Security Tips for INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS
WRITTEN BY
CHIDIEBERE MOSES OGBODO
It is better to stay safe than to cure the already advancing illness. Business requires advancement and if you do it the right way, you will have every reason to be after on the long run. 1. Do business with experienced people. If he has sold a loaf of bread for at least 3 months, then he can take you the place to buy the best type of bread. When doing business or starting a new business, ensure to have the patience to source for people who have verifiable experience in the industry of your interest. They will save your time in the future, reduce your excess expenses which you could have lost by doing business with an unexperienced person and also, they will help you to increase your overall return on investment.
2. Never post your demand on open social platforms. If you post it, the scammers will know your weakness and can easily target you. Because you have demand, it is very easy for you to fall for anyone who promises to provide the exact or similar requirement. You can go through friends, trade unions, chambers of commerce, international trading consultants and also you can search on internet the regions that can provide your requirement and delegate a reliable colleague to visit the region and source the product in person.
3. Never reveal your company name and internal details on open social platforms. Corporate cyber security rules include that, even a Multi-National-Corporations can be penetrated through their customers, by going through trade related documents and electronic valuables. So, you can understand how easy it is to penetrate through Company to Client documentations and now imagine how easy it will be to identify loopholes in your organization if you share tangible detail about your company on open social platforms.
4. Never use your official email on dating sites. Various dating sites are being created with the backend reason to target and manipulate people using their weakness. 70% of the registered members on dating sites are all fake, and what they want is to get your bank details for defrauding you. Notice that, in so many cases, when you are creating a new password for your social platforms, you usually use your common password because you do not want to think too much before you can login. So this password is always easy to grab and can be further used against you very seriously.
5. Never click or respond to spam emails and messages. We all have weaknesses, such as looking for business opportunities to increase our business capacity. So the scammers learnt these things and they start to email you with similar opportunities. When such emails comes in, they are mostly in the SPAM Folder and it is because the email server is intelligent enough to identify that such messages are a risky to the receiver. When you click on these emails, your data on various servers are made public and to only a certain group of people for their devilish purposes. So be careful with the emails you read. Not every inbox is there to grow you, so many are there to break you down.
6. Call for a fellow trusted African or national to check your plans and prospective business relationship. I said Africa, because I am an African. This person can be from any part of the world and that depends on where you are intending to do your business or you are already doing your business, but want to expand your reach. An African, understands his people better. An India, understands Indians very well. An American understands his American people more than you do. So when doing business with any national or in any region, ensure to involve one or two credible nationals of this region in the business.
6. Call for a fellow trusted African or national to check your plans and prospective business relationship. I said Africa, because I am an African. This person can be from any part of the world and that depends on where you are intending to do your business or you are already doing your business, but want to expand your reach. An African, understands his people better. An India, understands Indians very well. An American understands his American people more than you do. So when doing business with any national or in any region, ensure to involve one or two credible nationals of this region in the business.
Reasons being that; Save your time to try to understand the environment Gives easy opportunity to advance your business reach. Reduce the cost of integration, such as during the time of procuring certain properties in the region. Increases your Return on Investment in the shortest span of time.
Reasons being that; Save your time to try to understand the environment Gives easy opportunity to advance your business reach. Reduce the cost of integration, such as during the time of procuring certain properties in the region. Increases your Return on Investment in the shortest span of time.
7. Always send a delegate before procurement. It is obvious that so many business intended men/women would like to save the money that could have been used to pay for flight tickets, accommodation and miscelenous expenses for their delegate, thinking that the money can be used to buy one or two things and increase the amount of their products. Yes you are right, but what about you losing the whole money along the line, just because of saving a penny. A scammer who knows your greedy thought-system can manipulate you by posing to be a company of trader, then follow you up patiently until your walls of doubt are broken into pieces, then he/she will penetrate you deeply and destroy you; leaving nothing behind.
8. Involve a lawyer or regulatory bodies (such as ECGC) in every business. Lawyers / legal practitioners can help you to save the headache when things go wrong. This also is necessary especially when a huge transaction is in question. So do the needful to stay safe.
9. Check Company reviews online before making a business decision. When you search for a company and one or two persons say something bad about them, be cautioned. Although there are people who are out there to destroy company images, but among-st all these things, there is always line in his/her review that will show you that it is not the right information about this company. Check for reviews and ask questions before important business relationship. He, who asks questions, never misses the road to his destination.
10. Never believe a company with multiple and unverifiable addresses. In the recent years, the scammers who are really into their business also creates companies and register them online. They also have stunning websites and set up offices in many locations across the globe. Usually, when you request for a meet-up, the officials are always postponing the arrangement. Check their address, it always doesn’t have locatable traces, and it is always like a name of a city and some central trading centers. When you notice this, do not doubt your mind. Just be cautioned and take the necessary step to avoid further discussion.
11. Do not and never go into business with company or organization with Multiple CEO’s names and no face proof images. They always have multiple CEO’s online and they will try to convince you that those are the CEO’s representing their companies in different regions; it is a big lie! Be warned! Most times, those names will not have any official images or even LinkedIn profiles. They want you to believe that, they do not have much time to start running social platforms, because they are conscious of people stealing their data. My dear friend, do not fall for their sweet talks, they are trying to use your brain and play by your insecurities and that of the society today.
A proud owner of a company, will not be scared of people knowing him. He / She will also like people to know his company, instead of hiding. Remember this: To stay on a more positive and safe side while going into the international market for trade relationships or long term business development, you need to be very disciplined. a. Do not be in rush to make a decision, think about it, discuss with your colleagues and take your time to be more effective than falling fast into future disaster. b. Do not go for every cheap quotations; it is fake. This is used to entice you so that you can and will like the idea fast enough.
You want to use low purchasing price and reasonable selling price to cause competition in the market, but remember that anything that worth the huge sum investment will always pay back handsomely. c. Pray to God, because prayers after you have taken the necessary precautionary steps will always pay off
You want to use low purchasing price and reasonable selling price to cause competition in the market, but remember that anything that worth the huge sum investment will always pay back handsomely. c. Pray to God, because prayers after you have taken the necessary precautionary steps will always pay off
I, “Chidiebere Moses Ogbodo,� am determined to help reduce the bad business relationship between various nations in Africa and the international community. I believe that our future relies heavily on the shoulders of those people who are ready to sacrifice their instant gain for long-term and worthy relationships. Go Global, But Be Safe.
The Secutiry Manual
GO GLOBAL, BUT BE SAFE