Welcome back for this week’s aMAZZZING blog! Pun totally intended… By now you should know what Mazzzing is all about. From the tech software itself, the security it offers, and the customer experience it provides, there truly is nothing comparable. Last week’s article dove into different waters and explored green computing and cloud storage. We really want to explain things that you WANT to know, or rather SHOULD know. So, consider this an open forum to ask all and any questions or suggest topics you’d love to know more about. The intent of our blogs is to really connect with all those reading, simplify and provide a clear understanding of technological concepts - like how things work, in a user-friendly way. We aim to give real life, comparable examples of why things work the way they do and talk about things like what antivirus protection really means. I say this all because, well when I joined the Mazzzing team, I had absolutely no idea what I was getting into. I did not know a thing about green computing, or the purpose of VPN. I came from a human resources background, and I just knew VPN as the software that allowed me to work from home. All the ins and out of what it meant for my security, privacy and abilities were not even a thought.
This week I am here to share my experience, what my first 60 days with Mazzzing has been like and what I have learned. I am here to tell you all about some of the important things I have learned that I truly believe anyone who is not “tech savvy” should have at minimal, basic knowledge about.
Let’s jump right in, on my very first day I very quickly learned that this isn’t like a typical workplace, you know the ones that talk about workplace culture and say that they are doing all the things that make their team feel inclusive and like they aren’t just a number… but really their team members go home miserable every night… I am sure we have all worked for a company like that before. The first day was different, I was immediately submerged into a company that truly cares about my comfort, well-being, and happiness, I have yet to doubt that for a second. I can truly say I felt just at peace Day 60 as I did Day 1.
Working alongside our CTO, he wasted no time in explaining the why behind everything he did. Without getting annoyed by my 100 questions, he patiently answered each and every question giving me an in-depth explanation and making comparisons that some of us non techy people could understand. In the last 60 days I have learned and retained probably more than my 6 years of post-secondary taught me.
Enough about my experience and how awesome Mazzzing has made me feel, I want to take this opportunity to really enlighten our community with some concepts that I have learned and things I believe would be valuable for you, the not so tech savvy person to know. Below you will find a compiled list!
1. What malware is and why it's so important to have a general understanding about – I promise, educating yourself on this could save you and/or your company from a ransomware attack. Ransomware is a type of malware that blocks user access to their own system. Did you know every minute, FOUR companies fall victim to ransomware attacks resulting in paying the intruder ridiculous dollars to get back what is essentially there’s…? With no guarantee of it happening again.
2. Public “Free Wi-Fi” is a NO GO, it offers zero security and leaves room for so many mobile intruders. I mean maybe not a total no go, but definitely consider what you’ll be doing on your phone prior to connecting to the unsecure network. It may be convenient and allow you the opportunity to browse through Instagram while waiting for your meal or drinks and avoid using our cell phone data, however, utilizing an outside ISP that tracks and records all our activity… not such a good idea. But we’ll talk about this soon so stay tuned.
3. Using the same password for everything because it’s easy to remember is the first of your long line of computing problems. I know this sounds basic, but a lot more people do this than you could imagine. I know it creates simplicity, I once did this to. I can guarantee most of us are guilty of this. Do me a favour after you read this and go switch up some of your passwords a bit.
4. Clear your cookies and cache, storing those passwords or card numbers may be convenient but is NOT the secure solution
5. There are three major antivirus programs available, however… not all three ever have 100% antivirus solutions. In order to 100% protect your computer, you would need to have ALL THREE installed.
These are some of the top five more technical suggestions I could make, but it doesn’t stop there. Mazzzing has not only taught me some of the things listed above, but has exposed me and allowed me the opportunity to see what it really is like to build a business.
So many times, businesses fail, 50% of businesses, they fail within the first five years because so many businesses owners think they have all the answers. They jump into it with the mindset that they will achieve all their goals because they love what they do and they know everything to set them up for success, and while that’s great, the truth is, no one knows everything… This leads me to my next point.
1. Building a business requires patience, endless workhours, and most importantly the ability to understand that titles don’t mean anything, anything at all. Always remembering that whether you’re the CEO, CTO, Executive Assistant, Sales team member, or web developer, everyone’s knowledge and/or opinion are equally important. We all specialize in different areas and hold expertise on different topics, however what makes success is bringing all these people in together and not only listening to their opinions or suggestions but hearing them.
2. 9-5 workdays are so passé – I’m not saying this in encouraging business owners to let their team run free and work whenever they choose, I’m saying this because holding trust in your team and giving them flexibility will allow you to reach new levels of success. Everyone works best differently, some at 5am and some at 10pm. Setting deadlines as a team and working together to achieve them is what matters most. Giving your team that kind of flexibility, makes them feel more independent and sparks creativity that they may not have at 2 in the afternoon on a Monday.
In some, the success of your business is really what you make of it, if you have the mindset that you will achieve all these wonderful things on your own, while we can all hope for that for you, you’re probably going to eventually reach a point where you need to call upon someone else’s expertise, and I mean what’s the difference if you acknowledge that, accept it and appreciate it right from the get-go and not 5 years later on the verge of a collapse.
These are just some of the most important things that come to mind as I write this, the list is endless, and I mean we want to leave opportunity for other conversations and blogs.
I hope that while so many of these points you may have known that you hear them rather than just listening to them this week. I promise, you won’t lose anything other than maybe a few minutes of your time. Or it could totally change things for you. I’ll leave that up to you.
Catch you next week on Mazzzing’s Monday Blog posts. Have a wonderful week.
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