Big thanks to Scott and Jennifer Fontana, owners of Cristophe Salon Newport Beach, for their guest blog post highlighting the importance of vision.

What does vision mean to you? Does your vision reflect something that you’ve seen in a dream? Is it descriptive of your ideals and priorities? Is it representative of a unique, core set of principles that you stand for?

Vision is something similar to that of a manifestation; something that you don’t think about constantly and set goals for. Rather, it is something that you relay to the universe that makes its way back to you unexpectedly.

Prior to assuming ownership of Cristophe Salon Newport Beach in July 2010, we put together a list of things that we would like to happen in the future. Such things included a successful business, four loving children, signature product lines, a diverse team of professionals, and a true work-life balance – all of which we have been granted. We did not write out specific to-do’s for these things to happen; they happened because we took the time to develop a clear vision of what we wanted to happen in our future. We relayed these desires to the universe on a piece of paper years ago and when we looked at it recently, we saw that every single item on our list came back to us; our vision was achieved.

When developing vision, you must work through three stages:

1. Conscious: At this stage, you are capable of having an awareness of your environment, as well as your own existence, sensations and thoughts. This is the stage where goals are oftentimes put into action and achieved.
2. Subconscious: This is the stage where dreams, feelings and emotions regarding the future come into play. During this stage, people often become too emotionally involved with their future plans, and as a result, their vision never happens. This is why it’s important to leave out all emotion when it comes to your vision and avoid overthinking it. If you get emotional about or overthink your vision, there is a significant chance that it will not come true.
3. Super Conscious: At this stage, both the possibility and the probability of creating a vision can be conceived with your mind. In other words, the super conscious makes your vision a reality in the physical world, even if it takes several years. In order to better understand the conscious, subconscious and super conscious and how each ties in with vision, we recommend reading The Secret, a best-selling self-help book by Rhonda Byrne.

If you’re still confused about what vision is, compare it to fate. Fate predetermines a course of events and defines them as inevitable, similar to that of a vision. With both fate and vision, you never know when a series of events may happen; however, rest assured that it will happen when you least expect, as long you are clear about what you want.

As a small business owner, what is your vision for the future? Leave a comment below and let us know your take on vision.

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Let’s all focus on supporting the vitality of small businesses in our communities. With all the attention on Wall Street, the Fortune 500, and the global conglomerates, many of us forget the critical role played by small businesses in our economy. Check out these important facts*.

Small businesses —

• Represent more than 99.7% of all U.S. employers Employ half of all private sector workers (130 million jobs)
• Employ 39% of workers in high-tech jobs Pay 44.3% of the total U.S. private payroll
• Produce more than 50% of U.S. nonfarm GDP, or $6 trillion

Small businesses account for —

• 53% of all retail sales
• 47% of all wholesale sales
• 25% of all manufacturing
• 97% of all U.S. exports
• Produce 13-14 times more patents per employee than large firms

[*Based on information compiled from the Small Business Administration, Office of Advocacy, Small Business Profile, October 2009]

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OC Business Owners: you have the opportunity to establish a new client and a long lasting relationship by reaching out to the new resident population  shar.es/rXHqC

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By: John S. Pitts

Information security has become an increasingly hot topic in the media. Businesses are working to implement protective measures that ensure both company and employee non-public personal information (NPI) stays private, as its dissemination could have negative effects.

Not familiar? NPI data falls into four categories: individual personal information, corporate and individual financial information, personal educational information and personal medical information. All information is protected from disclosure by both state and federal laws. Not sure what type of information falls into these categories? Check out a few examples below:

• Individual Personal Information: Have you ever provided your bank account number for direct deposit? Social security number for tax purposes? Date of birth for employee identification? Then, your employer is holding individual personal information that is protected under NPI laws. What could happen if this information wasn’t protected and were to be leaked? Your bank account could be drained, your identity stolen and government records jeopardized.
• Corporate and Individual Financial Information: Financial institutions collection personal financial information from clients in the course of doing business. However, not only can financial NPI impact individuals, but the dissemination of financial information on a corporate level could have an impact on the company’s stock and lead to claims of insider trading. Additionally, under new laws, CEOs of financial institutions can now be held personally accountable for NPI leaks.
• Personal Educational Records: Schools and higher education institutions keep highly sensitive records of students. Under the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act, these records are protected from public disclosure and may not be disclosed to third parties unless an exception exists, such as transferring schools, law enforcement and judicial order or subpoena. Imagine if this information were to be made public, it could jeopardize an individual’s future career and education. Additionally, student records also include data covered under the individual personal information category like social security numbers.
• Personal Medical Records: All patient medical records fall under NPI protection whether maintained by physician, hospital, ancillary service, business service or insurance company. Curious how this can impact your professional life? Imagine if your company’s insurance agency leaked all your employee’s medical information, from test results to physician visits, and it suddenly popped up on your company’s shared drive.

As a business owner, one of my most important security objectives has been to implement measures to keep NPI secure. I have always wondered why employers would risk a data theft or breach when there are simple ways to protect data.  How can your business ensure that it is doing its part to stay secure?

• Use Firewalls: With the increasing number of computer hackers and identity theft victims, it is imperative that you provide your company with reliable protection by using firewalls. These can either be software-based or hardware-based and are used to help keep a network secure. Ultimately, firewalls analyze data packets and determine what information should be allowed through, based on a predetermined rule set.
• Implement Virtual Private Networks: Virtual Private Networks (VPN) provide security through tunneling protocols and security procedures such as encryption. For example, a VPN could be used to securely connect the branch offices of an organization to a head office network through the public Internet.
• Employ System Monitoring: A system monitor is hardware- or software-based and used to monitor resources and ensure that non-public files are not being shared without consent. It provides security for you, your employees and your business by observing computer activity on a 24-hour basis.
• Impose Specific Confidentiality Obligations: These obligations can be highlighted in confidentiality letters, agreements and notices – whether it is on documents, faxes or emails. In doing this, you establish an understanding with your employees, as well as any other third party, as to the seriousness of confidentiality in the workplace.
• Screen, Inspect and Protect Your Email: We use WatchGuard® XCS at Tekcetera, it delivers supreme email security and controls the traffic entering and exiting your company’s email networks. Its main function is to act as a perimeter protector.

What does your business do to protect NPI? Leave a comment below and share your best practices.

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OC Business Owners: you have the opportunity to establish a new client and a long lasting relationship by reaching out to the new resident population  shar.es/rXHqC

Need more exposure for your small business? Advertise with OCRG and Welcome Express!