Data retention policy? What data retention policy?

How many of you have a data retention policy? 

How do you know when to
throw stuff away?

Raise your hand if you have one.

That's what I thought...

If your first question when reading the headline is, "What's a data retention policy?", you really need to pay attention. No, really.

A data retention policy is an internal written policy that sets forth how long you keep each type of personally identifiable client information. How long you really want to keep the information is going to depend on your type of business.

Things you'll want to think about when crafting your policy are:

- The types of information you collect
- How long it is reasonable for you to need each type of information
- How often you're going to purge your records (monthly, quarterly, yearly)
- How you're planning to destroy the information so that it doesn't fall into other people's hands

The rest of it.

Ok, it's not a gazillion
dollars, but you get the idea...

You've got it. 

You know you do. 

The BIG IDEA! 

You're gonna be a gazillionaire.... No.  Really.

You're ready to go.  You've got your product or service all lined up.  You've given notice to your boss that you're leaving. 

I'm telling you, you've got all your i's dotted and t's crossed.  You're golden.

Right?

Well, maybe. 

Someone puts a bee in your bonnet about insurance.  And you're like, "Eh, no big deal.  I've got COBRA from work.  That'll hold me until I have enough money to buy more insurance."

Hey, that may be true.  You CAN keep your work insurance through COBRA.  At least for a little while (though, in even the short run, it may be cheaper to find other insurance...).

But what about the rest of it?

Ok, if you're now looking at the screen with that blank look on your face that says, "What rest of it?", you might want to pay attention....

You're taking the plunge... Do you have a safety net?

Some challenges that face entrepreneurs are greater than others. 

Getting ready to dive head first off of the high dive into the deep end of the pool is scary.  And what makes it scarier is the fact that you may find (usually about halfway down, in my experience) that there's no water at the bottom.

Ready to dive in?

It's every entrepreneur's nightmare.

Worse than that, we dive without a safety net. 

Here's what I've discovered in my years of entrepreneurship....

It's great being able to be your own boss.  It's great to work in your PJs if you want to (though, for some mysterious reason, not as effective as actually getting dressed before you work).  It's great not to have to ask someone else if you want to take a vacation day or take time off to pick up a sick kid from school.

But there are a lot of things that I miss about being in the corporate world.