Keeping your files safe is critical - loss of data can be catastrophic, so putting backups in place is non-optional to keep your business sustainable.
Putting a back-up strategy in place is one of those things most people only think about after they lose data.
And you can guarantee, that the time that you wished you’d had a backup of your files, is the moment you needed one most.
When you’re employed, there’s probably a team of people who are responsible for making sure that all of the data and work for your organisation is safely secured in the case of an emergency.
When you’re self-employed - this task falls to you.
Fire, water damage, hardware failure, theft, cybercrime, or plain simple user error - they can all lead to loss of data, and your hard work
Losing data isn’t just a minor frustration, but can lead to client facing problems too.
What if your machine dies a couple of days before a major deadline? What if the project you’re maintaining for a client gets lots? What if you’re keeping track of data over a longer period of time, and that goes up in flames?
It’s not a rare issue either.
Almost half (48%) of small and medium-sized businesses in the UK have lost or lost access to company or customer data in the last five years.
3.8 million UK businesses don’t have a strong backup procedure in place, and more worryingly, 60% of businesses who suffered from data losses shut down within six months of the issue.
Backing up your work is critical.
There are a wide range of approaches to backing up your data, but the most commonly recommended concept is “3-2-1”: three copies of your data, stored on (at least) two different types of device, with one of these located offsite.
1/ Browse some of the resources below to find good recommendations from quality sources of software and solutions - and aim to understand the concept of “3-2-1”.
2/ You may already have some of the tools in place to keep your files safe - such as generous storage options on your Google Drive or an personal Dropbox account. External hard-drives are hugely affordable too and tax-deductable.
3/ Remember, you don’t need to pay ongoing subscriptions or service charges - it could be as simple as purchasing an external hard-drive and copying all your files over on a regular basis. However, many paid services may offer automation and peace of mind, so you can set and almost forget.
4/ Put something in your diary to regularly review your backups, and do a test restore - that dusty hard-drive you once copied your files onto back in 2008 isn’t necessarily the most reliable option.
5/ Keep an eye on any contractual requirements in your agreements with clients - some types of information might need to be deleted after you’ve finished working together, some types of information need to be stored in a particular and safe way, and some types of data will require you to have additional measures in place.
6/ Consider taking out insurance policies to protect you against the loss of data and client work - so that should the worst happen, you are protected financially and legally.
I was a new Mum juggling late night feeds and deadlines so I thought I would bring the laptop to bed and get some more work done before the midnight feed …
I fell asleep (of course!) with the laptop on the bed atop one of those fake fur throws… the laptop overheated!
What the £&-7:!:!!!?
1) Don’t bring your work to bed 2) Laptops were never really built for laps anyway.