Just a few minutes ago I got an e-mail from my Nigerian banker alerting me that his e-mail has changed. That’s thoughtful and great to know, but for one thing: I don’t have a Nigerian banker. So I moved the message to the special folder I have for all of my e-mails from Nigeria.

A lot of small companies still haven’t figured out how to rein in the spam. It’s a problem that comes in waves, and frankly, it’s probably just a lot easier to push delete a few (or more) times a day than it is to dedicate the resources to stop the problem for good.

But the problem with that is this: There are more tech problems lurking around the corner for small businesses, says this Wall Street Journal article. As more workers use personal smart phones to check in at the office, hackers and spammers will access those smart phones using spyware. In most cases, the article says, it will just be a nuisance and a means for hackers to send out even more spam (just what we all need). But savvy hackers with an interest in your particular business could be after more—such as company secrets or a client list.

But don’t run and hide just yet. The article also explains that protecting your business from prying eyes via your employees’ personal smart phones isn’t as hard as, say, blocking e-mails from my Nigerian banker. Just make sure your employees’ phones include security software that “encrypts email traffic, or monitors phones for suspicious activity,” the Wall Street Journal advises.

With Election Day just around the corner, it’s time to get serious about researching the candidates and their stance on issues that will impact your business. Not sure where to start? Check out this article on BusinessWeek.com, which narrows down where Sens. McCain and Obama stand on the issues that matter most to small business.

When you’re done with the BusinessWeek.com article, take a look at NFIB.com/politics for more information about what your representatives are doing for small business in your state.

Even if you don’t get involved in politics, politics will interfere with the way you run your business, so make sure you’re prepared to vote for small business in November.

We moved to a new city last year, and a few months ago, I voted in the presidential primary–my first election in my new hometown. Arriving at the local library to cast my vote, I was amazed at the openness of it all. After I got my ballot, I sat down at a long table full of other voters to mark my choices. Short of hunching over my paper, everyone around me could easily see who I was voting for. I’m used to private booths, or at least partitions, when I cast my votes.

Long explanation to say, it’s exactly the way NFIB/TN State Director Jim Brown explains the “Employee Free Choice Act,” a bill that passed the U.S. House last year and is awaiting a vote in the Senate. In his opinion piece in yesterday’s Tennessean newspaper, Brown describes the bill as an “attempt by organized labor to alter the workplace radically by seeking union recognition outside the long-protected secret-ballot election.

“Rather than hold an election, union representatives would need only to coerce a majority of employees to sign authorization cards. Once a union collects enough signed cards, the organizing drive would be over and the business would become unionized. All of this would occur either without the knowledge or involvement of the business owner,” Brown writes.

He goes on to explain that while unions won 54 percent of the elections held in 2007, they won 90 percent of the time when card checks were used.

NFIB has been a fierce opponent of this so-called card-check legislation. As the Democratic and Republican conventions get underway and campaign season gets into full swing, card checks are just one issue small business owners should consider when deciding who to vote for.

The current issue of MyBusiness includes an article on how business owners are bracing for an economic downturn. In the article, small business owner Mark Anderson says something that everyone should pay attention to: “When you see business flowing in regularly, you tend to get a little lazy.”

In other words, when business is booming, you might have a tendency to loosen up on keeping expenses in check. Or, you might purchase more inventory than you can handle.

The MyBusiness article offers some of the same tips as in this Smart Money article on controling your cash flow. No matter where your business stands in this economic slump, implement some or all of the ideas to stay ahead of the curve.

If you’re like most Americans, you’ve spent the past two weeks glued to the television watching everything from gymnastics competitions to beach volleyball matches in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. So what can you take away from all that couch time besides some truly thrilling sports moments?

According to business coach Susan L. Reid, each Olympic game offers an inspirational lesson that can apply to small business owners striving to reach their “gold.” From examples of consistency and discipline to stories of how to make a comeback and leave a legacy, this year’s Olympians have valuable insights to share, Reid says. Check out her post on Small Business Trends.com for more.

Whatever you do, just don’t take away the flexibility your team needs to do their jobs well. That should be written on every team leader’s forehead.

It’s pretty much a given that no small business owner wants employees wandering around aisles or chatting on the ‘net while on the company clock. But unless you want to micromanage every single thing your employees do (online and offline), there’s really no way to keep track of employee productivity without sacrificing your relationship with employees, ad this article on Entrepreneur.com discusses.

What are your options if you’re afraid a member of your team could be wasting some serious time? According to the article, “You can use software that monitors instead of blocks or filters user activity. Or you can trust that you’ve hired the right people and that employees who waste time will always be superseded by employees who are doing the right thing.”