Guest Post by Derek Goodman
Many companies saw slackened sales during the pandemic, but countless other industries continued to thrive. As society begins to reopen and the tide starts to turn toward growth and rejuvenation, you might be toying with the idea of becoming an entrepreneur. It’s an intimid
ating time to jump feet-first into a new business. Still, there are countless upsides to taking the risk. Learn why now may be the best time to start your cybersecurity business.
Business Ownership is More Affordable Than Ever
From bailout programs to startup funds, the pandemic has helped cash flow from government agencies and myriad other organizations – and that money is winding up in small business owners’ pockets.
No matter your niche, finding startup capital may be the easiest it’s ever been due to the pandemic. Not only are loan and grant programs available for struggling businesses, but local governments and programs aim to help new business owners launch their dream biz, too. Plus, it may cost less than you think to start a business; 21 percent of business owners invest less than $5K in their companies (Wylie, 2020).
Technology is Keeping Up (And so are the Providers)
The move to remote work is one positive side effect of the pandemic. Though it’s required some adjustment on the part of professionals and business owners everywhere, moving to online work has felt relatively seamless compared to yesteryear.
Technology is keeping up with the times, and pandemic-era pricing often means high-quality tools are available at a fraction of the price (or at least a free trial) (Cox, Turner 2021). You (and your team) can use video conferencing platforms, project management apps, document sharing systems, and more.
The result? More efficient work that’s just as collaborative as it would be in an office. In fact, some teams found they were more creative (and enjoyed shorter meetings) due to pandemic restrictions (Spataro, 2020). Connectivity is crucial for remote teams, but entrepreneurs who go it alone will also see how a suite of high-tech tools keep the business flowing.
Plus, automation can literally keep working while you sleep. Whether you automate client onboarding or set up a chatbot to entertain online customers in different time zones while you’re away, technology helps you run your business more easily than ever before.
Technology Means More Digital Diversity
For budding entrepreneurs in the cybersecurity genre, business is positively booming. For one thing, pandemic-era business pivots mean many companies are transitioning their operations partly or entirely to online platforms. At the same time, consumers are demanding higher quality services, products, and security protections.
Consumers are seriously concerned about their privacy these days, and they were even pre-pandemic. As of 2019, 79 percent of Americans were concerned over how companies and the government used their data (Auxier, Rainie, Anderson, Perrin, Kumar, Turner, 2019).
In addition, COVID-19 has had an impact on cybersecurity, as the concept continues to be redefined. More online activity also means greater hazards in this modern era.
Now may be the best time to establish your managed services or malware cleanup business. Applications that help detect malicious cyber observables are also in high demand – so your great idea might easily find a home.
The enhanced digital diversity of COVID-era consumers means there are more people online, everywhere. Fortunately, even smaller companies (and entrepreneurs in other fields) are noticing that cybersecurity is more than just a trend. That means more potential clients for your business – and more cash in your pocket.
Outsourcing Can Happen Lightening Fast
While building a business takes plenty of effort and dedication, outsourcing can help simplify things. It’s unfortunate that unemployment reached an all-time high during the pandemic, but the plus for business owners is that many talented professionals are freelancing in their spare time. The increase in freelancers from 2019 to 2020 amounts to an eight percent boost; 36 percent of workers report working freelance full-time (Berliner, 2020).
You can hire an expert for every organizational need without onboarding a full-time employee. Outsourcing is highly beneficial because:
- You can handle higher-level tasks while your team covers daily essentials.
- Delegating means less stress and potentially more free time.
- Outsourcing to an expert who can do things you can’t (yet) ensures a quality result.
You’ll likely find that hiring freelancers helps preserve your startup funds, too. Project-based tasks are the most cost-effective to outsource, especially when it comes to brand-building. Consider hiring a visual artist to create eye-catching ads. A branding professional can organize your promotional strategy. And a website developer can get your organization online in a snap.
It’s understandable if you feel apprehensive about investing cash, energy, and most of your free time to growing a post-pandemic business. But considering the present economic situation, you might be taking a bigger risk if you continue sitting on your big cybersecurity business concept.
Looking for ways to stay connected with the cybersecurity industry while growing your new business? Visit The Cyber Resilience Institute for up-to-date resources, tools, and more.
Resources:
Auxier, B., Rainie, L., Anderson, M., Perrin, A., Kumar, M., Turner, E. (2019, November 15). Americans and Privacy: Concerned, Confused and Feeling Lack of Control Over Their Personal Information. Pew Research Center. https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2019/11/15/americans-and-privacy-concerned-confused-and-feeling-lack-of-control-over-their-personal-information/
Berliner, U. (2020, September 16). Jobs In The Pandemic: More Are Freelance And May Stay That Way Forever. NPR. https://www.npr.org/2020/09/16/912744566/jobs-in-the-pandemic-more-are-freelance-and-may-stay-that-way-forever
Cox, A., Turner, B. (2021, March 9). Best free software for small business in 2021. TechRadar. https://www.techradar.com/best/best-free-software-small-business
Spataro, J. (2020, April 22). How remote work impacts collaboration: findings from our team. Microsoft. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoft-365/blog/2020/04/22/how-remote-work-impacts-collaboration-findings-team/
Wylie, M. (2020, January 15). How Much it Costs to Start a Business in Every Industry. LendingTree. https://www.lendingtree.com/business/startup-costs-by-industry/
Image via Unsplash
Jane Ginn of Cyber Threat Intelligence Network, Inc. serves as Secretary of the OASIS Cyber Threat Intelligence (CTI) and the Threat Actor Context (TAC) Technical Committees. She joined the CTI TC at its inception more than five years ago, and has contributed hundreds of documents to the CTI document repository. As an ardent supporter of the TC’s mission, Jane’s work has greatly impacted the CTI community.
