GDPR are your ducks in a row? In this little thing we do called self-employment we are not only heart-centred entrepreneurs but we are solo-preneurs so we are responsible for marketing, sales, accounts, lead generation, networking etc, and sometimes we wear so many hats that we could actually open a milliners!
In today’s world where there is sooooo much noise we need to remember that long gone are the days of build it and they will come. I have said before that it used to be 7-8 times you needed to get in front of people before they would buy from you now it’s more like 17 to 18 times. So, we need to nurture our tribe consistently and persistently.
One of the ways we can do this is by building a list. And the best way to build a list is to create an irresistible freebie that speaks to your audience. AKA the lead magnet. Something your tribe will find ultra-useful in their lives or business, a little piece of your valuable expertise that you can trade in return for their email address. So our job is to build a list of an engaged audience that you can get in front of on a consistent basis with your message.
However, as we know the law is changing with regards to GDPR – what does this mean for us female heart-centred business owners!
Below are some ways the impact this is likely to have on the ways we capture data to ensure our ducks are in a row!
- Information you hold
In the past I have attended a networking event and then hey presto the next day I receive a newsletter from someone who was at the meeting, who has taken my card, added me to my list – without my consent and sent me an email. Not only does this feel out of integrity and very uncomfortable but breaks compliance…
Going forward …
You should document what personal data you hold, where it came from and who you share it with. You may need to organise an information audit.
We are going to have to be a lot more savvy about the way we hold our information and where it originate from.
- The GDPR requires you to maintain records of your processing activities.
One of the ways we can add extra revenue streams to our business is through affiliate links, One of our gorgeous soul sista collaborators could be running a program and we know whole heartedly that our community would benefit from their service’s so we jump on board sharing their wares to our list.
What does this now mean going forward?
If you have inaccurate personal data and have shared this with another organisation, you will have to tell the other organisation about the inaccuracy so it can correct its own records.
BUT
You won’t be able to do this unless you know what personal data you hold, where it came from and who you share it with. You should document this. Doing this will also help you to comply with the GDPR’s accountability principle, which requires organisations to be able to show how they comply with the data protection principles, for example by having effective policies and procedures in place.
Hence going forward, we need to make sure the data we capture is accurate and held in the correct way.
- Communicating privacy information
A lot of us are consultants and coaches, our clients confide in us and we have and hold personal information about our clients. We may ask them to complete a questionnaire disclosing personal information when we start to work with them and whilst we work with our clients we may have access to their systems and confidential data.
What does this mean going forward?
You should review your current privacy notices and put a plan in place for making any necessary changes in time for GDPR implementation. When you collect personal data you currently have to give people certain information, such as your identity and how you intend to use their information. This is usually done through a privacy notice.
Under the GDPR there are some additional things you will have to make clear to your clients. For example, you will need to explain your lawful basis for processing the data, your data retention periods and that individuals have a right to.
Don’t panic!
It can feel like a minefield … but it doesn’t need to. Annabelle Kaye of the KoffeeKlatch has created a membership package a GDPR Facebook group – supported by GDPR experts and other business owners with businesses like ours.
You will join Annabelle and other business owners to go through a supportive collaborative process that can work for you, looking at:
- A simple structured audit of the data you hold
- What is data anyway?
- How to secure it
- How to share it appropriately and securely
- How to handle consent (when the final details are published)
- What your responsibilities are as a business owner
- How you handle your own data
- Where your data is located – do you know where your software keeps it?
- How you handle clients’ data (and the clients!)
- How to work with associates in a GDPR compliant way
- How to work with your suppliers in a GDPR compliant way
And more as the group ask questions and move towards GDPR.
