ProfitBrite

Selling Software Online

Back around 1999, while I launched producing my personal website design software package, there initially were hardly any ways of gathering payment from internet shoppers.

I went right to Visa, MasterCard as well as American Express and set up company accounts with each of them. The 3 provided diverse techniques of stepping into credit card details. I had to place each purchase. By hand. Straight into a software application ( that I think I recall buying for $400). Each night, we had to publish the bank card information. Over a dial up connection! 56k I think it was. Then every day, I'd get an email with the cards that went through.

Next I'd send out the software program to the buyer.

This internet business stuff was new in those days, so accumulating charge cards with no standard signature was quite complicated. It had become super easy for any end buyer to reverse the charges, or provide stolen bank cards.

They (the bank card companies) generated three to 4% of each deal. So not only did I loose the purchase if the purchaser reversed the charges, I'd loose the transaction costs, the bank fees and, of course, the particular sale.

Totally nuts I tells ya!

Everything is different at present. So different. Therefore much simpler.

There are several providers that can assist you now with selling online software. PayPal is extremely well-liked. I recommend locating a coder that will help you create your PayPal account ( I did this for my own website design software shop). You can work with a service like elance.com to find a coder that will link your down-loadable computer software with your own individual PayPal account.

There are also full service companies. Digitalriver.com and Cleverbridge.com. I've utilized both of them and they are wonderful. They require between 10 and 20% of your gross sales, but that's their fee. They also handle fraud control and electronic downloads.

In addition they ensure it is easy to obtain any form of currency, in any language.

They have not only supplied ecommerce, but I've obtained several connections into the software world because of them. I've been thankful to meet people at of some firms I really respect. Symantec, Adobe, and online shops like clipart.com.

So if you are offering something on the web, anything that can be purchased and delivered electronically through the internet, these companies can work for you so that you can be your own boss.

Now you can get affordable and stylish website design software from rel=nofollow [http://www.Laughingbirdsoftware.Com]laughingbird software. Create great graphics for your website, blog or social network group.

Check out our [http://www.thelogocreator.com]logo design software by Laughingbird Software. Get the best logo generator On the net.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Selling-Software-Online&id=5631432] Selling Software Online

Review of the Five Types of Social Shopping in 2010

2010 witnessed the "social shopping" services to rise. Social shopping dependent on social networking, outsourcing and smart phones scanners. The following is five major types of social shopping in the year 2010.

Since the shopping network will have an impact, whether dot.com or Boo.cpm, or today's Amazon and eBay. So what shopping methods were born in 2010?

(Daily Deals)

Groupon is one of the most successful traders in 2010. In October, the CTO Ken Pelletier was asked why Groupon growing so quickly, he explained that oral communication play an important role in its development. So how the social software will be linked together with shopping? Pelletier believes that people share transaction information with friends for many reasons, perhaps to help a friend saving money, it may be to go shopping together, or other social reasons.

Groupon's high degree of social sharing, and its services on Twitter and Facebook have a lot of activities.

(Real-Time Social Shopping)

In July, the online auctioneer Woot (Amazon bought online auction phenomenon Woot) appears on Amazon, its core service is to provide a discounted product every day, these offers ended until the goods sold out. These products have the basic quality assurance although irregularity.

(Location Check-ins)

Location Check-ins is a big trend in this year, even affect the shopping industry (someone expressed that the the future of location apps is shopping). A good example is, American Express and Federated Media launched out the called Social Currency as a free iPhone app, based on 4q (Fourquare) platform. Users can use this app to track the information of the goods they want to buy, upload shopping pictures, reviews information of friends on the behavior, of course, all of which will be timely to update on Twitter and 4q.

(Facebook Shopping)

This year, the shadow of Facebook have emerged in different industries, shopping naturely is one of them. In July, Amazon and Facebook co-operated, adding the social recommendation features such as favorite and most favorite to the products.

As long as the user's Facebook account linked with the Amazon, Amazon will be able to get the interests and preferences of the user's friends, the Amazon provide suggestions to the users based on these recommendations, and also lists the rankings, of course, recommendations will be provided based on user's interest.

(Bar Code Scanning)

Using smart phones to scan to bar Code is another emerging trend in 2010. Although in a technical perspective, this is not a "social shopping", but this allows the consumers to share the shopping information on the network.

Currently it's a wide range of bar code scanning mobile apps, eBay bought the Red Laser in July, Amazon also joined in this trend through Amazon Mobile. Red Laser is the first rise of iPhone bar code scanning applications. Users use the Red Laser scanning on the bar code of goods in store, then obtain different price informations from vendors.

Bar code scanning is a fast growing market, according to statistics, the number of users of bar code scanning increased by 700% in 2010. There are other Bar Code Scanning, such as the Buy-funded Tecca and the Google goggles.

Overall, 2010 is one year of the combination of social technology and retail industries. [http://www.cocogiftstore.com/]cool gift watches which lists [http://www.cocogiftstore.com/product/sort1-1.html]discount cool led watches.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Review-of-the-Five-Types-of-Social-Shopping-in-2010...] Review of the Five Types of Social Shopping in 2010

Cruise Planners-American Express Franchise Review

Cruise Planners/American Express planners (Cruise Planners) operates cruises on the worldwide market. Here is a simple review of this cruise franchising opportunity. It is suggested that you have $10,000 in liquid capital to start as business.

Interesting facts about this company include that in the next three years they will have 26 new ships. You can earn commissions by offering trip insurance, shore excursions, and other optional features. Your main source of revenue is by selling tour packages and earning commissions. You also earn commissions by offering trip insurance and other optional features.

For the industry itself studies find that over 30 million Americans plan to make a cruise in the next three years. There three major players in the industry. Cruise Planners is affiliated with American Express. Their data says that nine of 10 franchises succeed, while eight of 10 regular businesses fail.

Cruise Planners has been ranked number one by Entrepreneur magazine. They were ranked number one home based partner by Royal Caribbean International for the past three years. Cruise Planners opened in 1994, and started franchising in 1999. Their marketing support includes a Co-op program, and slicks, National Media, and regional advertising. I did not see any reference to an Internet based program.

If you plan to enter this arena, I suggest you learn how to market effectively on the Internet. Coaching and mentoring programs are available; however there is a learning curve involved. Marketing on the Internet can be much more cost effective than traditional marketing such as cooperative advertising, and national and regional advertising.

Cruise Planners looks like a viable franchising opportunity. Having been in business for over 15 years indicates they know what they are doing! As with any franchise opportunity, I suggest you do your own due diligence before joining. One excellent place to start your search is Wikipedia. You might also contact Cruise Planners to see if there are other franchise owners that you can talk with. You should also check out their testimonials on their website.

If you decide to join Cruise Planners be sure to take full advantage of open communication with the head office. This appears to be their strong point in keeping franchise owners up to date on their current programs. Remember, do your own due diligence, and I wish you the very best sheet to join this franchise.

Using proven training and consistent effort, Kevin A. Ewing is steadily transitioning from a top Marketing Manager to a successful entrepreneur and online business owner. Find true online marketing success and the potential for creating a lasting, passive income while working from home; please visit Kevin at [http://www.kewingmarketing.com/]kewingmarketing.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Cruise-Planners-American-Express-Franchise-Review&i...] Cruise Planners-American Express Franchise Review

29 Online Money-Makers

1. Offer Credit Card Know-How.
This knowledge is golden today. You become familiar with the formats of electronic payment methods and help other entrepreneurs achieve merchant card status. Once a company or an individual decides to start a business online, they will reach conclusion that they must accept credit cards in order to function and conduct business.

2. Start A Blog:
Pick a topic you know something about and start blogging. Use Google's AdSense program to sell ads on your blog; the more your readers click on the ads, the more money you make. Promote your blog on Facebook, Twitter, etc.

3. Sell Your Creative Wares:
Start a website to specifically sell your own CD, designer outfit, accessory or book. One doesn't need a record contract, a big book deal or a Macy's to make it any longer.

4. Help Entrepreneurs Get Online:
You'll investigate all the Internet Service Providers and help get your clients online. You can even help them pick out a computer if they need that, too.

5. Open An Import Shop:
You can start your own import shop online. Find a product from another part of the world that you want to import and sell via your website.

6. Turn Trash To Cash:
Visit eBay and other auction sites and start your own business turning your junk into treasure. There are so many auction sites available, but do some research and some reading on the online auction action so you can avoid the pitfalls. Visit eBay.com and open an account; it's free!

7. Begin A Promotional Biz:
You can start a business helping others establish different types of promotions-lotteries, sweepstakes and contests- on their websites. Trivia contests and promotional gimmicks keep customers returning to a website.

8. Go Cyber In Your Current Biz:
Add online capabilities to your existing business. If you have any type of business, conduct a survey to see if your clients would like it if you added a terminal so they could go online-for a fee, of course.

9. Write For Others:
Write articles for companies that need to create material for their websites that change frequently, in fact, daily. Companies need a lot of material to keep their websites fresh and you can work on a complete repertoire of choices, graphs, contests, interviews and photo stories.

10. Direct Selling:
Take your direct selling products or line of multi-level marketing products and sell them online via your very own website. If you are involved in any type of multi-level marketing, develop a website to further extend your reach.

11. Market Your Mail-Order Biz Online:
If you already have a mail-order business, consider extending your reach by developing a website. These products could be your own creations or you could market your own online e-mail order catalog via your website.

12. Create Online Scrapbooks:
Thanks to scanning technology, it is very easy to store hundreds of photographs on a disk. And, thanks to the many fonts available it is easy to wrap text around the photographs and create interesting, witty or sentimental scrapbook business that provides a wide range of books or that specializes in one type, say weddings, for example.

13. Sell Ads:
Sells ads for others on their websites. Engage sponsors. You'll be starting your very own online advertising agency. You can sell ads on your own website too, but consider helping others get ads for their websites. Study their business; develop a target list of potential advertisers.

14. Profit From Net Affiliations:
You develop a website that lists affiliations with other website businesses. Amazon.com is probably one of the most well known net affiliations. Every time your visitor goes to Amazon.com directly from your website- and buys a book- you receive a commission from the sale. There is no bookkeeping involved; you just receive a check at the end of every month. There are dozens of net affiliations that you can use. To find them, search through Affiliate Sales Program Directories. Here are a few you can search:

15. Offer Piggyback Web Space:
Visit existing businesses in your area and ask them if they have a website. If they don't, invite them to piggyback on your website for a fee.

16. Become An Internet Tutor:
Conduct Internet tutor workshops for students, other small business owners and anyone who wants to become a "webizen" if not a webpreneur. You can teach your classes privately or you can set up classes.

17. Launch A Zine:
Select a topic you are very interest in and launch a website about it. It can make money-selling ads, if you love what you do, the money will follow. The Internet is open to all types of interests, so don't hold back because you feel others won't be interested in your zine on surfboards that were shaped from 1955 to 1961. If you build it, they will come!

18. Sell Your Product:
Sell your product via an online store. You don't even have to have your own website to sell your wares online. You can tie it with a cybermall or store by contacting one of the many existing online stores. One of the biggest and most popular is store.yahoo.com. For about $100 a month, you can list up to 50 items for sale using their website and technology.

19. Start a B2B Business:
Sell services and products related to online ventures. See them over your own website. You'll research and compile ways to help businesses use their online capabilities and sell them support services and products.

20. Compile Mailing Lists:
Put together e-mailing lists for other small business owners. Your clients will be small businesses, organizations, hospitals, charity groups, fundraisers, clubs and others who need to compile specific lists for an event or ongoing project.

21. Start Special-Interest Services:
Start a service website that contains listings for events, concerts and other activities that will attract a dedicated group of followers. Sell ads to companies that are compatible with your products.

22. Build An Online Store:
Build an online store and sell products from other entrepreneurs. Do you know a lot of crafts entrepreneurs who could benefit by reaching a worldwide audience? Organize them and offer their products for sale on your website.shop.

23. Publish Newsletters For Yourself or Other Businesses:
Newsletters are wonderful vehicles to keep people informed of what you are doing. You can develop e-mailing lists to promote your newsletter and distribute it to the greatest number of people that you possible can. Offer top stories photos, include a Q&A about your particular business and ask recipients to send you special requests.

24. Open An Auction House:
You can use eBay and some of the other online auction houses to sell goods and attic treasures for others. Specialize in one type of item-sport collectibles, for example- or generalize and sell just about anything.

25. Teach a Class:
Contact local learning seminars and adult education course directors and propose a crash course on the Internet. You can even sell a guide to accompany your lecture series.

26. Start An Online Catalog:
You can sell products created by others on your website. You don't need to develop any products or invent the next pet rock. Sell what others have such as their products, kitchen gadgets, creative artwork, practical offerings and much more. You can even sell CDs from local bands and groups and help local schools sell their items with your very own online store.

27. Start Your Own Survey Biz:
You can use the Internet to create your own survey business. You'll take surveys and polls of Internet users for businesses and other and you'll also conduct them for fun on a wide variety of topics-sometimes wild and wacky-just to attract visitors to your sites.

28. Publish Articles and Features Offline:
You can become a writer specializing in various aspects of the Internet and have your articles, features and columns published in newspapers and magazines. Many newspapers around the country don't yet have staff writers to develop internet-related copy, so you can carve out a nice niche for yourself.

29. Online Sales For Businesses:
You can use your website as a superstore to promote and sells goods for businesses that don't actively use their websites to build their business and sell their goods and services. Promote local and regionally businesses. You charge a monthly fee for the service and take an out of products sold via your website.

30. Teach A Class Online:
Do you possess a special talent or skill? Could you teach it to others online? If you determine that the answer is "yes"' then write up your course as succinctly as possible and start a website "teaching" your talent or skill.

31. Trade Stocks Online:
Proceed with caution. but dabble if you have some disposable income and want to start your own business trading stocks. Make sure you are working with capital that you don't need to rely on for other uses such as mortgage payment, tuition costs, medical insurance, or other significant expenditure. Begin by examining the option with E-Trade, Ameritrade, DLKDIRECT, Datek and American Express.

32. Publish a Local Magazine:
How many residents in your community are online? If you determine that you have thousands of folks with online status, consider starting your own online magazine. You'll write about local events, affairs, politics, publish articles on upcoming shows, plays and community happenings along with letters to the editors.

To learn more about other business opportunities, check it out here. http://www.aryacommercial.com

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?29+-Online-Money-Makers&id=4722706] 29+ Online Money-Makers

Fluffy Slippers and Trust

A Robert Walters survey has found that 47.5% of respondents find working from home or on the move to be their best strategy and were not looking to come back to the office anytime soon.

In travel the home consultant has been around for a long time and with groups like MTA, Travel Managers and Travel Counsellors expanding daily, it comes as no surprise that other industries want to get on the band wagon.

Technology certainly allows the freedom to move about and with office rent escalating there should be an emphasis from many companies to send people home. There are of course issues, ranging from managing absentee staff to fragmenting teams and giving up control from an office environment.

With all of that to consider, there is only one question management needs to ask itself regarding staff working from home and it relates to trust from both sides. Do they trust the staff to achieve the results that seem to be so much easier to measure in the office? Do the staff trust management to keep them informed and connected? A company's intimate working environment and team mentality depends to some extent on the relationship that CEOs and their executives have with the employees and this generally works better in an office set up.

So is this the new challenge, as we all head for the morning coffee in our pyjamas and fluffy slippers to do the emails at the breakfast table and then not get on the train and go to work at all?

Let me digress a moment and mention the people we all trust but who have no capacity to work from home.

For the 16th year in a row, nurses have retained their place at the top of the most trusted list, according to the Roy Morgan Image of Professionals survey. Along with pharmacists, doctors and dentists the top of the list is heavy with people you need to trust, sometimes with your life, sometimes with your teeth.

They all require office facilities and unless you are happy to have your teeth fixed on the lounge of the dentist in your street, they won't have an opportunity others have to escape the normal office environment.

So those of you with the flexible work conditions should consider the trust management has put in you and maybe get dressed and work in the home office you have set up but never ventured into.

As an aside, it's not a stretch to guess the bottom of the trust list and it includes TV reporters, newspaper journalists and opinion pollsters. Still further down, way below the sludge line, we have a couple of old favourites in the car salesman and the advertising executive who round out the bottom of the list and no doubt can never be trusted.

None of these people should be let out of the boss' sight but you have the opportunity to show how the future will look when trust is given.

Author - Oliver Tams. 30 years in the Australian travel industry, from owning and operating retail stores to working in the corporate sector with American Express and on to the headquarters of retail consortia groups, has been a fabulous journey. Now it's time to put some of that knowledge back via my musings on the industry and the business world surrounding it.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Fluffy-Slippers-and-Trust&id=4699014] Fluffy Slippers and Trust

5 Simple Steps to Launch Your Online Business

Becoming self-employed and owning your business is the ultimate dream for many Americans. In this information age, it is now easier to start off business enterprise on-line than opening up a physical store due to lower startup and fixed costs. Whether you are a current business owner looking to expand online or starting a business from scratch, follow the steps below to go online.

Choose A Product/Service to Sell: You must have something that provides value to the public. Whether it's a service such as copywriting or selling a physical product like shoes, you must research your market and create an effective business plan. Other people have found success online marketing affiliate products and services on a commission basis. It's up to you on the path you choose; but choose something you have a passion for and can be an expert in. For those who have a current product oriented business, one recommendation we have is do not try to sell everything online. Choose products from your current inventory that you can market competitively and where you see demand for online. To illustrate this points go ahead and check out your local Wal-Mart. You'll notice your local Wal-Mart has many more products in the physical stores that you simply don't see on walmart.com

Incorporate Your Business and Register Your Domain Name: If you are starting from scratch, choose a business name that is available in your state or country. If you are a US resident, check the Secretary of State website for the state of your incorporation to verify your desired business name is not already taken. You must also check to see if the particular domain name you want for your business is available. Registrars such as namecheap.com and godaddy.com can allow you to search available domain names as well as register your domain name. You should plan on spending $10 per year for domain registration fees and an additional $10 per year to register your domain privately. Private registration will protect your personal identity and we highly recommend it. To save a few dollars, Google "GoDaddy coupon" for the most current GoDaddy promotion.

Create A Website and choose a Hosting Service: It's an absolute necessity to have a professional, yet attractive website for showcasing your product or service. We have very affordable plans here at Twenty Tigers you should check out. Wherever you decide to go for your website design, look for a web host that's dependable and has been around for a while.

Find a Payment Processor. If you plan on receiving money for any of your work, you need a payment processor and a merchant account. Contact your local bank as they can help set this up for you. Those who don't want to be able to accept VISA, MasterCard, Discover, or American Express directly can choose to set up PayPal or Google checkouts for free. Keep in mind the more options you give your customer, the more likely they will spend.

Build Traffic. Like any business it will take time to build a customer base. Building traffic is essential to achieve any type of stable income. There are many ways to build traffic: offline, organically through search engine optimization, or pay per click ad campaign.

Grow your business by visiting [http://www.twentytigers.com/]http://www.twentytigers.com/, our comprehensive website about business and online marketing where you can learn more about [http://twentytigers.com/blog/5-simple-steps-start-online-business/grow-your-b...]starting a business online. Twenty Tigers specializes in Search Engine Optimization and Web Design for growing and established business. Our firm produces results and offers premium services at affordable prices.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?5-Simple-Steps-to-Launch-Your-Online-Business&id=46...] 5 Simple Steps to Launch Your Online Business

Find Businesses at Home That Work

Looking for that perfect work at home business? Tired of the rat race and working for little money and almost no recognition? Maybe starting your own home business may be just what you need. But, where do you look? Where do you start? Do I have the needed funds to start my own business from home? These are very important questions that need to be answered before you start anything. It is very easy to fall into the sense of fantasy of what you want your business to be and dream of its successes and financial wealth. Well, wake up! Like anything else in life, you have to work hard, long hours and be extremely dedicated in making the fantasy a reality. First, find out what you are good at. If you excel in sales, then you should definitely try your hand at multi-level marketing. Now, there are some companies that are pure scams and you should avoid them like the plague. Many people who are looking for that perfect business have been taken in and have lost hundreds if not thousands of dollars. Unfortunately, I was one of them. If I had done my research, I would have saved myself a lot of money and heartache at the same time. Now you ask, how do I find the ones that are legitimate? Here are some tips:

� Browse through the web and do your research
� Go to the Better Business Bureau and get reports on the company
� Join Work at home forums and get the 411
� Word of mouth

Suppose multi-level marketing is not your thing but you still are great at selling? Why not become an independent contractor for 1800 Flowers, FTD, American Express and other major companies that have outsourced their work for years. Like to write and are very good at it? Become a general transcriptionist for companies like Cyber Secretaries, Speakwrite etc. Are you a writer looking to submit articles? Sites like Writers Rep, Demand Studios, Associated Content, etc., who pay for each article you submit. What you are paid varies, but it can be a good source of income over time. Customer Service your cup of tea? Go to the work at home forums like workplacelikehome.com, sohojobs.com, wahm.com and others and view all the jobs being advertised and start sending out resumes detailing your experience. The pay ranges from $8 - 10 dollars per hour, but if you are really sure about working that business, it is definitely something worth looking into. And the best part is, that some (if not all) of any expenses that you incur are tax deductible!

The options you have before you are endless. All you have to do is your homework. Don't be in such a rush to tell your boss to take that job and shove it. Have a game plan and the time frame you are looking to make that move. Once you do that, there is no stopping you!

How would you like to stuff your wallet with extra cash & get paid to complete offers? Sign up for free at http://www.blimpycash.com now!

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Find-Businesses-at-Home-That-Work&id=4096086] Find Businesses at Home That Work

What Happens If Your Business is Horribly Successful

I don't want this to be a really long article, but I wanted to talk about what happens when things go right. I mean they go really right. When your hopes and dreams about a successful business come true in a week, or a month, rather than the one to two years or more that businesses usually take to start up. When you are starting with no money and you get publicity you weren't expecting, or perhaps your purchased or free advertising works better than you expected it to, and you get flooded with orders or requests for information, and you just don't have the money or ability to keep up with this much business. I mean, you do have to buy product first in order to deliver it to your customer, in order to collect from your customer. That's called accounts receivable. In some cases you have to deliver free information to a potential customer before it is converted into an order. This can add up to a lot of money fronted.

We lived this dream turned nightmare, as we went from getting one customer order our first week to being drowned in orders. It was two of us, one working a full-time job and the other a full-time stay-at-home mom. We built our website and got it listed several places. We got the granddaddy of them all at the time, a top spot on Yahoo for the product name. We did not have the capability of taking credit cards, so we shipped the product to the customer with an invoice and they sent back a check. This worked for us for a while but soon it was too much to manage. I charged $30,000 a month on my American Express fearful for the day I could not pay it on time.

We switched to taking credit cards and took a haircut with the fees, but we got our money in two days. We went beyond cases of 12 bottles to ordering master cases of 144, to ordering 12 master cases at a time. Each of the cases was about $350 or so, so we're talking about $30,000+ worth of product delivered at a time to a three bedroom townhouse. Our business quickly took over our garage and our whole house. We were constantly working until midnight trying to keep up.

At one time, our vendor was completely out of the product we sold, and we could not get it. We set up an autoresponder email that said that we were out of product and were waiting, but we would ship as soon as it was available. Nobody cancelled. We shipped when it came in and everyone paid without a fuss.

We got email after email from potential customers and distributors for free information. I created a program that converted our emails into mailing labels because we couldn't rekey the information. At one time I also converted product orders into mailing labels and credit card information that we could run right into the credit card program. Later we switched to using a secure server for orders where we would print the order information from the screen; so at that point we had to rekey order information.

We had to subscribe to a telephone system to prevent calls from coming in during the nighttime, although our fax machine would be cranking out the paper all night long. The telephone system took some pressure off of us by distributing phone calls to some of our distributors. Once we bought our current house, we got a four line telephone server and set it up for our own purposes.

Many of the ways we did business kept customers that we attained from our free advertising, but the original inflow was crazy. Please take our experience to heart and be prepared for the unexpected.

This article was adapted from a previous article written on http://www.SmallCompany.biz by Brian Satterlee.

About The Author

Brian Satterlee, along with his wife Chris, ran the successful multi-level marketing distributorship Satterlee Marketing from 1997 through 2002. They created an ecommerce site to sell a dietary supplement and recruit new sales people. When the MLM company changed to a retail marketing plan, Brian & Chris decided not to start again but to devote time to their family.

Brian now writes for the blog http://www.SmallCompany.biz and works as a Business Analyst. He received his MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2009.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?What-Happens-If-Your-Business-is-Horribly-Successfu...] What Happens If Your Business is Horribly Successful

Merchant Accounts - 10 Things You Need to Know

Are you in the market for a Merchant Account? There are many different companies out there that you could work with. They are not, however, created equal. Before choosing the company you wish to work with, be sure you know all of the fees associated with the account.

� What is the % of sale charge?
� How much is the transaction fee?
� Do the fees change based on volume of sales or any other criteria?
� Is the fee the same for all credit cards?
� Is there a minimum charge per month?
� Is there an additional charge for the gateway?
� Is there a long-term commitment required?
� Are there additional annual fees?
� Are there additional monthly fees?
� Can the company handle recurring monthly charges automatically?

It is extremely difficult to compare merchant services companies in that there are so many variables with each company. All of the companies that we have researched charge a percentage of the sale as well as a transaction fee. Most charge more for accepting premium credit cards such as American Express. There are companies that reduce the percentage of sales at certain levels. Some also accept PayPal and some will issue gift cards. The point is that you really need to do your research and do not settle. There is a company out there that will do everything you want at a reasonable price.

Whatever you decide, do not sign with a company if they want you to commit to a long-term contract. I can guarantee that this company is not going to give you the customer service that you deserve. There are many providers that will take your business on a month to month basis. These companies are going to give you far better customer service knowing that you can leave them at any time.

If you have done your homework, I am sure you will be able to find a company that fits your needs. Getting the answers to the above questions will save you a lot of headaches in the end.

Karen Reed is a co-owner of Organic Business Strategies. We are committed to helping small business develop their "organic business strategy" to take their business to the next level.

To learn which merchant services companies we recommend, please visit us at [http://OrganicBusinessStrategies.com/store/]http://OrganicBusinessStrategies.com/store/.

If there is anything we can help you with, please let us know.

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Merchant-Accounts---10-Things-You-Need-to-Know&id=3...] Merchant Accounts - 10 Things You Need to Know

Five Telecommuting Opportunities You Might Not Know About

Because I run a website dedicated to work-at-home moms, I get a considerable amount of email filled with questions about working from home. Without a doubt the question that I get asked most often is, "Do you know of any companies that I can work for from home?" The exciting thing is that yes, I do. In part because of the hard economic times that we find ourselves in, more and more companies looking for qualified professionals to represent their businesses from their own homes. Here is just a sampling of companies currently hiring at-home workers:

1. VIPdesk.com - This company hires home-based workers for customer service positions. They represent numerous high-profile brands such as Eddie Bauer and BlueFly. From their website: "A proven premium service provider with 20 years of experience, VIPdesk specializes in delivering Concierge and Virtual Call Center Services for national brand leaders in several industries that include travel, auto, financial services and retail, by providing high-touch, high-tech branded service platforms that deliver real results and real return on investment."

2. wiseGEEK.com - This is just one of the many websites that pay freelance writers. These sites generally pay per article written. From their website: "wiseGEEK writers get to choose the topics to write on out of a pool of hundreds of titles. You can opt to write on categories that you are familiar with, or venture out a little to explore new frontiers."

3. Convergys - At-home agents are nothing new for Convergys, a company who also supplies customer care services to well-known companies. From their website: "As a Convergys Home Agent, you'll interact with customers of well-known and respected top companies. You may answer questions, determine product opportunities that best meet your callers' needs, place orders on their behalf, provide technical support, or enroll callers in health, entertainment or other plans."

4. American Express - American Express is, of course, primarily known for their credit card, but in some cases they also hire home-based travel agents. From their website: "...American Express operates 2,200 travel offices and many call centers around the world. Some Travel Counselors work on-site at our clients' businesses, while others may even work at home."

5. West at Home - Another customer service related employer, West at Home has been employing home-based workers for over twenty years. From their website: "Greater staffing flexibility, better educated, highly motivated and more productive agents - it all contributes to what makes West at Home the leading provider of home-based agent solutions."

There are many home-based positions available today. It does take time to sift through them all to find the "diamonds in the rough" yet in the end the flexibility and comfort offered by a work-at-home position can be well worth the effort. So, polish up your resume - make it as professional and current as possible as you'll be competing with hundreds if not thousands of other job candidates - and get to work.

Jill Hart's entrepreneurial career began in her teens when she spent a summer working with her father who ran his own business. When he put her in charge of a Coke machine and allowed her to keep the profits, she saw the benefits of being her own boss. She is the founder of the popular Christian work-at-home website CWAHM.com and mentors business owners at [http://SuccessfulChristianWomen.com]http://SuccessfulChristianWomen.com. Jill is also the co-author of So You Want To Be a Work-at-Home Mom (Beacon Hill Press, 2009).

Article Source: [http://EzineArticles.com/?Five-Telecommuting-Opportunities-You-Might-Not-Know...] Five Telecommuting Opportunities You Might Not Know About