Entrepreneurs would rather concentrate their efforts on growing their businesses than on managing the tactical yet important tasks of staying compliant, managing talent, arranging financing and attending to information technology needs. Ensuring that these critical backbone requirements are taken care of is crucial if a company is to stay competitive, productive and trustworthy—in other words, to be successful in the marketplace. How do company owners make this happen without taking their eyes of the core business?
To help answer this question, we interviewed 11 entrepreneurs of very small companies in seven countries across a range of industries. We asked them about the risks they face and how they manage those risks, particularly Internet security and data protection. Not one was entirely confident that his or her safeguards were adequate. Most have pieced together defenses that they recognize will need to be enhanced if their firms continue to grow.