Parenting, Patience, and Phishing: The Star Chart That Works for Everyone
Parenting is the hardest job I’ve ever had, and it’s not even close. I think of myself as a patient person, but man, do kids try that patience and wear it thin! Does anyone else out there struggle to get their kids to sit at the dinner table and eat? How about bedtime? I personally have a sliding scale that kicks in on weeknights. The closer to 8pm the kids go to bed, the happier I am. On the nights when we get closer to 10pm, and they are back in the living room for the 17th time, I’m losing it. Is anyone else with me on this journey?
Things improve as their maturity does for sure, although I’ve heard many times “bigger kids, bigger problems” so I am bracing for that in our future.
On the flip side, I LOVE being a Dad and wouldn’t change a thing. They make me laugh, make me proud, and are endlessly entertaining. I live for the hugs, cuddles, sports we play and watch together, and the board games.
If nothing else, parenting is a journey that makes life a lot more interesting. We try new tactics, abandoning the ones that don’t work and celebrating the ones that do. One thing that’s helped (some) is a star chart for our 5-year-old. A good report from the teacher that day earns him a star and 5 stars earns him a small toy, book, or a little more screen time that week.
Ready to meet the “star chart” for your small business? It’s called an anti-phishing training program and it’s a pillar of our Cybersecurity Suite. The service will randomly send emails, once a month, to each employee that is a very real-looking fake email. Should the employee click on anything they shouldn’t, they are sent to a website that very respectfully explains what they clicked on and has them take a quick security test to better prepare them for the next fake email they will get.
Best of all, monthly reports are sent to the owner or decision makers so they can quickly see which employees are getting “caught” clicking on these fake links AND whether or not they are looking to better themselves by taking the quick security tests.
Totally up to you whether you want to implement a star chart complete with small toys, books, and screen time for your employees who don’t click these links AND take the security tests. All I can say is my 5-year-old is VERY motivated by the thought of Akedo toys, Captain Underpants books, and some extra time playing Pac-Man. Just sayin…
This month, Murph Consulting turned 18. I cranked up Alice Cooper's "I'm 18" and Skid Row's "18 and Life" to get the vibes going. My company is now old enough to vote, get a tattoo, and get married, all without parental consent. Watch out, world!
In all seriousness, the passing of another year of entrepreneurship and running a successful business always feels like a good time to reflect. Since we started in 2007, we've assisted nearly 600 small businesses and residential clients. Businesses in every industry, ranging in size from the solopreneur to 100 employees. There’s no company we’ll say “you’re too small for us to help”, and that gives me great joy. Small businesses need tech and CyberSecurity support, and we’ve got their backs.
Speaking of, it's October again, and you all know what that means, right? The Mets have failed us, and the Islanders, Jets, and Rangers are about to. It's also Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Every small business should be implementing some basic security measures by now. It's easier and more affordable than you think it is, and definitely cheaper than dealing with the fallout of something drastically bad happening to your business.
How's your password game? Do you use strong passwords on all the sites you visit, or are they all slight modifications of one word, like your kids or pets' names or birth dates?
If it's the latter, let's chat. You should be using a password manager. They are easy to use, create complex passwords for you that you no longer need to remember, and keep them all safe for you. I can't remember the last time I had to click on the "forgot your password" link for any site, and I love that for me.
A password manager is just one of the seven software we feel EVERY small business should have in place to help keep them protected in 2025. We’ve packaged these up together neatly and made them affordable for the small businesses we will always support. If you’d like to learn more, please click the “Contact Murph” button below to send me an email.