This post is sponsored by Microsoft in honor of National Entrepreneurship Week which is February 20 to 24, 2017 .
On this episode, I cohost with Melanie Gass from Microsoft and our guest is Steve Strauss, from USAToday.
This is the time of year small business owners look to the top tech trends in hope of using them to grow their company. Steve Strauss believes that everyone needs to now think of themselves as entrepreneurs. A lot of business people got hurt during the Great Recession when they were fired from their jobs and found it hard to find new permanent employment. Without available choices, many became entrepreneurs by default as they created their own business. More people now don’t draw a paycheck from one company, but from a variety of financial sources. In addition, they may not work with the same set of people every month, but form new virtual teams based on current business opportunities.
Security continues to be a growing trend for 2017 since almost half of cyber-attacks happen against small businesses. Steve discusses that a new kind of ransomware is becoming popular where attackers hold the company’s computers hostage for a $500 payment. To help prevent this, small business owners should implement security protocols that come with solutions like Microsoft Office 365.
Finally, Steve describes a new change that is pushing more experienced entrepreneurs to go faster. He believes that typically, small business owners are mid to late adopters of new technology. However, millennials are now pressuring them because they are early adopters and are forcing existing owners to change in order to be competitive.
Listen to this radio segment with Steve Strauss and Melanie Gass or the entire radio show #417.
Listen to this segment here with Steve Strauss who is one of the country’s leading small business experts. His column in USATODAY is one of the most highly syndicated business columns in the world. Steve is the author of fifteen books, including The Small Business Bible. He the editor of Small Business Connection which is sponsored by companies like Microsoft, Allstate, Office Depot, Web.com who are committed to small business.
Melanie Gass, Sr. Business Development Manager for Microsoft and the brainchild behind National Entrepreneurship Week. She helps shape Microsoft Community Connections (MCC) to deliver strong value to customers and influencers.
