[Offer Grid] 📬 | A Quick-Start Guide for Small-Biz Cyber Resilience | Issue No. 19

Two weeks ago we met the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF). Last week we toughened the human defenses with micro-training and phish drills. This week we zoom out again and answer the inevitable next question:

“Great, Amy. But how do I weave all six CSF Functions into my already bonkers schedule?”

Lucky us. NIST released Special Publication 1300: “Cybersecurity Framework 2.0: Small Business Quick-Start Guide.” It’s a super-short cheat-sheet written for companies with modest budgets and fewer than 50 heads. In other words: us. 

Below is a 30-day sprint plan that distills SP 1300’s best nuggets into four weekly focus blocks. Follow it and you’ll have a documented program, baseline controls, and an incident game-plan by the end of June, without hiring new staff.

You’re going to be so proud of your bad self.

Week 1: GOVERN & IDENTIFY

(“Why we care” + “What we have”)

Deliverable: a one-page “Risk Snapshot” you can show a banker, insurer, or curious board member.

Week 2: PROTECT

(Keep the gates locked)

SP 1300’s Protect checklist reads like a greatest-hits album of low-cost wins: MFA, patching, backups. 

MFA is multi-factor authentication. It’s like having extra secret passwords for your passwords. It will save the day on security for a very high percentage of attack vectors. Seriously. Use it and require it always.

1. Mandate MFA on every account that touches a critical asset. Start with banking, payroll, and email.

2. Change default passwords on routers, Wi-Fi, and any “smart” office hardware. (Remember, if it is connected to the internet, the bad guys can try to access it.)

3. Make sure all software is updated. (Software updates often include security patches. These are gold!)
   

4. Backup & test. Pick one workstation and restore a single file. Celebrate when it works.
   

Time budget: 2 hours spread over the week.

Pro tip: Track completions in the same asset spreadsheet you built in Week 1.

Week 3: DETECT

(Spot trouble before it happens)

NIST SP 1300 suggests two starter moves: enable built-in alerts and install endpoint protection. 

• Turn on new-login alerts in Google Workspace/Microsoft 365 and your ecommerce platform.
  

• Verify every device has antivirus/anti-malware running and auto-updating.
  

• Create a shared “Odd Things” Slack channel or email list. Anytime someone sees a weird pop-up, they drop a screenshot there. Early signals save dollars and data.
  

Time budget: 90 minutes total.

Week 4: RESPOND & RECOVER

(Bad day at work ≠ Last day in business)

Even a two-page incident plan beats none. Create your “bad day” list: who to call, what to isolate, and how to communicate. 

End the week by answering one question: “If our site vanished tomorrow, how would we restore it?” Your backup test from Week 2 just paid off.

Time budget: 2–3 hours (brainpower, not tools).

The Running Log: Why Documentation Matters

Every step above produces data and logs: spreadsheets, screenshots, checklists. Organize them into a single “CSF 2.0” folder. Store securely.

Besides keeping you organized, a tidy log:

• Impresses cyber-insurance underwriters (could be a discount trigger).
  

• Shortens response time when auditors, investors, or big-brand clients ask, “Show me your security program.”
  

• Makes next year’s improvements incremental, not reinvent-the-wheel.
  

Tool Corner (Free-ish Helpers)

Remember: Start scrappy, then iterate. SP 1300 reminds us perfection is optional; progress is king. 

60-Minute “Framework Friday” Challenge

Want bragging rights before the weekend?

1. Block one hour on tomorrow’s calendar.
   

2. Download SP 1300.
   

3. Complete the Govern “Questions to Consider” box on slide 3 (mission, requirements, champion).
   

4. GREAT start! 
    

Want to add more to your bottom line?

Want to make sure your email marketing program is going to make you money, and that your staff is always trained in the fundamentals of cybersecurity so you never have to worry about losing money, data, or have hackers take over your business in 2025?

Well, that’s kind of a big promise. 

But my clients have been targets of over 200 phishing and business email compromise (BEC) attacks over the past six+ years. Working with me, they’ve had ZERO breaches.

I’m proud of this stat, and even more proud of their safety and what they’ve learned.

In addition to their email safety records, we also worked on some pretty cool email marketing campaigns.

These turned into pretty big paydays, too.

Want some of this for your business?

I’m opening up some time slots on my calendar to do consulting calls. I’ll work with you on your customized blueprint around your email marketing and email security outcomes that will keep you strong and safe for the next 12 months and beyond.

Ask yourself two questions:

1. What would happen to my business if an attacker got into my business via email?

I’ll give you a hint: the stats show that attackers on average get over $120,000 per small business phishing attack. Can you afford that kind of hit?

2. What would happen to my business if I could increase revenues, without increasing marketing costs? What would, for example, a 30% increase in revenues do for my bottom line?

I want to create a completely custom program for you. So here are just a few of the topics we can touch on:

• We’ll uncover list management best practices.

• We’ll create a custom anti-phishing program no matter how many employees you have (or don’t have).

• We’ll map out an email content plan, which includes what to say, don’t say, and how to get the most mileage out of your images.

As I said, this is a completely custom program. It’s just me and you (or me, you, and a team member).

We’ll meet for at least one hour, but leave yourself extra time. Call it two hours. My consults always run long.

To get this completely customized program, it’s $1500 USD.

Why is this a good deal?

Because look at how much you’re making using email right now.

What if your email list earned you 33% more dollars, and cost you nothing in phishing attacks?

Go ahead and book in here.

And here is a sweet bonus.

Bonus Bucks: The same $1500 counts toward all future courses I create. The money you spend in getting this custom email program gives you the exact same amount in credits on future courses.

That’s like getting a free VIP ticket into the club. No waiting. No shakedowns by bouncers at the door. It’s a coupon code that makes the next $1500 in courses that I offer absolutely free to you.

Not shabby.

I like it when my money works for me twice. Don’t you?

So go ahead and book in here.

Spots are limited. I can only keep my calendar open this wide for the next two weeks. After that, my time will be quite limited.

If you’re reading this issue in the future you will have missed out.

Use this publication date as a reference. Cart closes Jun 13, 2025. I’ll take down the link and I won’t open this offer again until some other time I haven’t decided on yet. It’s so far in the future I can’t see it from here.

Hey. Are you still reading?

OK, I get it. I can give you more.

How about a guarantee?

You book in. We meet. We go through the details, the minutiae, the gold and the dross. You have a complete road map and plan to master outgoing email and manage your inbox in safety. And… you don’t like it. You don’t like me. You got GERD from the whole thing.

Then, my friend, you get a refund.

Just email me and tell me you didn’t like it. You have 48 hours to exercise this option.

But I can do even better.

If you do all we come up with on our plan and you still don’t think the call was worth it… just show me what you did. Show me what steps you took in 2025 to work on our plan. Compare it to our plan we came up with on the call. No bueno? You get your money back. You can use this option until December 31, 2025.

That’s it. That’s my offer. It’s big. It’s crazy big.

I am so committed to building safety and making big cash with email, that I’m creating this offer to make sure you get there ASAP.

I can’t stress enough that this offer is limited. After midnight PDT, June 13, 2025, the offer comes down and doesn’t reappear again for a very long time. If ever.

You can book your time here.

So that’s it for this week. I’m excited to keep going on this making-money-safely tear that we’re on.

Talk soon,

Amy