Nowadays the world is digital, and one side effect of this is the constant rise in cyber crimes, which leads to a growing demand for all sorts of cybersecurity services.
Most companies invest about 10% of their yearly budget in data protection, and this is a clear sign that cybersecurity is a necessity and therefore a profitable business to get into.
It’s then safe to assume that this is the right time to start your own business in cybersecurity.
But it is not that easy. You need the right certifications, a good capital, a well organized team, a proper business plan, and more… And all this comes at a cost that many firms cannot afford.
In this interview, Esther Strauss, co-founder of Step By Step Business and entrepreneur with 20+ years of experience, will give us her expert tips on how to start and grow a cybersecurity company, as well as some insights for small businesses with a limited budget for their data protection.
Tell Us About Step By Step Business, What You Guys Do and where did you start?
Step By Step Business provides high quality educational content for aspiring entrepreneurs, especially the younger ones. Our mission is to inspire and guide people to actually start new businesses.
Initially we just had an idea: helping all wanna-be entrepreneurs with the best possible educational content. Starting from that we built our website, and started hiring writers. The overall structure of our website was different at the beginning, and all the writers were not part of our company.
This changed naturally to the point where we are nowadays, with an awesome team of in-house writers and content we are really proud of.
As for me, I’m the co-founder of Step By Step, and my focus is on strategy and quality management.
What Are The Essential Steps To Set Up A Cyber Security Business?
Cyber security is a very specialized skill, so I do not believe you can start a company without prior experience unless you have the budget to hire cybersecurity experts to work for you while you just manage the business.
On the other hand, if you are a cybersecurity expert, you could start a company with very little funds and even run the business from home.
Another essential step is actually investing in constant training to keep up with the latest technologies, but his is true for most IT professions.
So Do You Think It’s Even Possible To Start A Cyber Security Company Even Without Prior Experience? What Skills And Certifications Should One Try To Get?
There are various types of cyber security and many areas of specialization in which you can obtain certification. It’s possible to learn what you need to know through self-study online, but your best bet is to get a bachelor’s degree.
What Cybersecurity Threats Will Grow In Demand In The Next Few Years?
To start a cybersecurity business you need to find a gap in the market that you can fill. You can do this by researching other cybersecurity businesses in your area to see what services they offer, and find something that’s scarce or missing. Then you need to create a marketing plan to reach your potential customers. LinkedIn is a good place to start, but you also need to be prepared to cold call business owners to offer your services.
Companies lose billions of dollars every year through hacking, so investing in cybersecurity to reduce the risk is a must. Small businesses could literally be devastated by a single breach.
More in general, not much has changed since 2021, and statistics show that Phishing, Malware, Ransomware are the top issues, but also insider threats and the use of too weak passwords are still putting people in trouble
How Are Small Business Owners Taking Care Of Their Cybersecurity Nowadays With A Limited Budget?
Cybersecurity freelancers are growing in numbers, so small businesses are turning to them as a lower cost option. Just think that there’s something like 600.000 jobs ads (!) in the US, of which ~10% are in California alone.
However, I think that it’s worth it for small business owners to seek financing to increase their cybersecurity protections by outsourcing the services of local cybersecurity companies.