Category: Blog

• Computerease Team
• March 22, 2023
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A Conversation on Mental Toughness & Resilience with Pro Skateboarder, Tony Hawk

Entrepreneurship can be an incredibly rewarding career path, but it can also be a challenging and unpredictable journey. To succeed in the world of entrepreneurship, it takes more than just a great idea and a lot of hard work. It takes mental toughness and resilience. Mental toughness is the ability to stay strong and focused in the face of adversity. It’s the ability to handle rejection, manage stress, and stay committed to your goals. Resilience is another key component of success in entrepreneurship. It’s the ability to bounce back from setbacks and keep moving forward. While attending a recent industry conference, I heard legendary skateboarder Tony Hawk discuss his dedication to achieving his goals, despite numerous setbacks. He spoke of the process and learning through the struggle required to achieve his lifelong goal, landing the 900. In 1999, he attempted to perform a trick that had never been done before in skateboarding history, the 900. The 900 is a two-and-a-half-revolution aerial spin that requires incredible skill, balance, and courage. Hawk attempted the trick numerous times and failed every time, leaving him with bruises and broken bones. Despite these setbacks, Hawk refused to give up. He continued to push himself and eventually, after 11 failed attempts, he landed the trick. This moment not only made history in the world of skateboarding but also demonstrated the power of mental toughness and resilience. Tony continued to share lessons in cultivating mental toughness and resilience in his professional life. Self-reflection and self-awareness: Take some time to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses. Identify areas where you could use some improvement and make a plan to work on them. Goal-setting and planning: Set clear goals for yourself and make a plan to achieve them. Having a clear direction and plan can help you stay focused and motivated. Building a support system: Surround yourself with supportive people who can help you through tough times. This could be friends, family, or a mentor. Practicing stress-management techniques: Find techniques that help you manage stress and stay calm under pressure. This could include meditation, exercise, or breathing exercises. Learning from failures and mistakes: Don’t let failures and mistakes get you down. Instead, use them as opportunities to learn and grow. Tony Hawk’s journey to landing the 900 trick demonstrates the importance of mental toughness and resilience in achieving success. Whether you’re a professional skateboarder or an entrepreneur, the ability to handle setbacks and keep pushing forward is what sets the best apart from the rest. By developing these skills, you can handle setbacks and challenges with grace and keep pushing forward toward your goals. Whether you’re just starting or you’re a seasoned entrepreneur, it’s never too late to work on your mental toughness and resilience. So, take some time to reflect on your strengths and weaknesses, set clear goals for yourself, and build a support system that will help you through the tough times. With a little practice and determination, you can become a mentally tough and resilient entrepreneur who can handle anything that comes your way.

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• Computerease Team
• March 9, 2023
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How To Get More Productivity Out Of Every Employee (And Make Them Happier About It)

You’ve heard the phrase “Get with the program!” It’s often used as a direct order to someone to fall in line with the way things are supposed to be done at your company.  Problem is, most business owners don’t have “a program” for employees to get with, and therefore they get wild and erratic results, as well as a lot less performance, output and productivity, from each person they employ. Then everyone’s frustrated – you, because nobody is doing what you need them to do, and them, because they weren’t given clear instructions and guides on the work and results they are supposed to be doing. Given the current economic environment, with inflation still high, salary demands on the rise and a potential hard recession looming, no business can afford to employ people who aren’t “with the program” anymore. To be clear, I’m not talking about a sweatshop, boiler-room “manual” of step-by-step instructions on every little thing you do in your office (although that may be necessary for some positions and tasks). I’m talking about a well thought out and clearly communicated set of RESULTS and EXPECTATIONS for each person in your company, so they can be extremely clear about what results they are supposed to be delivering for you. We call it a job scorecard. For example, is the purpose of your receptionist to “answer the phone” or is it to be the “director of first impressions,” ensuring that every client, prospect or person calling your office is delighted by how they are treated and helped? To ensure every prospect is promptly connected with a salesperson and not left to wander in your phone tree or leave a voice mail for some unknown stranger, hoping for a callback? Most simply tell their assistant, “Answer the phone.” But even a rude, stupid and willfully spiteful person can do that. Are you sure that’s what you want? Left to their own devices, some employees might do just that. How often have you called a company to talk to someone in “customer service” and they made you angrier and more upset than before you called in? My point exactly. So, step one is make sure every employee has a scorecard that clearly defines the following: Mission of the Position: What’s the purpose of that position? To increase sales? Delight customers? Prevent cancellations and churn? Develop clients and nuture repeat business? Start here when thinking of positions in your company. Key Results: Once you know the mission of the position, the next section you need to articulate is what key results that person is supposed to achieve in a way that’s measureable. For sales and marketing professionals, that’s easy. Secure $100,000 in new sales every month. Generate 10 qualified appointemnts/leads a week. In customer service, that might be client “saves” or upgrades. On a service desk, like ours, it may be speed of tickets cleared and customer satisfaction ratings. For leaders, it may be hitting certain revenue and profitability targets. To the best of your ability, give everyone at least one, but no more than three, key results they need to achieve. This takes the drama out of performance, because if it’s measured, it’s not based on an opinion or anecdotal evidence. Specific Responsibilities: Next, make sure every employee has a list of specific actions, tasks and responsibilities they must fulfill every day, week, month, quarter and year. That way you avoid dropped balls and overlooked tasks because “no one told me I was supposed to do that.” Of course, if you’re clear on the outcomes a person needs to accomplish, the tasks nearly write themselves – after all, if the goal is to lower churn or increase sales, and employees are compensated that way, it’s infinitely easier to “motivate” them to do what’s necessary. Once you have these roles and scorecards, it’s helpful to share them with the entire team so everyone in the company understands what each person’s roles and responsibilities are. One way of sharing that is in Microsoft Teams, where you can create Wikis, To-Do lists, file sharing, checklists and chat to collaborate on projects that cross multiple departments and employees.

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• Computerease Team
• January 26, 2023
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4 Strategies to Implement in 2023 To Prevent Fraudulent Wire Transfers

The FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported that Internet crime complaints increased by 70% in 2020 with internet losses and scams over $4.2 billion. Hackers use email phishing and fraudulent wire transfers as some of the most popular ways to steal money from businesses. Thankfully, there are practical strategies to implement in 2023 to keep your business protected from these common scams. Why are these scams so common, and so costly? How can a hacker get access to your business email account? How do businesses fall victim so often to fraudulent wire transfers? Hackers and scammers are very talented and motivated at tricking individuals into directly wiring them hundreds of thousands of dollars. Even Google and Facebook have fallen victim to this type of cybercrime. Small and medium business owners are prime targets of email phishing and wire transfer fraud, so taking proactive measures is critical to keeping your business safe. A typical wire transfer fraud starts with a business email account getting compromised through an email phishing attack or a compromised password. Once the fraudster gains access to the business email account, it can monitor and intercept legitimate emails about planned wire transfers. At exactly the right time, the hacker impersonates the email owner or vendor arranging a wire transfer and updates the financial account information to the hacker’s own bank account. This scenario may sound very far-fetched and like it may never happen to you. That’s exactly what hackers want you to think. They hope you will remain complacent and ignore cyber risks so they can get their hands on your hard-earned money. Here are 4 strategies to implement in 2023 that can help keep your business protected by preventing fraudulent wire transfers. 1. Keep Your Business Email Secure The best way to prevent yourself from being tricked by an email spammer is to safeguard your business email with multiple layers of cyber security protections. A complex password is a great first step, but if that password gets stolen, a hacker has access to all your emails. Adding another layer of multi-factor authentication is a FREE option available with all Microsoft 365 accounts and provides another block for hackers. 2. Have Financial Controls & Processes in Place for Wire Transfers When you are setting up and changing wire transfer information for your business vendors, make sure to have processes and controls in place to prevent errors and stop scammers in their tracks. Some examples include NEVER using email to set up wire transfers and always confirming by phone with a known and independently obtained phone number of the sender. When your business assumes that every possible step in setting up wire transfers can be fraudulent, you’re staying vigilant and keeping hackers at bay. 3. Always Be Aware of Signs of Possible Fraud If something looks suspicious, make sure you take action to verify information! Pay attention for stilted or incorrect grammar, inappropriate capitalizations, spelling errors, incorrect punctuation, and subtle address changes (ex: lower case “i” instead of lower case “l”). Carefully inspect the email address and contact information of the sender of any wire instructions – this is a red flag for an email phishing spoofing attack. 4. Have Cyber Insurance in Case the Worst Happens If you do fall victim to an email account compromise and a wire transfer fraud, the first thing to do is to contact the institution receiving the wired funds and the FBI’s Internet Crime complain Center (IC3). If the fraud is quickly detected within a few hours, the bank or the FBI might be able to recover the money. Unfortunately, not all fraud is quickly detected, so an up-to-date cyber liability insurance policy is critical. This type of insurance can cover monetary loss from cyber fraud. This insurance is not just a quick check written to your business for all funds lost, however; there are regulations and policies as to what may or may not be covered depending on your policy and cyber security protections used in your business. Stay ahead of cyber criminals by implementing these strategies. Cyber criminals are waiting for your team to make one small mistake that can lead to a compromised business email account and fraudulent wire transfer. Start off 2023 strong and take your business’s cybersecurity seriously.

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• Computerease Team
• January 11, 2023
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Chick-fil-A Opens Investigation into “suspicious activity” on mobile app

Popular chicken sandwich chain Chick-fil-A is the latest victim of cybercrime. While there aren’t specifics about the incident yet, the fast-food restaurant is investigating reports that their app, and associated accounts, have been compromised. “Chick-fil-A is committed to protecting our customers’ data and we are working quickly to resolve the issue,” reported from their Twitter account. The Atlanta-based company was tipped off by a loyal customer, Kimberly Weot , who found that her Chick-fil-A One account information was changed, and money was transferred from her card. When she didn’t hear back from the chicken chain after contacting Customer Service, she reached out to her local news affiliate — 11Alive. Statement from Chick-fil-A, Inc. on suspicious Chick-fil-A One activity pic.twitter.com/W6v7QhVV6q — Chick-fil-A News (@ChickfilANews) January 4, 2023 If confirmed, the January incident would join a long list of fast-food companies who have reported security compromises in their apps. In 2015, Chick-fil-A released statements about a possible data breach after being alerted by their “payment industry contacts.” A cybersecurity journalist and expert were the first person to take note of the possible breach. Brian Krebs reported Chick-fil-A was found as a common point-of-purchase by numerous financial institutions. Companies that use third-party organizations to handle their POS are uniquely vulnerable to cybercriminals. Over the years, the fast-food industry has become a valuable target for computer hackers. Inexperienced workers and a high turnover rate are an unfortunate combination that can leave any company vulnerable. With security measures that vary across individual franchises, there are too many opportunities for hackers to gain entry into their systems. Consumers and business owners alike should be aware of the growing occurrence of cyberattacks. Banking and credit card information are valuable commodities to cybercriminals. Individuals should be cautious about sharing personal information with companies that continue to experience data breaches. Organizations that experience major data breaches are often unwilling to provide their customers with details of the incidents. To an extent, this helps prevent other opportunistic hackers from taking advantage of known bugs and glitches in the system. For small businesses, these types of data breaches have a significant impact on their ability to operate. Customers who are directly affected by an incident lose trust and might decide to move their business elsewhere. When private data is compromised, like credit card numbers and Personally Identifiable Information (PII), there is a price to pay, especially if you operate in an industry with strict regulations around privacy. While many small businesses believe they won’t be a target, it’s ultimately less expensive to implement a strong cybersecurity defense than it is to withstand a breach. Don’t make the mistake of hoping for the best.

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