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The success of your business depends on how well you manage its finances.
Learn about each aspect of your business’s finances, making financial projections so you can anticipate rough patches and profitable times.
Banks, alternative lenders and peer-to-peer lenders are sources you can turn to when you need money to help your business grow.
This article is for entrepreneurs who are running a new business and want to know how to manage their startup’s financial health.
In the beginning stages of managing your startup, the nitty-gritty of finances might be the last thing you want to think about, but letting financial planning fall by the wayside is a troubling habit for new business owners.
The pressures of success and profitability can weigh down a new business. But no matter your level of familiarity with business finances, you should keep certain key questions and resources in mind. Here are seven steps to take for the successful management of your startup’s financial health.
[Related Content: Benefits, Features and Costs of Accounting Software for your Business]
1. Open a business bank account.A business bank account is one of the most important pieces of getting your startup’s finances in order. Whether you open a checking account, cash management account, or savings account, opening a business bank account is a wise move for these reasons:
It prepares you for tax season. Keeping your business and personal expenses separate will make it easier to file taxes. If you skip this step, come tax season, you might have a hard time untangling your business and personal expenses from each other. This can result in you losing out on deductions or cause a logistical nightmare later.
It offers legal protection. A business bank account can offer you limited personal liability protection depending on your business’s legal structure. If your business gets sued, for example, a business bank account may help prove that your business is a separate entity from you, which can protect your personal assets.
It makes you appear more professional. A business bank account allows clients and customers to pay your business rather than making payments to you personally. This lends your venture an air of professionalism.
Key Takeaway
A business bank account is key, as it separates your personal and business finances.
4. Determine your startup’s financial and market logistics.Once you have a working knowledge of business finances, you have to ask the tough questions specific to your enterprise:
How much money do I need to start this business?
How long until my product or service will become profitable?
There is no perfect answer to these questions. It depends on your niche, which should be as narrow as possible in the beginning.
“Entrepreneurs often try to target as broad of a population as possible,” Moltz said. “That will just lead to more competition.” [Interested in finding the right accounting software for your small business? Check out our best picks and reviews.]
Understanding your niche will help you answer these more concrete questions. Service-based businesses, for example, take much less money to start than product-based businesses. No matter your market, the key is to not overspend.
“New business owners spend way too much money in the startup phase,” Moltz said. It seems logical – the more money you spend getting customers, the more customers you will get. Unfortunately, that is not usually the case. That’s where profitability comes in.
Key Takeaway
Make sure you have a strong grasp on your business niche, how much money you need to get started, and how long it should take before your business becomes profitable.
Editor’s note: Looking for information on accounting software? Use the questionnaire below, and our vendor partners will contact you with free information:
Yara Simón contributed to the writing and reporting in this article. Source interviews were conducted for a previous version of this article.
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5 Ways To Implement Change In Your Startup
Throughout the life of your startup, you’ll be forced to implement new ideas to improve your culture, management, employee relations, and the overall success of the company. Especially as a manager or founder of a startup, you’re constantly faced with the challenge of maintaining innovation while simultaneously keeping your competitive edge.
Implementing change in the workplace is necessary for any company, regardless of its size. Whether it’s your goal to increase sales or improve employee relations, one of the most challenging tasks for managers is implementing a new direction for the startup and encouraging employees to get involved with the change.
Since many startups are small in size, the transition for change can definitely be influenced by your company’s culture, employees, and environment. This is why it’s very important for startup founders and managers to understand effective ways to implement change. If you’re preparing to introduce change into your company, here are five ways to help you meet your goals:
1. Create the motivation for change.
This is the first step to take when implementing change in your startup. Sparking the need for change in the workplace isn’t always the easiest task for managers, especially if it’s a change with a large impact (such as changing a company procedure or increasing sales goals). You can initiate the motivation for change through emphasizing the goal you have for your startup and giving your employees time to think about that goal. This way, your employees will have time to allow your ideas to sink in and they can approach you with any questions or concerns that arise.
2. Establish the urgency for change.
Sometimes, implementing change in your startup can be a scary process. However, to overcome this, it’s important to establish the urgency for change. You can create this urgency by encouraging your employees to step out of their comfort zones and approach your new direction as a positive challenge.
Tell your employees your old strategies are losing relevance for the company and you need to move forward with the latest trends present in your industry. To illustrate the urgency, share with employees what your competitors are doing and how the change will improve your bottom line. These approaches are a surefire way to get employees thinking about the goals you have for your startup.
3. Explain the benefits of change.
Before implementing the change, build enthusiasm for your goals by explaining the benefits to your employees. Will this change create opportunities for raises or promotions? Can employees benefit from a more flexible work schedule? Whatever change you are going to make, your employees are going to want to know how they will benefit from the decision. Whatever you do, make sure it is clear to your employees how they will benefit when your startup reaches its goals.
4. Ask for feedback from employees.
Remember, your employees are still human! To successfully implement change you must involve your employees with every step along the way. Make sure to request their feedback and listen to their ideas. By allowing your employees to provide feedback regarding new changes, there can be potential to discover ways to improve the initial change. Employees want to feel like they can make a difference for their company; by welcoming their feedback and ideas, you will be able to help the change transition more smoothly.
5. Set clear expectations.
Your employees can effectively adapt to change when they have measurable and tangible goals to work with. You should be able to relate the change to your employees and provide them with strategies to implement the change. As management, it’s your responsibility to measure your goals and determine the rewards. By setting clear expectations for your employees, you will be able to help your employees adapt to the change and meet your goals.
Whether you’re leading big or small change in the workplace, your employees contribute greatly to the change. Always consider their needs whenever making a decision that will impact your company. More often than not, change is usually necessary in the workplace. As the manager, it’s your responsibility to help your employees embrace your new ideas with a positive attitude.
How do you implement change in your startup? What strategies have worked best for you?
Don’t Trust Your Kids To Manage Your Cyber
The survey findings signal a warning for small business owners who regularly rely on younger family members or employees to manage their technology and business social media.
Australia’s first generation of digital natives are among the least aware of common cyber security threats such as identity theft and ransomware, according to a new survey of more than 2000 small business owners and employees by the Council of Small Business Organisations Australia’s Cyber Wardens program.
The survey findings signal a warning for small business owners who regularly rely on younger family members or employees to manage their technology and business social media.
Four in five Australian small business owners and employees are not confident in their ability to prepare for, fight and recover from a cyberthreat.
The survey, which examined generational approaches to cyber security, found two-thirds (67%) of Australian small business owners believe tech-savviness equates to cyber safety skills. While Gen Z employees – those born after1997 – may have grown up with TikTok and Minecraft, the research suggests our first generation of digital natives are among the least cyber safe, lacking the awareness and key competencies of cyber security compared to their older colleagues.
The safest pair of hands in the small business community appear to be GenXers and upper Millennials in their 30s, who are the most likely to take cyber security seriously. Despite the lower awareness of incoming threats compared to their older counterparts, Gen Z rate their skills to prepare for, fight and respond to cyberthreats as on par to all other generations, suggesting inflated levels of confidence.
In good news, Gen Z is the generation most keen to learn more and help build a culture of cyber safety, with one in two Gen Z employees (55%) interested in participating in the Cyber Wardens program.
The Cyber Wardens program, developed in partnership with the CommonwealthBank (CBA) and Telstra will be rolled out this year to help safeguard Australia’s 2.3 million small businesses and lock the digital front doors of businesses across the country.
“A good first step is taking stock of who is responsible for your business’ cyber protection,” COSBOA Chairman Matthew Addison said. “Don’t just assume your kids or younger employees are the safest pair of hands when it comes to online activity.”
Ransomware remains a risk and the best defence is to be prepared for attacks and the aftereffects, according to Rob Di Pietro, Cybersecurity and Digital Trust Leader at PwC Australia.
“While the aim of the game remains the same, the modus operandi of ransomware criminals (and cyber criminals more generally) continues to shift. They have realised that when it comes to effort, less is more,” he says.
“As recent high-profile attacks have shown, data is the real prize. Why go to the hassle of encrypting systems if you can grab the data and run, then extort the victim? When a cyber criminal has the names, addresses, passport numbers and health details of millions of customers, the existential threat posed to an organisation is much greater than the inconvenience and revenue loss caused by locked up systems.”
Dan Bognar, Group VP and GM APAJ of DocuSign says, “From the Optus data breach to a cyber attack-related national emergency in Costa Rica, 2023 has elevated cyber security out of just a technology team issue and into a priority issue for businesses leaders. The State of Ransomware in Australia report revealed that 80% of Australian respondents were impacted by ransomware in the last year. It’s no wonder, considering 97% of sole traders have adopted a DIY approach to cyber security.”
“It’s imperative for business owners to invest in their online security. With a range of staff information and client data at risk, a DIY approach is no longer an option. The ACSC Small Business Cyber Security Guide is a helpful tool for businesses to understand what threats they have to look out for, and how best to protect themselves.”
“From regularly backing up your data to a secure platform, installing multi-factor authorisation, protecting access with identity solutions like DocuSign’s ID verification for example, and keeping your software up to date so as to reduce the chance of a cybercriminal using a known weakness, there are a whole range of simple and effective ways to reduce your risk of a cyber-attack,” says Bognar.
“In 2023 business owners should re-evaluate the digital tools in their holster to ensure they have confidence in their cyber-security for the sake of their clients, employees and reputation.”
How To Manage Your Passwords With Bitwarden
A password manager is a savior in this unsecure world where a different complicated password is required for each and every account that requires login. However, with so many password managers out there, it can be difficult to identify the good ones from the rest. Luckily, we found Bitwarden, which is a comprehensive tool to manage passwords.
Bitwarden is an open-source password manager that supports almost all computing platforms, comes with plenty of features and is free. It is available for Windows, Linux, Mac, Android, and iOS and supports almost all browsers.
Note: in this review we will focus on the Linux version.
Install BitwardenAlternatively, you can download the AppImage from Bitwarden’s Download page. Grant it an executable permission and will work in most Linux distributions.
Note: Bitwarden is also available in the Snap store. It can be installed with the command:
sudo
snapinstall
bitwarden Getting Started with BitwardenOn the first run, Bitwarden will prompt you to create a new account. The next time you use it, you just have to log in using your email address and the password.
Add Browser ExtensionUsing Bitwarden on its own would be too clunky. You will have to go back and forth between the application and your browser to endlessly copy and paste passwords.
To sidestep this problem, you can use an extension for your browser. This extension will act as a connector to Bitwarden, allowing it to grab your password and autofill it in the browser. It can also prompt you to save the password when setting up a new account.
After you add the extension to your browser, it will show a panel where you will have to enter your login details to gain access to your secure vault.
Save Passwords as You GoFrom this point on, whenever Bitwarden detects that you entered a password for a site that isn’t stored yet in its vault, it will offer to remember it. After that, whenever you revisit the same website, Bitwarden will autocomplete your password for you.
Upgrade Your SecuritySince Bitwarden can remember complicated passwords for you, your next step is to replace all your existing passwords with ones that are more complex. Bitwarden can help you in that, thanks to its included Password Generator, that you will find in its “View” menu, or by pressing the Ctrl + G combination on your keyboard.
The Password Generator window offers options for you to customize the complexity of the password. You can set the length of password, and whether it should contain uppercase, lowercase, digits, symbols, etc.
It also allows you to generate passphrases instead of passwords. Those consist of words that, theoretically, should be easier to remember than a random string of characters.
Saving Your Password VaultBy default, your password vault is saved in Bitwarden’s server. (That’s why you need a login account.) The good thing about this is that you can access your password vault wherever you are. However, if you are concerned about your data security, you can self-host it on your own server. This requires technical skill and (plenty of) time, so it is definitely not for everyone.
Going PremiumWhile there are plenty of password managers out there, Bitwarden is one of the very few that provides nearly all features for free. You should give it a try if you are not using any system to manage your passwords yet.
Odysseas Kourafalos
OK’s real life started at around 10, when he got his first computer – a Commodore 128. Since then, he’s been melting keycaps by typing 24/7, trying to spread The Word Of Tech to anyone interested enough to listen. Or, rather, read.
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How To Manage Your Passwords On Google
Passwords are key to using the internet with your own unique sets of IDs. And to help stay secure, you might be using different passwords for all the websites and apps you use. While it’s a tough task to remember each one of them, it’s harder to come up with stronger passwords for all of your accounts.
Enter, a password manager, which is the perfect way to create undetectable, secure passwords and store them for future use across a multitude of platforms. Fortunately for you, Google offers its own password manager on Android devices and Chrome browser that can store and create unique passwords. Additionally, Google’s password manager offers regular checkup of your passwords to analyze whether they’ve been compromised.
RELATED: How to share your Wi-Fi internet connection without sharing the password
What is Password Manager
Like its third-party counterparts, Google’s Password manager runs across the web and on Android. This means, the passwords that are stored on Google can be used across platforms that support Google’s web dashboard like browsers on mobile phones and PCs in addition to running natively on Android.
Having been present on Chrome since 2023, Google’s built-in password manager an also create random passwords for sites that you’re visiting for the first time. This password is then stored on Google’s servers and can later be used when visiting the website on a smartphone or through an app.
The passwords are protected by a master password which is your Google password. It’s thus very important to secure your Google password if you’re saving passwords of other accounts and signing in using multiple devices. Additionally, Google will also alert you if you use a password and username combination that has been compromised in a data leak on a third-party website or app.
RELATED: How to find the Wi-Fi password of a device on Android
How to check the security of passwords you’ve saved to your Google Account
By the end of 2023, Google launched Password Checkup, a feature inside Password manager for checking a user’s saved passwords and find if they’ve been compromised or leaked during a data breach in the past. If username-password combo is found to have been leaked on its database of compromised logins, Google will warn the user to change it as soon as they could.
You can check the security of your saved passwords using the method from down below:
Step 1: Open the Google app on your Android phone.
Step 2: Tap on the More button (3-dot button) at the bottom right.
Step 3: Hit the down arrow next to your account name.
Step 4: Tap on Manage your Google Account.
You will be taken to a new page.
Step 5: Tap on Get Started.
Step 6: Slide through the tabs at the top and select the Security tab.
Step 7: Scroll down the bottom and under ‘Signing in to other sites‘ section, tap on Password Manager.
Step 8: On this page, tap on Check passwords under ‘Password Checkup‘ section.
Step 9: Tap on Check Passwords again in the next page.
Step 10: Verify yourself by confirming the screen lock after pressing Continue.
Alternatively, you can tap on Try another way and enter the password to your Google account.
Google will now show you the security of your passwords and alert you about the ones that have been compromised, reused, or are too weak to be used.
Step 11: Perform the following actions based on the security of your passwords:
View a password: Tap on one of the three sections between compromised, reused, and weak passwords and then tap on the 3-dot icon on the right side of the app/website whose password you want to view. Now tap on View Password.
Update saved password
: Tap on one of the three sections between compromised, reused, and weak passwords and then tap on the 3-dot icon on the right side of the app/website whose password you want to view. You can now update the saved password to a service by tapping on Update saved password, entering the new password inside the box and tapping Save.
Change password: To change the password to a site or app, tap on one of the three sections between compromised, reused, and weak passwords and then tap on Change password. You will now be taken to the loading page of the app/site you want to change the credentials of.
Delete password: Tap on one of the three sections between compromised, reused, and weak passwords and then tap on the 3-dot icon on the right side of the app/website whose password you want to view. To delete a saved password, tap on the 3-dot icon on the right side of the app/website and hit Delete password. You will then be prompted to confirm if you want to delete the password, at which point, you’ll have to tap on Delete.
How to start saving passwords
By default, Google offers to save your password, be it on Chrome browser or on Android. If not, you can choose to switch ON the feature by following this method:
Step 1: Open the Google app on your Android phone.
Step 2: Tap on the More button (3-dot button) at the bottom right.
Step 3: Hit the down arrow next to your account name.
Step 4: Tap on Manage your Google Account.
You will be taken to a new page.
Step 5: Tap on Get Started.
Step 6: Slide through the tabs at the top and select the Security tab.
Step 7: Scroll down the bottom and under ‘Signing in to other sites‘ section, tap on Password Manager.
Step 8: Tap on the cogwheel icon on the top right.
Step 9: Under ‘Password Options’, toggle the switch adjacent to Offer to save passwords to ON.
That’s it. Google will now offer to save passwords for you and prompt you by asking if you’d want to save a password to a new app/website.
How to view sites and apps you chose not to save passwords of
For boosting your security entirely, you might wish to not save passwords of your account on some sites and apps. Google will thus provide you a list of sites and apps you declined to use for saving passwords. You can view this list by following the instructions below:
Step 1: Open the Google app on your Android phone.
Step 2: Tap on the More button (3-dot button) at the bottom right.
Step 3: Hit the down arrow next to your account name.
Step 4: Tap on Manage your Google Account.
You will be taken to a new page.
Step 5: Tap on Get Started.
Step 6: Slide through the tabs at the top and select the Security tab.
Step 7: Scroll down the bottom and under ‘Signing in to other sites‘ section, tap on Password Manager.
Step 8: Tap on the cogwheel icon on the top right.
You’ll now see a list of sites and apps that you declined to save passwords on.
Step 9: Tap on Add More to add new websites and apps to the declined list. To remove a site/app from the list, tap on the x-icon adjacent to its listing.
How to turn on Auto sign-in
Google’s native password manager not only offers to save your passwords from apps and websites but can also use them to automatically sign you into websites using the stored credentials. If you wish to avoid being asked for confirmation every time before signing in to a website/app, you can switch ON Auto sign-in by following the steps written below.
Step 1: Open the Google app on your Android phone.
Step 2: Tap on the More button (3-dot button) at the bottom right.
Step 3: Hit the down arrow next to your account name.
Step 4: Tap on Manage your Google Account.
You will be taken to a new page.
Step 5: Tap on Get Started.
Step 6: Slide through the tabs at the top and select the Security tab.
Step 7: Scroll down the bottom and under ‘Signing in to other sites‘ section, tap on Password Manager.
Step 8: Tap on the cogwheel icon on the top right.
Step 9: Under ‘Password Options’, toggle the switch adjacent to Auto sign-in.
That’s it! From now onwards, every time you’re opening a website or an app that needs you to sign in, Google will enter your credentials and sign in to the service on your behalf, so you can save time and not be repetitively asked to enter your password at a given time.
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7 Ways To Get Over Writer’S Block
Accept that you have writer’s block. When you have writer’s block, no ideas spring to mind when you are writing and you are stuck for what to write. Understand that writer’s block is easy to overcome, and there are many ways to get over it. Do not stop to the idea that you will never write again.
Write about anything. Anything in the world – even write about pineapples. It gets your brain to think more and be creative. This works best for many people. Once you’ve thought of a paragraph or a few sentences about your topic go back to your story.
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Get some ideas on paper without worrying about how they sound. The writing does not have to be polished; writers often have writer’s block because they worry about the quality of their writing. Remember that nobody has to see a word you’ve written except you. You can show it to the world when you’re ready.
Try a change of pace. For example, if you have a long, action-packed sequence, try going over to a reasoned conversation. Be sure that the changeover makes sense. You don’t have to write in one speed or one tone all the time. Something completely different can really end up inspiring you to reach new depths. If you tend to write dramatic scenes, switch to something a bit more lighthearted, or vice versa.
Decide when to give up on an idea. Look over what you have written and ask yourself, “Does this seem to be leading up to anything?” If you feel like it’s going absolutely nowhere, then it may be time to move on from it.
Decide whether the situation truly feels real. You may have writer’s block because the situation doesn’t seem realistic to you. Don’t be afraid to rewrite parts of the story to make it more natural.
Writing out of order may require more familiarity with the plot so that everything makes sense from start to finish. At the same time, it may help you think out the details when you cannot decide what to do with your story. Writing a good ending while you think of about the rest of your story will help structure it.
Write something totally different. It may surprise you how much you like it! A monologue, song, poem, or even taking a short amount of time to write a scene from a completely different story will get your writer’s blood flowing again.
Use the world around you. Use the people around you and their personalities. Use the nature, atmosphere, and scenes that surround you to build up your story/plot. The best possible way to do this is to use a diary. Jot down your daily life, random thoughts, and feelings.
If you can’t possibly think of something to write about, just name a bunch of objects or ideas. Even if you think one won’t work. It’s a simple way to cure writer’s block. To make it easier, say everything you’re thinking about out loud. You’ll bump into something. Good luck!
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