6 The Hampton Roads Messenger


Volume 10 Number 3


Business Owners: Make the Switch or Pay the Price


BY NATALIA OLSON-URTECHO, SBA REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR


A major transition is happening


in the United States, and business owners who fail to follow suit will pay the price. October was National Cyber Security Awareness Month, and is a prime time to remind small business owners of U.S. credit card companies’ requirement this month for the national adoption of chip cards. Businesses not integrated with Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV) technology to process chip cards will become financially responsible for fraudulent transactions previously covered by the cardholder’s issuing bank.


credit are


Roughly 90 percent card


terminals now chip-enabled, in of Europe and since


implementation, the United Kingdom has seen nearly a 70 percent decline in counterfeit card transactions according to international financial services provider


Barclays. card Meanwhile,


America has 25 percent of the world’s credit card use but 50 percent of the world’s credit


fraud, making


the case to shift from the antiquated swipe-and-sign method to microchips on credit cards.


The SBA is concerned too many entrepreneurs in America are being left in the dark and on the hook. The majority of America’s small businesses will need to upgrade their payment systems, as only about 20 percent of payment terminals


are currently


equipped to accept chip cards, and most of these are at larger retailers. Accepting contactless payments also


requires new technology for most businesses; a recent report shows 87 percent of small businesses do not currently


accept mobile payments.


Depending on the cost of the goods and services a small business sells, assuming fraud liability could have serious financial consequences.


Small businesses don’t have fraud departments, and they can’t afford to be behind the curve while their larger competitors move forward with technology upgrades. That’s why the SBA is partnered with SquareTM to


enhance payment security and


protect cardholder information. We’re educating


small businesses on the


transition to EMV cards at www.sba. gov/emv.


Additionally, we rolled out a


cybersecurity page for small employers at www.sba.gov/cybersecurity with an SBA self-paced online cybersecurity course and a free small biz cyber planner developed by the Federal Communications Commission. We’ll also


host regional small business


cybersecurity workshops from our long-standing partnership with the FBI and National Institute of Standards and Technology.


It’s crucial to invest in EMV


readers and other digital technologies to prevent cybersecurity fraud and protect


sensitive data.


the integrity of customers’ There are many


affordable hardware solutions that will not break the bank of small businesses. In fact, accessories to complement existing payment terminals are already available, with more coming online every day.


BY JERELL JOHNSON Raised


in a dangerous


neighborhood without a lot of positive role models, when I was 18 I took it upon myself to make sure I got out of South Central Los Angeles. Joining the military


after graduating


normal. I realized I wasn’t alone. I’d never


thought to go to from


high school seemed like the best and quickest way to leave the stress of my environment.


I always knew without a doubt in my mind that I didn’t want to become a stereotype — dropping out of school at a young age, falling into a gang, or getting a girl pregnant. At some point I just came to a realization that there were two paths I could take in life. One was that I could stay in the community of South Central, stuck with the negative emotions that the neighborhood brought out.


Or, I could leave. So that’s what I did. It’s not that I had no positive


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influences in my life growing up. My grandparents were a huge part of my life, and they impressed upon me the importance of reading and getting an education, while at the same time giving me a place to escape to mentally. They exposed me to different kinds of books and music that made me realize that there was more to life than just my block. They always tried to give me a new book every time they saw me.


distraction.


Books became They


my biggest helped me drift


away from what was my everyday life. I remember taking the bus to the Downtown Los Angeles Library as a young kid, commuting an hour to and from just to get away from home. I’d only leave the library when it was closing time.


I didn’t feel like I belonged


at home or that I could relate to the people that surrounded me in my neighborhood.


The answer to


everything was to “man up.” South Central was a place where talking about your feelings just wasn’t done.


It was joining the military that


really opened my eyes to the fact that I was dealing with depression. Talking to other soldiers made me realize that what I was feeling was completely


counseling until it was offered to me when I was deployed to Qatar. I figured I needed it, not so much because of what I went through in the military but just in general. I came to feel that my mental health was something to be valued. I couldn’t just let all of the negative emotions in my head take over my life.


When I registered myself in the


military, I never thought my mother and sister would turn their backs on me for it, or that my girlfriend at the time would have infidelity issues. When I came home I wanted to help my family get out of living in South Central but it turned out they weren’t interested. Coming back home and having to face so many obstacles in my life, I felt that I needed guidance. Going to therapy became my way of getting back into society, instead of turning to alcohol or drugs.


I was eventually prescribed


Zoloft, an antidepressant. It definitely helped me relax and kept me in a happier mood. After awhile I no longer wanted to be dependent on the medication so I decided not to take it anymore. But talking to a counselor has really helped me accept everything that has gone on in my life and given me the tools to move forward.


I decided to leave the military and go back to school. The books were calling to me again. The Army started to feel like it wasn’t my home anymore; I was using it to get away from who I was, and away from the world I knew. I’ve been a Pierce College student for the past 5 years and now I’m transferring to Cal State Los Angeles and I’m pre-law.


There’s a reason why some


people have to work so hard and why they take so long. There’s a battle you have to fight internally. You have to overcome yourself in order to get to where you’re going.


out


I’ve tried to get my family of South Central ever since I


left. It’s tough to think about them; they’re in the grip of a certain kind of environment and I can’t get them out of it. So I’m doing what I can to just show them there’s another path.


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November 2015


I Was Told to 'Man Up': Learning How to Talk About Depression


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