Compliance for Small Businesses: Where to Start Without Breaking the Bank
By Jim Pierce, Founder of Envoy of Efficiency Introduction: Why Small Businesses Struggle with Compliance When I meet small business owners, one of the first things they say about compliance is this: “It’s too complicated, and it’s too expensive.” I understand why they feel that way. The patchwork of U.S. laws is overwhelming. HIPAA applies to health information. GLBA applies to financial institutions. COPPA applies to children’s data. State laws like California’s CCPA apply to consumers. Even businesses with only a few employees can fall under one or more of these laws. I have worked with many small companies that thought they were too small to be noticed by regulators. That belief is dangerous. Regulators do not ignore small businesses. Neither do hackers. Data is valuable no matter how big or small the company. If you collect personal information, you have compliance obligations. The good news is that compliance does not have to break the bank. With the right approach, eve...