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Weirdest Things Caught on Security Camera

Posted: 19 Mar 2019 09:54 AM PDT

It's important to take the security of your business seriously. From cyberattacks to thefts, your business can be targeted on multiple fronts, and it's hard to be profitable when you can't protect your assets.

Some business owners use security cameras to protect their property and products. However, security cameras also capture odd situations on tape. We talked to business owners, and here are six weird things they have caught on camera.

1. Lightning striking a tree

"I arrived at the office one day, and a VERY large tree was laying in the parking lot," said Bret Bonnet, president and co-founder of Quality Logo Products. "Turns out it got hit by lightning and the camera captured the entire thing. It looked like something straight out a Hollywood movie or National Geographic."

2. Someone "fertilizing" the bushes

"I've caught people defecating in the bushes outside of the corner office," Bonnet said. "When looking through the footage, I saw a suspicious person walking through the parking lot, and before leaving, they dropped their pants and fertilized the bushes for us." 

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3. Someone stopping for lunch while parking

"One of the weirdest things I've seen on a security camera at work was someone taking 30 minutes to park their car in our parking lot," said Brian Sheehan, marketing and sales manager at Hollingsworth. "They would pull out, back in, turn too wide and almost hit another car, [then] they would go to a different row, only to come back to their original spot."

At one point, Sheehan said, they got out of the car, looked through their trunk and then ate lunch. "They then went into the car and reparked it again. It was confusing to watch, and I do not know what their intentions were."

4. Casual bird-walking

"I've also seen a person walking around with a bird on a leash," Sheehan said. "It would fly from their shoulder to the ground and walk in front of the person like a dog."

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5. A door slamming itself 

"During the nights, there is a security guard at the entrance hall," said Eric Anderson, CEO and organizational development manager at elMejorTrato.com. "Every hour, he walks around the building to check if everything is in order."

The security guard said he usually had to turn a light off in an office on the second floor multiple times every night, because it would turn on by itself.

"One night in July, he was walking down the aisle of the second floor when the door of the same office started to fling open and slam shut very quickly," Anderson said. "Our guard ran down to the entrance hall and waited for a while till the door finally was shut. When he told us the following morning, we checked the security camera, and we saw it with our own eyes."

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6. A twirling friend

"I once made a post on Facebook casually mentioning that I was doing a routine check of our security cameras, because I worked in a dangerous place and liked to make it known that I kept them working," said Cat Jones, director of operations at Equality House. "When I checked the video of the backyard … I found two-day-old footage of my friend twirling around with some sort of wings attached to her arms. She danced around for a good five minutes and then twirled off camera. Never got an alert – or an explanation – about that one."

You’ve Moved Your Company’s Data to the Cloud — What's Next?

Posted: 19 Mar 2019 09:00 AM PDT

As of 2018, 73 percent of businesses have at least one application or system operating in the cloud. What's more, it's expected that 83 percent of business functions will occur in the cloud by 2020.

When small businesses begin cloud adoption, they often experiment with functions like email and storage. For instance, most individuals are familiar with cloud services such as Google's G Suite or Microsoft's Office 365. File storage apps such as Dropbox and Google Drive are similarly ubiquitous.

The advantages of these cloud services have become expectations: constant access from any device, improved security features like two-factor authentication, and redundancy that prevents information from being lost in case of disasters or downtime. People use email and storage options in the cloud because adoption is as easy as signing up for an account — migrating business systems is a little more involved.

Editor's note: Need a cloud storage or backup solution for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you with free information.

 

Why Keep IT in the Cloud?

There are myriad advantages associated with cloud adoption, and the most compelling perks depend on your business. Many organizations that use sensitive data appreciate the security of cloud storage, and it's common for cloud providers to offer solutions designed to comply with specific regulations.

For businesses that demand bandwidth, the scalability and flexibility of the cloud are tremendous advantages. Organizations can accurately budget with cloud services and still remain poised for explosive user growth without any of the restrictions imposed by on-site resources.

Finally, there's constant access — the advantage that most of us already enjoy in our personal lives. By bringing your business to the cloud, your workforce can use your infrastructure remotely. With access to the latest data from any place at any time, your employees can remain productive whether they're relaxing on the couch at home or traveling around the world.

Many small businesses have taken the first step to the cloud, as this approach to computing is experiencing continued growth. Once you recognize the numerous benefits of keeping email and data storage in the cloud, it's time to help the rest of your operation make the change.

The Great Migration

When moving business components to the cloud — whether data or software — leaders must account for a number of different criteria. Security, performance, and regulatory requirements all merit attention, and I've spoken with plenty of small business owners who wanted instructions on how to prioritize each consideration. The reality, of course, is that you must weigh them carefully based on your own business requirements.

In many cases, it might make sense to move some apps to the cloud while keeping others on-premise — but you won't know until you work through the details. Get started on your own journey to the cloud by following these four steps:

1. Audit IT expenses.

Owning equipment means capital outlay and maintenance costs. Some machines will allow you to recoup your initial investment, but others can be a serious drain on resources. Conduct an audit of IT spending and find out where each dollar is going. If you're paying a full-time IT technician to manage on-premise equipment, migrating resources to the cloud could provide significant savings.

2. Take stock of potential cloud components.

Your cloud management solution should be based on a single view of the inventory that you must manage, both virtual and physical. Say you run a production company; your business requires storage of a large number of audio and video assets as well as powerful software to turn these raw materials into movies. Make a list of every component you access on a regular basis, and then determine which ones can gain the most by migrating to the cloud.

3. Create cloud-based policies.

When your data is only accessible on-premise, a simple lock and key can control who has access. Once it's in the cloud, it's accessible from anywhere — one of the key benefits of cloud computing. Consider the policies you will need to enforce within your cloud environment, including items pertaining to access, files, sessions, or anything else that will improve security and user experience. Once implemented, these policies will help you detect risky behaviors, suspicious activities, and user violations.

4. Expect an adjustment.

Compared to accessing your data on-premise, it's likely that performance could be slower after your transition to the cloud. To ease this adjustment, choose a data migration architect or experienced cloud provider with a proven history. Discuss your migration plans ahead of time, and set realistic expectations with your team members. It's important to determine what data should and should not be moved depending on performance concerns, and an experienced professional can help you weigh potential trade-offs.

With most businesses operating in the cloud to some extent, off-premise computing will only gain more steam. Companies have seen the benefits of cloud systems via email or storage — often the first step of a full migration — but there is a lot more for businesses to gain. Follow the above steps, and you'll see the benefits of cloud computing in a whole new light.

Can You 'KonMari' Your Bookkeeping for a Business That Sparks Joy?

Posted: 19 Mar 2019 09:00 AM PDT

The ultimate goal of the KonMari approach is to declutter and simplify. Whether it is a home, an office or a closet, Kondo urges people to purge their physical possessions in order to free their energy and time for the belongings that are truly important. The result, she promises, is life changing.

When you think about Kondo's overarching message – letting go of anything that does not spark joy – it's easy to see how that same theme can be compelling in other areas of our lives like small business ownership.

When it comes to managing their finances, entrepreneurs should consider viewing their bookkeeping through Marie Kondo's lens.  

Editor's note: Looking for the right accounting software for your business? Fill out the below questionnaire to have our vendor partners contact you about your needs.

 

Does It Spark Joy?

If you ask entrepreneurs what it is about their small business that sparks their joy, you may hear responses like connecting with customers, solving a problem for people, building a legacy or innovating a product. What you probably won't hear setting people's hearts on fire is managing their books.

Small business owners have consistently reported that managing their financial operations ranks among the top challenges they face, according to the National Federation of Independent Businesses' small business trends data. The small business mentoring organization, SCORE, reports that 40 percent of small business owners say that bookkeeping and accounting are the worst parts of owning a business. Still, despite these facts, a meager 10 percent of small business entrepreneurs outsource their bookkeeping, only 17 percent use a CPA for their accounting and just 15 percent contract out their payroll.

Declutter the Business Owner's Brain

Bookkeeping can be a tremendous timesink. Especially in a new, bootstrapped company, there are just not enough hours in the day for owners to do everything and do it well. Instead, entrepreneurs should focus on the things that put them closer to their business goals, such as marketing, sales prospecting, customer service and product development.

By using a digital bookkeeping service, business owners can declutter their brains of the seemingly endless details and mundane process that goes along with keeping their books up-to-date. And, handing over bookkeeping to the experts will help turn the clutter of receipts, statements, logs and ledgers into actionable data that owners can use to make smart decisions about where to take and how to manage their business.

The mom-and-pop approach to bookkeeping can also prove to be risky, especially as a business grows. Even with the wealth of do-it-yourself tools and resources available, the sheer volume of data and paperwork needed to keep accurate records can be daunting. And, when the books are not in order, it could mean filing taxes with inaccurate information which can result in legal implications and financial penalties.

On the flipside, armed with accurate financial records, accountants are better equipped to see opportunities for deductions and areas where their clients could get tax breaks.

Do It Once

According to Marie Kondo, people who embrace her method need only do it once to feel its positive effects. But, for some small business owners, just the act of getting started with a digital bookkeeping partner may seem like a ton of work – especially if they're staring at piles of spreadsheets, statements and receipts. But the reality is that the initial set up is simple and it really does get easier from there. A good digital bookkeeping service will easily integrate with all major banks and financial institutions, which means owners never have to worry about uploading statements or scanning receipts again.

Owners should partner with a company that supports them with a real, live bookkeeping expert on the back end. With this, they can quickly get answers to any questions that come up and speak with someone who is familiar with the intricacies of their business. Whether they need information for the bank, for investors or the IRS, working with a digital bookkeeping partner makes it easy to quickly get an accurate and crisp picture of what's coming in and going out, see holes that need to be plugged and make educated business decisions based on real numbers.

With an expert force handling their bookkeeping, entrepreneurs can get back to focusing on the parts of their business that they love. They can let go of the stress, frustration and time commitment that comes with managing their own financial records and move towards creating and maintaining a business that truly sparks joy.

The Future of Work Is Coming Faster Than You Think: 5 Ways to Prepare Now

Posted: 19 Mar 2019 05:00 AM PDT

We know the world is changing. Yet, very few of us truly understand that the pace of change itself is accelerating. Changes that took two years now happen in two months. How will this increasing velocity impact organizational success in the future?

It means that your organization must have the ability to react quickly to changes in business conditions or customer needs and make the best possible decision in the shortest possible time. It also means that your employees must be empowered to act upon those decisions and take the right action quickly. This so-called business agility is hard and itself requires organizational change – an increased emphasis on collaboration, trusting your coworkers and constant innovation.

Workfront's annual State of Work Report (2019, U.S. Edition) shows that workers at most organizations are not close to ready for an accelerating business climate where rapid innovation is the foundation of long-term market leadership. The study found that workers waste far too much time on unproductive activities like email and administrative paperwork. On average, workers report spending just 40 percent of their time on their primary job function.

As a result, we don't have enough time for innovation. Nearly 60 percent of workers are so swamped with day-to-day work that they cannot think beyond their to-do list. Yet, business leaders routinely expect innovation.

There are clear challenges, but the good news is that the workforce is aware of the gaps and ready to change. Here are five things you can do today to prepare for the workplace of tomorrow.

1. Implement programs to foster trust and collaboration

Cross-functional teamwork isn't easy but it's the future. It's the only chance your organization has of keeping up with the accelerating pace of change. Foster a culture of teamwork. Just as Tom Brady cannot win the Super Bowl by himself, your organization cannot prosper long-term with a superstar mentality.

A great strategy is to monitor business outcomes rather than functional units. Most strategic initiatives are cross-functional; if workers are measured horizontally based on the success of initiatives, they're much more likely to collaborate and work together.

2. Embrace automation

Automation is already here and it already saves us time every day at airport kiosks, toll booths and ATM machines. Yet, in the workplace, people are fearful about automation. It's natural – no one wants their job to be eliminated by a robot.

Educate workers on the benefits of automation and how it reduces tedious, manual work and gives employees more time to focus on innovation and strategic tasks – work that matters. Upskill existing people so that they're comfortable with newer ways of doing things e.g. instant approval processes using mobile devices. Explain the urgency and importance of accelerating the speed of business and how it's essential to stay competitive in the marketplace.

Explore technology solutions to improve productivity. The aforementioned process automation is a great place to start. Modern, visual, inexpensive tools are now available and existing employees can use them to automate manual tasks without needing technical expertise.

Read more: How Low-Code Platforms Empower Citizen Developers and Grow Businesses

3. Reduce unproductive time

Email is a significant culprit. Collaborative messaging apps help cut down on time spent parsing through lengthy email threads and unnecessary cc: lists.

Administrative paperwork is another time sink. It also generates more email that must be dealt with. Reduce or eliminate it by automating everyday operations. For example, with electronic permission slips, K-12 teachers have more time to spend on their students. Digital new hire onboarding means HR employees can focus on talent acquisition and retention instead of sorting through documents.

Read More: How to focus your team on productive tasks

4. Carve out time for innovation

Without rapid innovation, your business will not survive. With the stakes this high, you have to make innovation a top priority. The good news is that employees would love to innovate, but they don't have time to do so. Ensure that you reinvest at least some of the time savings from automation into innovation.

5. Prepare for change

Business conditions are changing rapidly; the same is true of the workplace. Prepare yourself and your workers for seismic changes in the work environment.

  • Seriously consider remote work programs. They promote employee well-being and are great tools to attract world-class talent.
  • Get ahead of visibility – workers want to see how their work aligns with strategic initiatives and how it affects the bottomline.
  • Prioritize corporate citizenship. Nowadays, social capital is on par with human and economic capital. It's critical to attracting talent and fostering loyalty among customers.
  • Don't be afraid to experiment. Start small with a few people on every initiative, particularly when it involves digital technology. Iterate quickly until you understand the tradeoffs before commiting.

Change is inevitable. Yet, it's hard and can be painful for everyone impacted. As a business leader, you owe it to yourself, your employees and your organization to prepare for the future of work.

That future of work requires investing in collaborative, empowered teams that trust each other and are aligned with cross-functional, strategic goals. It means investing in automation technology to eliminate busy work and focus those teams on work that matters. Most of all, it encourages change and the business opportunity that it presents instead of sticking your head in the sand and continuing to do things the old way.
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