October's micro-articles

Business Article

IMPROVE YOUR CASH FLOW WITH THESE TIPS

Have Better Billing Processes – Make it as easy as possible for customers to pay their bills. Incentivize them to pay before the due date with a small discount or offer. Be diligent about sending invoices ASAP after customers buy with you.

Get Cooperative – If it’s possible or practical, work with other businesses to form a buyers’ co–op. This gives you more buying power when buying in bulk.

Credit Check Customers – When dealing with higher-priced goods or services and a customer can’t pay in cash, don’t be afraid to run a credit check. Customers with poor credit can be a liability and cost you big.

Audit Your Inventory – Identify what costs you money by sitting around. If you’re stuck with inventory that isn’t moving, you may need to discount it to get rid of it.

Pay Online – Pay all of your bills online. This way you can select the exact date when those bills are paid each month, giving you more control over your cash flow.

SmallBiz Technology, Jan. 27, 2020

IT Article

TOP WAYS TO PREVENT YOUR REMOTE WORKERS FROM LETTING CYBERCRIMINALS STEAL YOUR DATA

1. Set expectations, rules and boundaries for employees, ensuring everyone is on the same page and held accountable.
2. Put together standard operating procedures for employees so they know what to do and who to call should anything go wrong.
3. Have a disaster recovery plan ready to back up and restore any system or data, should it become compromised.
4. Establish guidelines for employees, defining which approved devices and software they should be using.
5. Make sure those devices and software are routinely updated with the latest security patches.

Cyber Defense Magazine, June 3, 2020

Wellness Article

3 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO USE STRESS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

Embrace Deadlines – Research suggests we are the most productive with deadlines looming. Give yourself

deadlines for everything. If you struggle with procrastination, move deadlines up in order to get things done.

Stress Yourself Out (On Purpose) – You can actually build a tolerance to stress. All you have to do is step out of your comfort zone and intentionally put yourself into stressful situations. You become more resilient to stressful situations and test your own boundaries at the same time.

Identify Stress “Weaknesses” – When stressed, identify what it is about a situation or task that is causing you stress. Then, focus on that cause and determine what you can do to mitigate it. It might mean reorganizing

your day, such as reading and responding to e-mails at a different time. Or maybe you need more information on the issue you’re dealing with, so do some research and see what you can find to help.

Inc., July 8, 2020