Are you worried that your business isn’t secure or compliant due to limited resources? According to Vox, 60 percent of small businesses don’t survive a cyber attack.

Struggling to keep up with your new technology? What if we told you that all of these worries can disappear?

How? With managed services or MSP. In this article, we’ll define MSP and answer the question of what is MSP. We’ll help you make informed decisions about whether it might be time to hire a managed services provider for your business.

What Is MSP?

What is an MSP? MSP is an acronym for a Managed Services Provider. Still, confused? Don’t worry, we’ll break it all down and help you answer the question of whether hiring an MSP is right for your business.

What does managed IT services mean? A managed services provider means that you outsource a wide array of technology services to a managed services provider. You can shift IT support to a single MSP.

MSPs have expert staff who provide their expertise on strategic planning, on-going systems monitoring, regular maintenance, and more.

All companies need to do to hire an MSP is pay a flat fee for the services you want, so you can focus on the services that you specialize in and grow your business. Sounds great, right?

Now you may worry that hiring an MSP would break your bank. Don’t be. Working with an MSP is more cost-effective. Imagine, no more worrying about whether you’ll be able to find or hire an experienced IT professional.

You’ll no longer have to stress about downtime and interruptions which can cost companies thousands of dollars. With an MSP you’re cutting costs of downtime and business interruptions and spending less on salary hiring IT professionals.

You won’t have to worry about turnover.

Is an MSP as Effective as an Internal Team?

With an MSP, you get 24/7 services, 365 days out of the year, not a team that works nine to five, five days a week.

On top of that, you have several levels of escalation and an entire team of specialists to help. Is it time to find peace of mind with an MSP?

With a managed services provider you can scale your business and let the MSP worry about your IT problems. With an MSP scalability is limitless, and you get a service guarantee.

Why Is an MSP Important?

As a business owner, you have to make sure your technology is available and operational at all times. If you don’t have a contract in place with a trusted IT service provider when these issues come up, you have a few options.

• Fix it yourself
• Someone on your team knows a little about IT and they can help

In the event that you cannot fix the problem, you could end up losing time and money, making the problem worse. If you can’t fix it, you can hire an external IT professional to come in and help you.

In most cases, you’ll have an IT engineer come out and take the time to learn your system. Because they aren’t familiar with your IT system, they’ll need more time. They may only patch up the symptom, and not fix the underlying problem.

What if you don’t have the budget to afford IT resources or emergency support? Your business could be interrupted for days or longer.

Getting a monthly IT managed services plan means taking a proactive approach to tackling IT problems, reducing risk, and saving on huge costs.

As an IT partner for your business, an MSP can monitor, maintain, and support your IT system at a fixed price per month. When you sign up for an IT support plan, an MSP gets familiar with your IT environment beforehand.

An MSP can manage your IT issues proactively as if it was their own.  Your staff gets the benefit of a dedicated IT team that’s available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. They can get IT support when they need it.

Many MSP can monitor your platform, checking for threats in real-time, before they even become problems to your business. For a convenient, flat fee, you can receive unlimited IT support so you can start preventing problems before they arise and empower your staff with an always-available team of IT specialists.

Is It the Right Time to Hire an MSP?

There are certain instances when hiring an MSP would be vital for your business. Here are a few occasions:

1. If you’re a small, medium, and large company that is looking to scale their business without all the hassles of worrying about IT services, it’s the perfect time to look for a managed IT, service provider.
2. If you had IT scares in the past, or know that you can’t handle issues if they came up tomorrow, it’s time for an MSP service.
3. If you understand that paying a flat fee now saves money later, then it’s time to hire an MSP.

Waiting for the problem is the wrong time to hire an MSP because understanding your IT system is paramount in fixing issues fast. Also, the primary benefit of hiring an MSP is to stop the problems from arising in the first place.

Are You Ready for a Managed Service Provider?

We hope this helps you answer some of the questions about what is MSP used for and why it is essential for your business.

Don’t wait for the inevitable, sign up for an MSP, and eliminate the hassle of IT problems for your business.

If you’re looking for more ways to manage your business, please read our blog. We are always updating it with more guidance to help you grow your business.

Are you looking to make your home more eco-friendly? Perhaps you’re in the process of building a new home. Maybe you’re just looking to make your current house more beneficial for the environment.

Whatever the case might be, it will take a sustainable house plan for you to accomplish this feat. Once you have that in place, your home can become a beacon of hope that your neighbors can look to for inspiration to do the same.

See below for several eco-friendly house plan ideas that you’ll love. Be sure to consider all of these tips and tricks as you go along.

1. Solar Installation

If you’re looking to make your home more sustainable, then start by making it feed off of the natural resources to produce power for your home.

There are many different advantages to investing in solar installation for your home. It provides a renewable source of energy, gives you a huge return on investment, and reduces your monthly electricity bill.

To install it is as simple as calling a solar installation expert to receive a quote. From there, you’ll look through different things such as how many panels you’ll need, how long the process will take, and the cost you can expect to pay.

The installation is fairly simple and can be done in only a few days (depending on the size of your home). If you’re wanting to make a statement to your entire neighborhood about your eco-friendly efforts, the solar panels will help you do that.

Contact a trusted home solar installation company today to learn more about the benefits it can offer you.

2. Tankless Water Heater

Few pieces of the home go more unnoticed than a water heater. It’s constantly working to keep the water in your home at a preferred temperature that you’ve requested.

However, to reach that temperature, the water heater has to use a fair amount of energy to do so. The tank is constantly using energy to produce your desired temp.

Fortunately, there are tankless water heaters that will spare the amount of energy until you turn it on. It won’t work on the temperature until you’ve turned the water on in your shower, sink, bathtub, etc.

Of course, the size of your tankless water heater depends on the size of your home. Be sure to research how to find the right size of water heater if you’re going the tankless route.

3. Use Recycled Materials for Construction or Remodeling

For those of you that fall into the category of undergoing construction or renovations to your home, you can reduce your footprint by using recycled materials. These materials are just as efficient and will reduce the amount of waste in landfills.

You can find recycled shingles, drywall, bricks, wood, steel, and even glass countertops that you can use. Let your contractor know (if applicable) that you’d like to explore the recycled sector and see which materials will fit in your budget.

Remember, every little bit helps. You don’t have to alter all of your amenities and home features just to appease your eco-friendly efforts.

Just perform research on what materials can be recycled, see which aspects of your home can use those materials, and apply them to your plans.

More importantly, make sure you’re recycling the materials that you or your construction crew don’t end up using. Sell your unused bricks to local pavers. Recycle the glass that you break or that goes unused.

4. Search for Energy Star

Almost everyone reading this would be able to identify the energy star logo that you can find on household appliances. However, very few can tell you what the logo means.

No matter what the appliance is, the creator of that appliance can send it in to receive a rating from Energy Star. For them to even receive a rating, that appliance has to meet a very strict set of guidelines.

All of the guidelines are used to save you (the consumer) as much energy and cost as possible. It ensures that you aren’t investing in a black hole.

Whenever the time comes for you to purchase a new appliance for your home, be sure to look for the Energy Star logo. You can even perform some research before you shop to see which models that Energy Star rated the highest.

From there, it’s all about finding an energy-efficient option that meets your preferred budget. It will be a match made in heaven!

5. Pay Closer Attention to Your Windows and Doors

The windows and doors that you install play a significant role in both your monthly energy bills and your home’s eco-friendliness.

If you were to get the wrong size or have a door/window improperly installed, it can eat away at your energy bill. For example, your heater will be forced to work twice as hard to keep the home at your preferred temp since heat is escaping through door cracks.

For that reason, you must make sure you buy the right product. For windows, make sure you’re investing in double pane windows. You might even consider triple pane to ensure it’s sealed tight.

For your doors, you want to find the right size and have proper air sealing around the doorway. As long as you do, you’ll be rewarded with a lesser energy bill year-round.

Build Your Sustainable House Plan Today

Now that you’ve seen how to build a sustainable house plan, it’s time for you to get cracking on what elements you want to implement.

Start with step one on this list by reaching out to a solar installation company and take back control of your energy supply.

Be sure to visit our website for more articles on energy-efficiency, as well as many other helpful topics!

If your kitchen needs some major updating, deciding between using a professional and doing some things yourself is a big decision. Before you start channeling your inner Joanna Gaines, there are a few DIY kitchen remodel cost considerations to keep in mind.

How much does a kitchen remodel cost? The average kitchen costs around $23,400. in the United States.

Luxury kitchens will cost closer to $68,000, on average. To help you stay on budget, we’ve rounded up some key considerations. From kitchen remodel ideas to deciding what to do yourself, here’s everything you need to know about creating a remodeling budget.

1. Your Reasons for Remodeling

Before you start picking out the best kitchen sink material, and countertops, think about your reasons for wanting to remodel your kitchen. If you’re flipping a house or you’re looking to create the kitchen of your dreams, these are two different things.

Your reasons for wanting to update your kitchen will also help you frame your budget. If you’ll be knocking down walls and moving appliances, you’ll have a bigger project on your hands. Just updating cabinets is a different sort of remodel project.

The main thing to remember is what you hope to gain from your remodel. Often times, things like more counter space, updated appliances, or fixing a bad layout are the drivers behind taking on a fixer-upper.

2. Your Budget

Once you’ve come up with your must-haves and your wish list, you can start to budget for different elements. Your overall budget can help you figure out where you can spend money. This can also help you determine where you’ll be able to ask for professional help if you need it.

If money is tight, and you’re handy, tackling much of the work yourself may save you thousands of dollars. For others, it might be best to leave things to the professionals. Wherever you fall, creating a realistic budget starts by shopping around and consulting a few local contractors to get ideas.

3. The Project Scope

The scope of your project will play a huge role in your budget. Let’s say you just want to update your countertop, kitchen sink, and appliances. You can price those out easily and get cracking. If you’re completely starting from scratch on a new kitchen, it might take a little longer to get your project outlined.

The project scope will also depend on the size of your kitchen and the location. Single-family homes, and condominiums, all have their pros and cons when it comes to your bottom line.

4. DIY or Professional

Your comfort, skill level, time, and budget will all factor into your decision to use a professional kitchen remodeler. While doing things yourself will save you a lot of money, it can also cost you a lot of time and headache if you’re unsure how to do things properly.

A professional can help you with as much of the project as you’d like. From design to picking out the finishes, the pros can help you all along the way.

DIY Kitchen Remodel Cost

While tackling a kitchen remodel can seem like a daunting project, it’s also one of the most rewarding. When it comes to resale, you’ll see at least an 83% return on your investment.

This is where any DIY kitchen remodel cost can be well worth the money. If you’re ready to start making the kitchen of your dreams, follow these easy tips to get your budget started. For more great tips and resources, visit the home section.

During the first quarter of 2020, scam emails made up an average of 54.61% of worldwide email traffic. From product ads to sophisticated phishing scams, you need to constantly guard your personal information against prying eyes.

Today’s email programs do a fair job of filtering out SPAM and other scam emails, but some still get through. It is important to be cautious when opening an email. This is a proposition that may seem daunting at first.

There is good news. There are several ways to identify and avoid phishing and other scams. Here are a few strategies you can use to help fight off SPAM.

Phishing for Information

What is phishing? Phishing is an attempt to collect personal information by disguising themselves as trustworthy companies in emails. When you receive a phishing email, it would be easy to mistake it for a legitimate email.

These types of messages can range from the notorious “Nigerian Prince” emails to a sophisticated copy of an email from your boss. They can contain deceiving language and sometimes limited personal information to draw you in.

Phishing scams come in several varieties. Email advertising is the most common, but there are a few others to watch out for. Some of these are harder than others to detect.

Credit card related scams prey on the fear of having our credit cards stolen. Scammers send email notifications pretending to be big banks or other financial institutions to get you to click on a link.

Bank related scams are similar, sometimes relying on the confusion when one bank buys another to place a sense of urgency on clicking a link. They use language that implies that you will lose your account is you do not respond and soon. The body of the email often looks sloppy, with a lot of grammar mistakes.

On occasion, it’s possible to find yourself on an unsafe website, maybe by mistyping the URL into your browser. The scammers that own these mistyped URLs put up websites that look very much like their legitimate counterparts. These sites can open pop-ups that look very legitimate.

Defense Against Scam Email

The best defense against phishing emails is to never click a link or open an attachment. These are the most common ways phishing scams get their information. If you suspect an email is a scam, there are a few things you can do.

Report the email as SPAM. All modern browsers and email clients have a way to mark a message as SPAM. They also have a way to report the phishing email to either the browser’s SPAM filters or the company that the message pretends to be from.

Many companies have dedicated phone lines and email forms to report phishing scammers that use their name and brand to get your personal information. Companies understand that scammers pose a threat to them, as well, and make sure there are channels to get the word out.

The last thing you should do when you have a suspected phishing email is to simply delete it. You also should empty your SPAM email box regularly. They can’t get your information if you don’t interact with the email at all.

Best Defense Is a Good Offense

Be skeptical of emails that ask you for personal information. Most companies will never send an email request for your information. If the email asks for any, call the official number on the statements or bills you get from the company and inform the company that a phishing attempt was made.

Another thing to do is, check with your local IT company. Many of them have solutions to help filter phishing emails before you see them. They may have specific people that are there to help with reporting the suspected scammer.

Along with this, there are ways you can take preventative measures to minimize how many phishing emails you receive. Some are more complicated than others, but all of them can help keep your email cleaner.

New types of phishing scams appear every day. Keep yourself apprised of what types of scams are out there. News sites, especially tech news sites will report on new types as they are found.

Keeping an eye on your accounts is another good way of catching illicit activity before it happens. Check your bank and credit card statements for fraud can protect from bank and credit card related phishing scans.

Other Defense Strategies

Today’s common browsers can be customized to include an anti-phishing toolbar. These scan a website against a list of known phishing sites and alert you to them. This is a good extra layer of precaution.

If you look at the URL bar while you are browsing, most trusted and secure websites will have “https” at the start of its address. This is how you know a site will most likely be safe from phishing attacks.

A few other things you can do that are smaller, yet make a huge difference in keeping yourself safe online are:

• Frequently changing your passwords
• Running a firewall or antivirus
• Keep your browser up to date
• Be wary of pop-ups
• Never give out personal information

Prudence Is Key

Falling for a scam email puts you and your information at risk from cybercriminals, hackers, and other malicious actors. Use these tips to stop and report phishing scams before they become a problem.

Are you looking for more information on staying safe online? Check out the rest of our site for more!

With millions of businesses flooding the marketplace today, it’s hard for new small companies to succeed. Despite that, every day, thousands of businesses do succeed and through their success owners get wealthy, employees get paid and several people’s “American Dreams” come to fruition.

So then, what makes the difference between a successful business and an unsuccessful one? That’s a loaded question with more angles than we can cover in this quick post.

What we can say is that successful small businesses tend to have five core qualities that you should aim to embody. Those five qualities are as follows.

1. A Customer-Centric Attitude

There are many businesses out there that bend over backward for their customers. So much so that many of them are willing to take a loss just to end a transaction on a positive note.

If you’re not among those companies that are willing to put your customer first, even when it hurts, you’re not going to win in today’s market.

There are just too many choices out there for customers to deal with a company that seems indifferent to working with them.

2. Drive

There’s a saying in business that if you’re not growing, you’re failing. The reason why that saying is true is that even businesses that are doing well, if they’re not actively working on expanding their client base, increasing their margins and doing other things to keep scaling, they’re allowing their profits to thin through inflation and their competition to catch up to them.

Don’t be that business.

Have the drive to keep improving every day and you’ll continue to enjoy strong market positioning.

3. Endurance

Successful small businesses need to be in it for the long haul. And believe us when we say that as a business owner, you’ll certainly run into issues that’ll make you want to close shop.

Customers, fads, and even whole economies come and go. When they do, your bottom line will be affected. Your ability to survive downtimes so you can profit big during positive swings will define your company’s success.

4. Creativity

Creativity empowers growth, endurance, customer service and every other must-have quality we’ve talked about on this list.

When you run into problems, always consider the unconventional solution. If you have trouble doing that, create a team of people around you that are better at out of the box thinking than you are.

5. The Right Amount of Pride

Successful small businesses have pride in what they do. They don’t want to have so much pride though that they end up drowning in it.

Your pride must never keep you from asking for help. If you don’t know how to create W2 documents, find a third-party solution. If you can’t figure out how best to market your company, work with a specialist.

Asking for assistance should never make you feel bad or devalue the worth you feel you bring to your organization.

You Can Be Just Like the Successful Small Businesses You Admire

When people get into business, they often do so because they’re inspired by successful small businesses they’ve admired. Don’t think for a second that you can’t achieve and surpass the success that your inspirations have achieved – You can!

Use our tips to help propel your momentum and feel free to learn more about running your company by diving deeper into the content on our blog.

According to the Pew Research Center between 2013 and 2018, the number of podcast listeners rose from 27% to 44% of Americans. 30% of those Americans surveyed like to listen to podcasts at least once a day. 38% of those listeners use a smartphone for listening to their podcasts.

Apple Podcasts is the platform most people use when accessing their podcasts. Most people have discovered their favorite podcasts by word of mouth and when they hear about it on another podcast.

As you can see podcasts have become a popular form of getting information. If you’re wondering how to start a podcast, you’ve come to the right place. Continue reading to find out the steps you should take.

1. Plan Out Everything

The most important step in starting a podcast is making a cohesive plan for it. You’ll want to first plan out what kind of podcast you’re looking to make. You want to choose a specific topic in order to know what target audience you’re trying to reach.

Choosing a name is just as important as it’ll be the thing people hear first when they come across your podcast or hear about it from someone else, make it stand out. Writing a description is crucial as well because it could mean the difference between sparking curiosity in someone or boring them and losing a listener.

Next up you’ll want to figure out the format you want your show to be in. How long does it need to be to get your message across?

Will you have a co-host? Will it be an interview-style podcast? These are all important questions to ask and answer before taking on the next step in the process.

2. You Can’t Forget About the Set-Up

The great thing about podcasting is that there are so many options in terms of equipment and software. You can start as basic as you want to or go full out with a professional studio.

While this might sound a bit expensive, if you’re just starting out in the podcast world, the most important piece of advice you need to hear is that getting a good microphone is crucial. Do some online research and you’ll be able to find a reliable microphone within your budget. Remember that even if you have an amazing podcast, no one will want to listen if you have grainy audio.

In terms of software, a starting point can be the free software you can get on your computers, these will differ depending on whether you have a MAC or PC.

3. It’s Time to Record

If you’re at the beginning of your podcast journey, you’ll probably find yourself recording from home. If you don’t have a professional studio, a makeshift studio can work perfectly. You’ll want to play with setups to find what captures the sound best, some people seem to find that recording in a closet or setting up thick blankets around them work best to block out any exterior sound.

Remember to always start a recording session with a script of the episode so it can flow easily. After you’ve set up your space and equipment, you’re ready to start recording.

You’ll want to keep your microphone at an angle and try not to touch it as you’re recording to avoid unwanted sounds. You can use services like Podcast in a Box to help you get started and to figure out the best strategies for recording an amazing podcast.

4. Production Is Key

If you’re starting a podcast it’ll usually be because you have a lot of great things to say but sometimes it’ll take some time to get all your points across. This is where the production comes in.

One of the best tips for starting a podcast is to give editing as much attention as anything else. No one is perfect and will hit all the points seamlessly on the first try, editing helps cut out the unwanted pauses and times where you’ve repeated yourself or spoken over a guest.

The best format to follow is to record everything in one run and then go back in and edit out all the mistakes. You can also pause the recording and restart to redo a specific section you’ve messed up.

5. Presentation Is Important Too

While podcasts are all about listening, visual presentation matters too. Creating dynamic cover art for your podcast will intrigue people as they’re scrolling and looking for a new podcast to listen to.

The cover art is also the image that you’ll post on social media when sharing news about your podcast and we all know the power of social media in getting the word out. There are many different design platforms you can try out to get the cover art you’re happiest with.

Finding a great intro and outro song is important as well. You want to start off and end with some great music that’ll leave people wanting more. You have the option of asking friends or looking for royalty-free music online but it’s important that it sounds as clean and crisp as can be.

6. Do You Know Where You’ll Publish?

Making a great podcast won’t mean anything if you don’t choose an equally great host provider. It’s important that you choose a platform that will publish each episode of your podcast on a different RSS feed and one that makes it easy to manage.

It’s crucial that you submit your podcast to all the directories you possibly can, this will ensure the most engagement. If you’re wondering how to start a podcast on apple, it’s as simple as making an account on Apple Podcasts and submitting your RSS feed URL.

7. Share Everywhere

The host providers you use for publishing your podcasts can help you create snippets you can share online to get people excited about new episodes of your show. Creating a website for your podcast is also key to building an audience.

Social media is a great tool for getting recognition, make sure you’re talking about your podcast on all platforms. Collaborating with other shows, once you get your feet off the ground, is another great way to find new listeners for your show.

Now You Know How to Start a Podcast

If you’re looking for information on how to start a podcast, we hope this guide has proven helpful. Follow these tips and you’ll be making podcasts like a pro in no time. Check out some of our other blogs to learn more.