Welcome back to Day three in the “5 Mistakes You May be Making Working from Home” series. I’m Nicole Dean and I’m a Guest Expert here on Leslie’s blog this week, talking about common mistakes we all make.
Mistake #3: Gambling with your Business
Think of all of the important things on your computer.
Personal:
- Years worth of Pictures and Video of Your Family
- Personal Documents
- Personal Contacts (friends and family addresses, phone, email)
- Emails from Loved ones
- Christmas letters
Business:
- Contacts of all people important to keep your business running.
- Documents
- Promotional pieces that you’ve designed (postcards, flyers, signs)
- Training
- Invoices
- Ebooks that you’ve purchased
- Audio & Video courses
- PLR products that you’ve bought
- All of your Passwords
- Bookkeeping history
- And, more!
So, how is all of that backed up?
Did you know that most businesses that have a large scale data loss will not recover? That’s a sobering thought.
As someone who has lived through several hurricanes, a few tornadoes, an earthquake, floods, a house fire, and a lightening strike – I don’t blow this off. Bad things happen to good people. If you don’t believe me, just turn on the news.
So, if you have no computer backup – you’re gambling with your business and your income.
If you have computer backup and it’s in your home – how will that help you in most of the scenarios above? If your backup is sitting next to your PC and your window blows in during a storm? Or a tree falls on that room of your house? That’s still like having no backup at all.
Of course, I wouldn’t shake my finger at you unless..
- I’ve made this same mistake.
- I had an easy (and free) solution for backing up your computer.
Otherwise, that’s just be MEAN!
There are numerous options out there, but this is what I use: Mozy.
Leslie may have another recommendation that she may wish to post, but I am very happy with Mozy and give it two thumbs up.
Now, just so you don’t think this is a big ad for Mozy. Here are some other tips for protecting your business…
Passwords & Hacking
When creating passwords, please use unique ones for every website that you own. Oftentimes when you sign up for a website, the owners (and anyone else with admin access) can see what you’ve entered. Therefore, they can test those same user name and password combinations elsewhere and access your accounts. Obviously that’s not cool.
So, either set up an Excel Spreadsheet or use a program like I do at PasswordSafe in order to protect your business from hacking.
Otherwise, your WordPress blog may just get new posts from a guest expert named Nicole Dean while you’re off on summer vacation. ((evil laughter)) hee!
I’ve written a longer article about the Password Issue and my recommendations that you can read here:
The Smart Way to Choose Your Passwords
I’ll be back tomorrow with more.
Warmly,
Nicole Dean
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PS. If you are ready and willing to learn how to get more done during the day and earn more money, I highly recommend Homepreneur Habits, a course by my mentor and friend, Jimmy D. Brown.
