Has your business ever been hit with a fine because it was out of compliance from one of regulatory bodies, and if you maybe had the time between getting your business stable or profitable, you would’ve had time to understand the regulations and implement the changes to avoid the fine?
There are a lot of steps to staying compliant or at least giving it your due diligence. It all starts with knowing your regulations. It’s very hard to follow the rules if you don’t know them. Don’t assume you know them, take the time, and look at the guidelines specifically, ignorance is no excuse with regulatory bodies and review for any changes on a regular basis. Then schedule regular audits of the processes, systems, and data handling procedures; It’s better to be proactive then reactive.
Document all your efforts to stay compliant, this will at least show you’ve made a best effort in the process. Employee training is key to all of this. If your staff doesn’t know what’s going on or how to handle the rules problems will arise quickly.
Keeping the data you collect secure is a big deal for regulatory rules. This is where a local MSP can really help take the burden off you as a business owner, but don’t slack on it either. Implement strong security measures that include firewall systems, encryption, and secure access to sensitive data, along with regular backups and software updates.
Of all that I’ve spoken about, the data protection is the most important, especially with the frequent cyber-attacks targeting small businesses and having a local MSP deal with all that is a small businesses best option.
On the next episode get organized and stay that way with your MSPs help.