. This can be very off-putting and will often fail. Instead, you just need to train your employees to know when to offer help and assistance to a customer and when to back off. You should also make sure that you have enough people to make the checkout process quick.Emphasise a Quality Edge
People want to buy quality. It?s not just about prices. If people wanted the lowest prices, then businesses would be in a constant race to the bottom. Although good pricing is important, people tend to care about value for money more. So, if people think that they are getting good value for a product, they might be willing to pay a little more. This is why you should emphasise the quality edge you have over your main rival. This would mean that you could sell to people based on the fact that they know that you offer better value than the rival.
by Nick Throlson | Aug 6, 2016 | Off Topic
The traditional 9 to 5 jobs would soon become a relic of the past. That?s mainly because the millennials tend to reject such job opportunities due to various reasons. A few decades back, the most widely accepted career path was a slow climb within a company. However, the experiences obtained by people have made them change during the past couple of years. As a result, they prefer to juggle several positions instead of following a steady growth.What would the millennials do for their living after giving up traditional 9 to 5 jobs? From the recent studies, it has been identified that the number of people who engage with self-employment opportunities and freelancing has increased significantly throughout the past couple of years. In the meantime, more than 60 percent of millennials have left their workplaces. This has become a major issue for the modern world companies. In fact, they spend somewhere in between $20,000 to $25,000 to offer training for millennials If they leave after a couple of years, it would be a major loss for the company. As a result, it is the high time for the industries to think about making structural changes.As you already know, a conventional 9 to 5 job is not much flexible. However, millennials prefer flexibility over the salary amount they receive at the end of the month. In other words, millennials tend to create a new nature of work at major companies. That?s because they have forced the companies to implement a flexible work schedule instead of the conventional hours. On the other hand, millennials do not think twice before leaving their workplaces because they have plenty of methods to make money for their living. For example, any person would be able to start freelancing with the skills that they have.The millennials also prefer to work with a greater purpose. This generation is committed towards change and they are looking for job opportunities where they can create an impact. It can be considered as the main reason why social entrepreneurship exploded during the recent years. On the other hand, millennials always seek for meaningful connections at their workplace. In fact, they want to make their co-workers as a part of their second family.The millennials are extremely concerned about the economy as well. They do not want to receive a paycheck at the end of the month and spend that money for their needs. They want to make important decisions in their life and they should have economic freedom in order to make those decisions. For example, if somebody wants to purchase a car, he/she would not be able to find more money per month just by working hard. However, working hard as a freelancer can make that person earn more money. This is another reason why millennials think about becoming freelancers. Most of them consider their workplace as the secondary job as a result of it.
by Nick Throlson | Jul 6, 2016 | Off Topic
3 1/2 years, 40+ speeches, 1 year as an Area Governor for District 12, 1 year as a Division E Director for District 12, Leading Division E to a Distinguished division. Contest Chair for area & division contests. Club president & Vice president of education. Coaching a club "Eastvale Toastmasters" to distinguished and mentoring new members. Chartering 2 new clubs is just the tip of the iceberg on what a Distinguished Toastmaster is all about. Being the highest honor only 2% of toastmasters ever achieve this goal. Today I am celebrating my success. Follow your dreams set goals with a date attached to them. I said I would achieve Distinguished Toastmaster in three years first day I joined. 3 1/2 years later it's come true! Thank you to all my friends and Toastmasters team. I couldn't of done it without you! TOASTMASTERS HAS CHANGED MY LIFE! ?#?Toastmasters? ?#?DTM? ?#?DistingushedToastmaster? ?#?goals? ?#?success? ?#?dreams? ?#?leadership?
