It's Not About The Money Steve Nay and Tyler Smith

What do a meteor strike, a laptop in a canoe, and a cyberattack have in common? 
They all require you to have a business continuity plan, both so you don't lose your data and so you can continue operating the business even in a disaster. 
Today we welcome Don Sesler of Sageplan Technology Consulting to talk about the nuts and bolts of cybersecurity and IT for solopreneurs. Whether you want to DIY or you're ready to hire it out, Don shares a wealth of information that will point you in the right direction. 
Small businesses like ours usually aren't the target of cybercriminals, but we can be collateral damage. And the way you recover from a cyberattack is the same way you recover from any other catastrophe, so having good systems and plans in place will protect you no matter what comes your way. 
Don Sesler, owner of Sageplan Technology Consulting
https://www.linkedin.com/in/donsesler/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/sageplan/ https://sageplan.com/ 
(00:00) - Interview: Don Sesler (IT, cybersecurity)
(03:00) - Introducing Don Sesler
(05:18) - Cyberattacks and business continuity risk
(11:41) - Vetting your cloud software vendors
(16:31) - Picking the right DIY hardware and software
(20:09) - Google Drive and OneDrive are not a backup solution
(22:24) - The last line of defense against social engineering
(29:17) - When should you hire fractional IT?
(35:32) - Choosing the right office suite
(38:42) - Written disaster recovery plan (on paper!)
 Links:
Do It Yourself IT? Here's Some Tips (sageplan.com) How To DIY A Secure IT Network (sageplan.com) Why Backups Matter, And How To Do It Correctly (sageplan.com) --- Steve Nay: 
https://daybreaktax.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsteven/ Tyler Smith: 
https://www.tylersmith.io/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylersmith-io/ 

We're back with a new series of interviews, and this episode introduces the theme: the many hats of an entrepreneur. 
Our framework is the "five parts of every business" proposed by Josh Kaufman in "The Personal MBA": value creation, marketing, sales, value delivery, and finance. 
What are each of these things? What does it look like to perform all of them as the solo entrepreneur? What does it look like to hire out certain functions to fractional specialists? What do each of those things look like in Steve and Tyler's businesses right now? 
In the next episode, we'll start the first of the interviews in the series. 

(00:00) - The Many Hats of an Entrepreneur
(02:12) - A business is a repeatable process that...
(04:40) - Five interdependent processes
(11:40) - What does it look like for a soloist to do all these things?
(17:03) - Hiring fractional help
 Links: 
What Are The '5 Parts of Every Business'? The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business by Josh Kaufman Episode 10, “Book Club: The Prosperous Coach” Episode 16, “Should you outsource your chores?”  --- Steve Nay: 
https://daybreaktax.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsteven/ Tyler Smith: 
https://www.tylersmith.io/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylersmith-io/ 

Coming up in a few weeks: a new series of interviews with experts in areas of business where you might want help: marketing, finance, IT, management, operations, insurance, and so forth. 
You, as a solopreneur, have to wear all the hats of a functioning business, even if you're not an expert at all of them. Sometimes you'll want to outsource a particular function and hire a professional to do just that piece. Sometimes you'll want to keep doing it yourself, but you want to get better at it. Sometimes you don't even know that it's important for the business and you need someone to give you an introduction. 
Wherever you are in your business journey, this series will give you ideas, milestones, guideposts, and practical tips to continue growing and getting better at what you do. 
We're taking off a few weeks to prepare, but we'll be back soon to share this exciting series with you! 
--- Steve Nay: 
https://daybreaktax.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsteven/ Tyler Smith: 
https://www.tylersmith.io/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylersmith-io/ 

What if you could put all your bills on autopay, treat your credit card like cash, and step back from the stress of worrying about when your transactions happen? 
That's the peace of mind available when you get to YNAB Rule 4: Age your money. 
When the money you're spending today was earned long ago, you can suddenly let go of a whole category of money stress that you might not even realize you have. 
Tyler and Steve demystify the "credit card float" and illustrate with cafeteria-style cereal dispensers. 
If after all this you'd like one-on-one guidance through your money journey, Tyler is the coach for you. 

(00:00) - Girl Scout cookies

(03:18) - Rule Four: Age your money

(06:16) - The magic of getting to 30 days old

(09:05) - Demystifying the trap of the "credit card float"

(17:08) - What is an age of zero?

(18:21) - How to increase the age of your money

(19:57) - How old should your money be?

(23:59) - Aging your money isn't out of reach

(26:23) - You can hire Tyler as your YNAB coach
 --- Steve Nay: 
https://daybreaktax.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsteven/ Tyler Smith: 
https://www.tylersmith.io/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylersmith-io/ 

Best-laid plans rarely survive contact with reality, but getting your budget to reflect reality is where the clarity comes from. 
Tyler and Steve have both had aspirationally-too-small budgets for groceries and eating out. What to do? 
Rule 3 empowers you to get your budget to show what's actually happening and align the way you spend your money with the things you actually, truly value. 

(00:00) - Dogs and their exercise
(03:39) - Where contact sports intersect with personal finance
(06:11) - Underestimating groceries
(10:17) - Reflecting reality is the goal
(13:48) - Your priorities change all the time
(18:12) - Where is the money going to come from?
(19:51) - Can you roll with the punches too much?
(22:05) - Conscious tradeoffs
(23:50) - "Recent moves" feature
(27:31) - Modifying behavior, not just changing a number
(30:29) - Honesty and alignment
 --- Steve Nay: 
https://daybreaktax.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsteven/ Tyler Smith: 
https://www.tylersmith.io/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylersmith-io/ 

In part two of our series, we discuss YNAB Rule 2: Embrace your true expenses. 
Not every expense happens regularly or predictably. Budgeting for the infrequent or high-impact purchases that happen throughout the year increases your resilience. It can even take circumstances that used to be emergencies and convert them into mere inconveniences. 

(00:00) - Auditioning in a quartet
(03:36) - Rule 2: Embrace your true expenses
(08:17) - Categories of true expenses: Predictable and unpredictable-but-inevitable
(10:49) - How to have fewer emergencies
(15:41) - The joys of auto-pay
(19:47) - True expenses vs. an emergency fund
(26:53) - Some of Tyler and Steve's true expenses
(34:01) - Debt payoff
(36:50) - How Tyler got converted to YNAB
 --- Steve Nay: 
https://daybreaktax.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/nsteven/ Tyler Smith: 
https://www.tylersmith.io/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/tylersmith-io/