🤯 Just One Cyber Mistake Can Cost You Everything


Imagine you run a small online store selling phone cases.

You check orders every morning with your tea.

Then one morning, you get locked out of your dashboard.

Your inbox is full.

A refund issue.

A confused customer.

A security alert you have never seen before.

You shut down ads, pause payments, and you spend hours trying to understand what went wrong.

Nothing grows that day. Nothing moves forward. You’re just overwhelmed and looking for help.

That’s a wasted day, and it’ll take weeks to get your customers’ trust back, maybe never.

That is why I see cybersecurity as a business risk, not just another issue only tech guys can fix.

It can hit your money, your time, your reputation, and your trust in one shot.

I’m not just saying that for fun.

In 2025, according to the Hiscox Cyber Readiness Report, 59% of small businesses reported experiencing a cyberattack during the last 12 months. Costs can include revenue loss, reputational damage, fines, and legal fees.

So what can we do to at least lower the risk on your end?

➡️ Turn on 2-factor login everywhere (email, bank, hosting, WordPress, socials).

➡️ Set auto backups for your website and important files, and test a restore once. (Your web hosting company can help with this; ask them.)

➡️ Use a password manager, then change your key passwords every 3 months.

1Password app is a popular choice, but if you want something affordable or free but still safe to use, you can read this guide here to see my top picks for 2026.

(Some of them can even save passkeys now.)

➡️ Ask your web hosting support to set up a firewall service like Cloudflare for your site. It helps block attacks and keep your website safe, and most hosts will guide you or even set it up for you.

Even the free plan is good enough for most small businesses.

➡️ Run a free malware or site scan once a month, and fix what it flags. (Again, ask your hosting company.)

➡️ Teach your team the basics of phishing, weird links, urgent payment requests, and fake invoices.

Do this stuff before you need it, not after.

Your future self will thank you.

Stay curious,

Minosh.

PS: If you’re like me and keep losing important links, this list of bookmark manager apps might help.

​

TalkBitz Newsletter

Helping you skip years of mistakes in online business with real tools and strategies that actually work.

Read more from TalkBitz Newsletter

A friend of mine told me something interesting last week. “Minosh, I’m done grabbing those holiday software deals.” I asked him why. He said he used to grab every offer that looked useful. Twenty percent off this. Lifetime access to that. Every new tool the internet treated like it could fix his whole life with one button. At first, he thought he was being clever, saving money, and felt like a secret tech ninja collecting weapons. Then he noticed something. Most of those tools sat there...

Yesterday, I read about a creator named Jackie Dubois. She started a TikTok account to share her paintings. She grew past 230,000 followers, and her art sales turned into a six-figure income. Then she quit social media. Not because she failed. Because the push to post all the time, deal with comments, and stay on was messing with her mind. She said in her own words: “It’s really overwhelming — the highs and the lows.” She is not the only one feeling this. Her story lines up with what the new...

Last night, I was reading a Forbes article about connected marketing for 2026. It talked about how big brands are finally treating all their channels as one system, not random posts. And I thought, this is exactly where many online business people get stuck. See, for example, you post on Instagram, write a blog, send an email, but nothing seems linked. The idea is simple. Every channel should help guide one person on one clear path. Start with the first click, build up trust step by step, and...