For millions of small-business owners, the lines between personal and business privacy are thin. You want your business to be famous, but that doesn’t mean you want your personal finances to be public. Nor do you want to be inundated with spam or junk mail.
In a digital world where nothing that makes its way online ever disappears, protecting privacy is increasingly difficult. But business owners are clamoring to reclaim a measure of privacy in their business and personal lives. Some of the same technology that is helping small firms compete – from social media to Web-based software – is also putting privacy at greater risk.
And with big companies focusing more and more on the small business market, entrepreneurs are starting to react. Once largely ignored by corporate giants, small-business owners have become belles of the ball.
So what can you do as a business owner to protect yourself, your business and your privacy? Here are privacy protection ideas and resources for small business:
• Make your domain registrations private. When you register a domain name on the Internet, you’ll be asked to provide details such as your business name, address, phone number, email contact and other details. That information goes into a massive database and is often a reason your email address winds up on some spammer’s list. Most domain registrars let you protect your information with “private registration” services that mask your identity. It costs a small annual fee but can be well worth it.
• Know your privacy rights. Start with guarding your personal Social Security number (SSN) more closely. When dealing with government or banking matters, your SSN may be required. But while many businesses request your SSN, you are not legally required to provide it unless it involves an IRS notification of some kind.
• Fight back against telemarketers, spam and other unwanted and intrusive ads. When you do get a call, don’t just hang up. Ask who the caller represents and request that your name be place on their internal do-not-call list. Federal and state laws allow you to take legal action against telemarketers who do not add your number to their internal do not call list and who call you back within 12 months of requesting to be placed on that list.
• Privacy Rights Clearinghouse is a great place for privacy protection advice and information. Visit www.privacyrights.org and select from topics at the left that include identity theft, junk mail and e-mail, online privacy, Social Security numbers and more. •
Daniel Kehrer can be reached at
editor@business.com.
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