Business Security

Today’s episode is all about true crime. Tom and Vicki talk about the new Netflix docuseries "Crime Scene: the vanishing at Cecil Hotel. It's the 2013 story of Elisa Lam, a 21 year old college student from Canada who went missing while on a solo trip to LA. She was staying in the Cecil Hotel. Her body was found 2 weeks later in a water tank on top of the hotel. There was a lot of craziness that happened and an infamous video that was captured in the elevator. Ok so what does this have to do with business security? Everything. Looking at this from a security perspective the hotel left everything up for grabs. From doors not being properly locked to guests having access to the roof. The Cecil is a perfect example of "everything is ok until it's not". Listen to this episode to find out more!

Tom and Vicki interview IT security expert Ben Schmerler, the Director of IT Operations at DP Solutions, an IT firm based out of Baltimore, MD. Ben is able to give informative answers to the cyber questions that you NEED to know. What is phishing? How does it work? What types are there? What does this mean for you? How do you protect your business? What are signs? Tune in now to listen!

Today's episode is a little different- We're just doing a recap to make sure everything all in once place! Here we go! The bottom line is risk management. I know we keep bringing that up but it is really vital to you and how your business operates today. Especially in the state of the world today, Most risk is completely unpredictable and all we can do is prepare for what might happen . In an earlier episode we were talking about how to transfer some of that risk. Take some of the risk and direct it to your customers. The potential of bad things that could happen allows you to charge premium pricing to your customers. Rolling in the cost to your current rate can help you offset some of your risk and create an internal insurance policy. Well what about the economy? We are giving you permission to go from defensive to offensive. It’s ok to increase your prices, it’s ok to push forward! One of the other episodes we talked about how to transfer your risk using legal contracts. One of the biggest things we wanted to hit home is that your legal documents are a living breathing document and need to be adjusted as things change. If your service agreement is from 20 years ago when your doors opened it’s time to take another look. Leaving holes in your agreements with customers and vendors can hurt your business tremendously if something does happen. We also touched  on lowering your  business risk with insurance. We even had a great interview for you all (just go back one episode) with Butch Kreiger from First national insurance. He was able to give us some great insight into the insurance world. Essentially what it boils down to when it comes to insurance is to make sure your assets are covered. Especially with this pandemic going on – make sure you do a double take and look at what your policy says and adjust where it’s needed. Tune in now to hear more about what you can do!

Today Vicki and Tom talk to Butch Kriger, he is a VP at First National Insurance and gives some more detailed information on how insurance helps your business.  Insurance is a great way to manage your risks. Butch helps us understand by giving us insurance 101, and explaining what exactly it means for us and why businesses should have it and have the right insurance. Making insurance part of your business plan is vital to ensure you are able to lower your business risk. Understanding your policy and choosing the right broker, someone you trust, will help you manage your risk. Tune in to learn more! 

Tom and Vicki are back after their break and are helping you manage your business security through legal risk management.  Talking about contracts and keeping your legal ducks in a row is going to help your business tremendously. Making sure that your current contracts and statement of work for your clients are updated and include any current risks that COVID may bring. Many people think that their contracts were written once years and years ago when they started their business and they should be fine for the length of their business duration. Not necessarily true. The outside world brings risks everyday and we as business owners and operators need to be versatile with their mindset and making sure their business is flexible to face the new issues that arise.  Have you legally been stagnant? Have you had the same legal documents for years? Tune in now! 

Today is a special episode- you get Vicki solo talking about some of the things you can do to help build your business strategy in 2021.   The new year is just around the corner and  what have you done to plan for it? In theory, 2021 sounds great. But it’s going to be  just as much of a disaster if you don’t have a plan of action for your business. Here’s a couple things to think about to help build your business strategy for the new year:   Focus on what you can do. Focusing on what you can control is going to help you view the world a little differently.  Be a valuable resource for your customers. Being a beacon of information is the best way to sell.  Create a backup plan. What kind of scenarios might you run into? Creating a plan for these will mentally prepare you for multiple scenarios and help you be versatile when facing a problem. Develop a people strategy. Your most important assets are your people. Make sure you plan for your people to be a priority. Maintaining a strong corporate culture is vital to the success of your people and ultimately your business.   Want to learn more? Click on the play button and have a listen! Also visit our website at www.defiantenterprises.com for more information!

Tom and Vicki are getting into the insurance portion of risk transfer. Last episode they talked about how to offset your risk to your clients and learning to get your business mindset from defensive to offensive.  Risk is still a nasty four-letter word we are all learning to deal with- in a new way. What does that mean for you? What does insurance have to do with anything? With insurance premiums rising and you not knowing how to cope, how can you work with your insurance companies to manage risk ? Managing risk through insurance is making sure you understand what your policy currently is and what it should be. COVID has changed the world, which means it has also changed your policy. Have you talked to your insurance agent to make sure your current policy is still applicable? Tune in to learn other ways that your insurance can help manage risk in your business. For more information visit www.defiantenterprises.com and make sure you subscribe!  

Today Tom and Vicki are getting into risk transfer. With everything being uncertain, Business Security is switching things up a little and getting into something that is going on in today’s world. When COVID happened, not many people knew what it meant for them, their families and their businesses. So many lost jobs, companies went under and organizations had to run lean and almost everyone still employed had to learn how to work at home. Risk is a nasty 4 letter word were all learning to deal with and what does it mean for you? That’s all we are worried about right? What does it mean for you and your business? How do we deal with risk transfer to better minimize our risk? What does all of this mean? Hit play to find out! If you’re struggling with keeping your business afloat during the pandemic and have questions- we encourage you to reach out! Visit www.defiantenterprises.com and send us a message!

In this episode, Tom and Vicki are getting into risk management and the four main ways to manage it. Whether you're a single person running a one-person operation or you are the CEO of a large company, risk is a dirty 4 letter word that plays a large part of what you need to do day to day.  What is risk management? In a very simplistic answer, risk management is a fancy term for just trying to find the likelihood that bad things could happen and finding strategies on how to manage those bad things. How do we start to do that? By answering these questions: Why should we protect or mitigate risk against any assets to begin with?  the how so after we've determine the Y and the what finally we need to find possible solutions to protect these assets and find that strategy that makes the most sense to us really need to go through and ask is what assets are we going to protect  After you answer those questions, there are 4 main ways to manage risk: Accept: not trying to avoid or mitigate a risk but choose to deal with it Avoid: risks that have a high probability of great impact sometimes should be avoided completely Reduce: having a plan in place to reduce the effect of a specific risk Transfer: Transferring the particular risk to another party What does all of this boil down to? Have a plan for when bad sh*t happens.   To learn more about risk and how to manage it, tune into this episode! You can also find more by visiting our website www.defiantenterprises.com or sending us a note vyassem@defiantenterprises.com!

In this episode Vicki goes solo! She gives you some tips and ways to lower your risk and exposure of COVID during the Thanksgiving holiday. Here’s a couple low risk options to help keep you, your family and your co workers safe during turkey day: Hosting a virtual meal for extended family and friends. Preparing traditional dishes to deliver safely to family and neighbors. Shopping Black Friday sales online instead of at the mall. Catching football games and parades at home. Having a mini- feast at your home? No Thanksgiving is complete without the food!  Plan ahead! Go grocery shopping during off peak hours.-Maintain safe social distancing- remember that 6 feet is probably farther than you think. It’s about 2 shopping carts long. Having family come to your home? Plan your feast in an outdoor setting Use Plastic dinnerware, paper Napkins and paper towels Keep Alcohol-based hand sanitizer around for easy use Disinfectant wipes readily available for clean up Separate coolers with ice to keep food and drinks cold Avoid sharing food- if you have multiple families ,each family household should bring its own food and drinks. Another tip is -keep the gathering short! This year it’s recommended that we decrease the amount of time we spend together. Catching up, having a good time and enjoying each other is what this holiday is all about. But don’t be afraid to let your family know when it’s time to go. The most important is to stay current on COVID symptoms! Make sure you know what they are and STAY HOME if you might be experiencing some. It could save a life. Tune in to learn more! For more resources check out Defiant Enterprises' social media and website, www.defiantenterprises.com. 

This episode Tom and Vicki talk about the maintenance concept of CPTED and why you need to keep up on it for your business!  What is Maintenance? Maintenance is showing visitors that there is ownership to a property. Why is that important? It refers back to the broken window theory. Think about an abandoned house.. over growth, graffiti, busted windows.. no one is watching it and people can do whatever they want. Broken window theory.. broken window will entice vandals to break another. There is an Umbrella Concept of Maintenance Applied to Physical Security and All CPTED Components: Natural Access Control Ensure all environmental strategies implemented are properly maintained to perform the intended objective – to control human and vehicular movement throughout your property and building. Natural Surveillance Ensure all environment strategies implemented are properly maintained to perform the intended objective – to enhance the ability of people within your organization to clearly see what is happening around them – called situational awareness, as well as strategically placing “eyes” on identified vulnerabilities.   Territorial Reinforcement Ensure all environment strategies implemented are properly maintained to perform the intended objective – to reinforce property lines between public and private property as well as restricted and non-restricted areas Tune in to learn more about the key concepts and what you can do today to protect your business! Also check out our website at www.defiantenterprises.com!     

Tom and Vicki take some time to interview Jack Hendrickson of Rupert Landscaping. Jack has 11 years in Landscaping and has a BS in Business Marketing from Sailsbury University.  Why should you tune in? Jack talks to the Business Security team about different ways that your landscaping can effect your property's security efforts. Digging into the four principals of CPTED (crime prevention through environmental design): 1. Natural Surveillance 2. Natural Access Control 3. Territorial Reinforcement 4. Maintenance Jack can help us better understand what all of this is through real world experiences. Helping create a picture to better put these concepts into perspective for everyone!  This is a great episode you don't want to miss! If you need more information visit our website at www.defiantenterprises.com! 

Today we are diving feet first into what territorial reinforcement is. To recap- it is one of the 4 principles of CPTED. What are the 4 Principals? Maintenance Natural surveillance Natural access control Territorial reinforcement            What is Territorial Reinforcement?                      It is creating a clear distinction between public and private. It’s a Physical design that can create or extend influence. In this setting, users develop a sense of territorial control, while offenders perceive this control and are discouraged from their intentions. Territorial reinforcement is promoted by features that define property lines and distinguish private spaces from public spaces, such as landscape plantings, pavement design, gateway treatments, and fences.           What does this mean to business owners and operators?           It is the natural way of separating public versus private property. Internally and externally.  An example is adding mulch or gravel as opposed to Grass that show a difference in texture as well as color. This helps to represent what may be a barrier visually when you're on the property. You may not completely understand the intention but there is a purpose behind it. There may be different ways to enforce this based on the property you are at. Multi family versus a business park environment.           Want to learn more about Territorial Reinforcement and learn about ways you can implement it in your business today? Listen to the podcast! Tune in now! And take a trip to our website www.defiantenterprises.com

Today we are taking it off the rails to talk about Halloween safety! Now we know that 2020 has been nothing short of a sht* show- And that is not excluding Halloween, those with their own little monsters, some of you may or may not be trick or treating- but , here’s a couple tips to help keep them safe during this scary Halloween holiday. How do you keep them safe when it comes to candy? 1.Check labels If your child has a food allergy or sensitivity, it is important to read the labels on the candy to make sure the allergen is not present in the treat. In the case of homemade goods that your child may receive, it is best to not let the child consume it at all. 2.No snacking while trick-or-treating It is tempting to want to snack on some of the candy while collecting it but do not allow children to do it. Make sure you do not send kids out hungry, feed them a snack or light meal prior to trick-or-treating and let them know that they are not allowed to eat any of their candy until you inspect it. 3.Look at trick-or-treating candy carefully When expecting candy, look for discoloration, tears in wrappers, an unusual appearance or tiny pinholes. If the candy looks tampered with in anyway, throw it away. When in doubt throw it out! And don’t let your little ghouls and goblins accept anything that isn’t commercially wrapped! 4.Choking hazards: If you have tiny monsters, make sure you inspect your little one’s candy for any choking hazards. Peanuts, gum, hard candies, small toys.     How do you safely host Halloween?? Keeping your little ones and your neighbor's little ones safe during this crazy COVID Halloween is extremely important! Here's somethings you can do to help! Make sure you create a clear path for people to come onto your property. Using lines is a great way to do this! Position yourself on your property where you can still monitor but are still social distancing.   Want some more info? Hit play! You can also visit defiantenterprises.com for more information and to book your free call to talk about how you can help keep your business safe!

On today’s episode, Tom and Vicki get into another one of the CPTED principals. What is natural access control? What does it mean? How can it help my business? This principle relies on using pathways, lighting and other means to direct traffic and define spaces for use.              Natural access control is one of the 4 main topics of CPTED, to recap the 4 ways are :             -Maintenance             - Natural Access control             -Territorial Reinforcement             - Natural Surveillance What is natural access in Freedman talk? It is using natural ways to enhance protection strategies to enhance crime prevention. When we go to access control- our minds automatically go to electronic. But using CPTED, we can cut down on the technology or help enhance it. Some of the features are more budget friendly than having to go through a large technology outlet and are available to you right now! What’s the difference between natural access control and natural surveillance? Natural Surveillance is about enhancing situational awareness. Positioning your building and people to be more aware of their surroundings. Natural access control uses natural ways that can limit or control human foot traffic. Real Life examples:             - adding barriers and fencing             - rocks vs grass in landscaping             - the maze at the bank to get to the teller Natural vs. Electronic access control: Often, this is not a one or another scenario. In most scenarios you will see both go hand in hand to reinforce the best security options. What can you do today to help your business? Listen to the podcast now to find out! You can also visit our website at www.defiantenterprises.com to book your free session with Tom and Vicki to talk about your business security!

Today Tom and Vicki are getting into natural surveillance- one of the four elements of CPTED. What is CPTED? Crime prevention through environmental design. It is essentially uses natural methods to control human behavior to reduce crime.                What is natural surveillance? What does it mean? Using natural ways -not technology ways -of improving overall situational awareness for human beings on the property. How is this explained?                Natural surveillance is one of the 4 main topics of CPTED, to recap the 4 ways are :                -Maintenance                - Natural Access                -Territorial Reinforcement                - Natural Surveillance Natural surveillance uses all-natural ways to increase security and can be used hand in hand with technology safety devices. It uses 3 main categories: -Lighting- Dark is the best time for bad things to occur, and people cannot identify what is going on in a dark space. Is your property well lit? In and outside? Take a look! -Landscaping- The more you can see the better! To repeat: The more you can see the better! Eliminate solid walls, solid barriers- we need to be able to see what is going on behind them. Don’t hinder the view from the outside in or the inside out. -Positioning- Turning objects, furniture, ect. in a way that does not cause a visibility blockage and allows for more human eyes to view more. What’s the gist?        Criminals will look for opportunities where they can easily hide and escape. Some quick ways to incorporate- keeping all areas well lit, moving desks so employees can see outside and keep landscaping up to par. Some ways to incorporate natural surveillance:               -Keep areas well lit, put in your calendar as a reminder to walk your property!                - eliminate hiding spots: cut down hedges and remove trees and bushes                  -6 ft 2 ft rule- no fences over 6 feet and no shrubs over 2 feet What are things people don’t usually think about? Colors play a huge part in natural surveillance. You can change the colors or walls and rooms that can draw attention and can eliminate or deter crime Lighting- not all bulbs are created equal! Lighting can alter the color of objects and people. Does this include CCTV? Cameras are directly correlated with natural surveillance. If you spend a lot of money on cameras and you have trees blocking the view, the cameras are ineffective. Fun fact: some police departments have a community partnership team and part of their job duty is to come out and do a site survey. How can you find out more about natural surveillance? Listen to the episode! Also check out our website at www.defiantenterprises.com to book a free call to talk about YOUR business! Can’t wait to hear from you!

In this episode, Tom and Vicki get into Tom’s favorite topic- CPTED! Getting into the basics of the theory so you can have a better idea of how to deter crime in their current environment. What is CPTED?                C-Crime                P- Prevention                T-Through                E-Environmental                D-Design What exactly does that mean? Thinking outside the box and utilizing methods that don’t require technology. Thinking about security that often costs 0$! Who doesn’t like FREE!? What the heck does this have to do with YOUR business? When you can combine technology with CPTED and making them mesh together will truly optimize your security. Let’s break this down….It’s preventing crime by designing or redesigning the environment that surrounds your people and property to influence positive human behavior. An easy example would by to move a desk to face out the window so your people can become more aware of their surroundings. CPTED has 4 main principles:                               -Natural Surveillance: Putting human eyes in place or in addition cameras. Shifting a desk to see outside.                               - Natural Access: applying natural methods to make sure people are entering certain spaces based on the protocols you put together. Example: add a barrier to a space so people can’t enter a certain space.                               - Maintenance: Is exactly like it sounds, maintaining the property to make sure all of the plans you put in place are being upheld to the fullest. What is the point of having the world’s safest parking lot if a light gets burnt out and no one replaces it?                               -Territorial reinforcement: Understanding what your property is and what isn’t. Using textures and colors, to understand what is private vs public property. You’re probably thinking.. “ok but how does this translate to my business today?” Here are some things you can do as soon as you are done listening to the podcast! Think about how to improve your access control in a natural way (landscaping, barriers, ect. Look at the layout of your office now. Can you reposition desks so your employees can see and hear what is outside?                Need more help?? First: Listen to the podcast! Second: visit www.defiantenterprises.com to book your free 15 minute call to discuss your business!

Salesey people are annoying.. we have all dealt with them. I’m in sales and they annoy the bejesus out of me! Time and time again we run into customers who have gotten previous quotes from other companies and people telling them they NEED to switch from locks to electronic access. NOT ALWAYS TRUE! There is a bunch of factors that go into if it’s necessary. Take a really hard look at your protection assets and ask yourself these questions: What’s your budget? What is the impact of a loss event? What is your celebrated entrance? Do you have one? What are your assets? Do your assets match your investment strategies? If you do go down this path.. you need to know what kinds of access there is. We have two main types on site/ on prem or cloud based. Cloud based- This is exactly what it sounds like. The program is hosted in the cloud with an on site presence of equipment. You get to use mobile passes as credentials, can manage from anywhere, software updates itself. There will be monthly fees associated with the system. It’s safe to assume almost anything in the cloud has a monthly fee. On site- This too is what it sounds like. On premise / on site. All management of the system takes place at the site. Someone quits or gets fired? You’re going to the office to take them out of the system. Card get’s lost or stolen? You’re going to the office to fix the problem. An on prem system will not have monthly fees. There is no one simple answer for businesses across the board. All businesses and facilities are different, operations, physically, budgetarily. This is why we encourage you to take a hard look at what you are dealing with before you jump on the access control band wagon. Need more help? Step One: Listen to the podcast! Second Step: visit defiantenterprises.com to book your free 15 minute call.

This is one of our favorite topics- we have heard it all… There is a million and one reasons why you don’t have security in your business, but the top 3 that we hear:                -You don’t need it                - No idea what to do or how to invest                -We have no money for security Others include:                -We’re not big enough to be vulnerable                - We don’t have problems so we don’t need anything                -I trust my employees   The likelihood of something happening to your business is high-  it’s just a matter of when. We see a commonality that people who have not had an incident experience a false sense of security and don’t prepare or invest for a proper security plan. Nobody wants to spend money on things they don’t “need” . The preparedness comes down to people understanding that this could happen at anytime, and taking proper steps incase it does. We want you to understand that you do have to think through the likely scenarios that could present themselves as threats and hazards even if it has never happened. You have to think through them, prepare accordingly and allocate your budget. There is no reason that you need to spend a fortune to protect your business. There is a strong likelihood that a loss of events will occur and you need to put together a security plan. What can you do today to start? Embrace the fact that security measures have to be taken no matter what. Need help? Step One: Listen to the podcast! Second Step: visit defiantenterprises.com to book your free 15 minute call.

COMING SOON!!!!! Defiant Enterprises brings you The Business Security Podcast! Providing business owners and operators relevant information and actionable tips so you can protect your people and property. Co- hosts Tom Freedman and Victoria Yassem bring you expert interviews and weekly tips you can implement TODAY to keep your business safe and secure. Subscribe now!