bizthreads.net: Business Information for Entrepreneurs by an Entrepreneur

www.paypal.com

While my view is not shared by everyone, I have to admit that I’m a big fan of Paypal. Not only is it convenient to use, it’s great that they accept credit cards.

No, this blog is not “brought to you by Paypal”!!! I’m just making an observation that they are positioned really well to build their own business while they help you build yours:

For example, they enable the small business owner to accept payments from credit cards, avoiding the hassle and cost of merchant accounts.

I also like that Paypal offers free resources, such as a downloadable e-book on ways to build your business, or free marketing for all Paypal merchants so other Paypal users can find them.

What impressed me the most, though, was their free shopping cart you can use to sell your products.

Paypal isn’t just good for the small business owner; they’re smart. All of their free products are specifically designed to increase their business.

That’s something to think about for your business!

Websites of Interest: Free credit report from all Experian, Equifax, & Transunion is offered with credit monitoring.

When we're out marketing our business, we'll do just about anything (within reason) to get some time with a prospect. What's more, we'll go home at the end of a busy day, exhausted from the hard work and wish we had more time in the day.

We do.

Last week I stopped in a restaurant to meet with a client. While there I saw a group of people sit down at another table. By their uniforms, I could clearly tell that they all worked for the same company… a company that gets its business from salespeople (these sales people) doing sales calls.

Instead of eating together, these salespeople should have been out entertaining clients. There were six of them at the table eating. They could have each had a solid hour of one-on-one time with a client over lunch. If the problem is at a company level (for example, no lunch reimbursements) a policy change should be considered, since six “person hours” of selling were just wasted that day.

Just recently my business passed a couple milestones I had set for it. That's always exciting, but business is not always good news. There are many times when things get rocky. Perhaps it's an unusual situation or an upset customer or a problem with a supplier. It's in those times that we need to keep a level head to make good business decisions but those are the times when we're least capable of doing it.

My advice? BEFORE a crisis hits your business, do some contingency planning. Dream up a dozen crazy scenarios (or just think back to some of the ones you've faced already) and establish a step by step best practice for when that happens. Write it down. Keep it handy. When the crisis hits (and it will) pull out your list and go through it step by step. Wherever possible, create proactive strategies to keep the crisis from happening.

Oh, and make sure that every crisis solution starts like this:

1. Keep your chin up. This is a temporary situation and you will get through it.
2. …

http://www.workingfromhome.com/

If you are looking to start a business from your home — either full time or in your spare time — this site is great. I remember reading one of their books a few years ago. I read a couple of their books (as many as I could get my hands on) more than once and I'd highly recommend them.

I'd forgotten about them recently — they just weren't on my radar — until a friend of mine recommended a book for me… it turned out to be the first book I'd read of theirs years ago!

I hunted down their site and am now passing it on to you.

This site falls into one of those “why didn't I think of that?” categories.

http://www.waxmail.biz/

Microsoft Outlook users can create mp3's (those are audio files for you non-audiophiles) and attach them to your email.

Although I can hold my own with the typists of the world, I know plenty of entrepreneurs who can't be bothered to type or simply don't have the time because they use the “hunt and peck” method of typing. Moreover, nearly all of the business owners I know are great verbal communicators but fall short with the written word.

This is the solution: Say what you want to say. Save. Attach. Send.

Alberta Canada is one of the hottest markets in North America right now. The province is rich in oil and has a massive oils ands reserve that's barely tapped. Many companies have their Canadian headquarters there, the province is VERY wealthy, and it is experiencing an unprecedented and extended economic boom.

To me, it's an interesting study in localized inflation. I've been talking to a few friends who work for international companies with branches in Alberta. They all talk with frustration about the difficulty of finding workers who will stay at the job. One company, whose employee wages are mandated from a US based head office, are finding that the wages are adequate anywhere else in Canada and the US but are less than half of what is expected by workers in Alberta! It's no wonder that the company had a turnover last month that was 400% what it is in the area where he worked!

Companies are struggling to keep employees in Alberta because the wages are so high that they can't afford to pay them. And employees who willingly accept lower wages (for various reasons including future opportunities or ownership opportunities, etc.) are unable to afford to live there.

I'm not sure what the solution is. I normally prefer less government intervention in business but this situation really concerns me because it could set up local businesses that aren't in the wealthy oil industry for failure. At the same time, are there opportunities for business owners like us who can find a solution? I'm going to keep my eye on Alberta. There's money there.

If business operated on an even keel day in and day out, everyone would be a business owner and there'd be very little challenge.

That's not the way it works. Business comes with peaks and valleys and if you are a sole proprietor (which means your personal finances and your business finances are the same) those peaks and valleys can seem very extreme.

A couple ways to get through the peaks and valleys include:

• Getting a line of credit to help you through the financial tough times.
• Find a mentor who can help you through the emotional peaks and valleys.
• Anticipate peaks and valleys based on your records and try to eliminate them with pre-pay discounts (if applicable).
• Create a new line of products or find a new use for your current product that runs counter to the cycle your current line is on.

This is a little trick I like to do from time to time. I should actually do it more often but to be honest, it slips my mind. When I do it, though, I notice a difference in my work and in the quality of my daily routine.

First, I list the 3 things that kept me from doing work last week. For most of us, there was possibly at least one crisis on there that needed our attention. For some of us, there was procrastination.

Next, I list the 3 things that will keep me from doing work next week. This is an interesting exercise because I'm so used to forward planning positive outcomes that trying to think about what bad things could happen or whether or not I will procrastinate is fairly difficult! But it's still good practice.

Finally, I try to deal with those issues before next week. The procrastination can be dealt with by planning a little better and creating rewards for work done. Anticipating crises and dealing with them today is where the real value of this exercise shows itself. Rather than thinking “I'll cross that bridge when I come to it” we're planning for and planning AROUND crises.

My roof needs to be reshingled. It's one of those necessary things in the life of a house. I've never had to have a roof reshingled before so you can imagine my shock when I discover the process of reshingling.

What shocked me was that I expected to call up a roofer, have them come by for an estimate, and then schedule my roof at my convenience. I am, after all, the customer. What I discovered was a grim lesson in the law of supply and demand.

It's summer and since I have never had to deal with shingling before, I really had no idea just how much in demand roofers are. I picked up the phone and called 3 places, assuming I'd get 3 estimates and choose the one that suited me. I left messages at all three places and heard back from one 24 hours later. He couldn't even give me an ESTIMATE for 5 days. No problem, I scheduled the appointment. Not really wanting to wait that long, I called 4 more places. I left messages at 3 places and at the 4th got hold of someone who couldn't do an estimate for 7 days.

In all, I called 7 roofers and actually spoke to two of them. The other 5 have not returned my calls. When the one roofer came for the estimate, he said he's booking his roof repairs 3 weeks into the future. What's more he couldn't give me an exact date, since his business is so dependent on weather.

I couldn't imagine running a business like this but I suppose when you're in that much demand, you can do what you want. All I know is, if I ever decide to start a business in the trades, I'll be roofing!

Recent news reports suggest that the economy is softening. Of course, Wall Street closely watches the Federal Reserve… and the Federal Reserve closely watches the statistics… and the statistics represent the actions of the consumer… and the consumer closely watches Wall Street.

I read once about a business owner who was asked how he was being affected by the recession occurring at the time. The business owner said that he had chosen not to participate in the recession and his positive attitude helped keep his business going even during rocky times.

Ask an investment advisor or an economist about what can help end an economic downturn and the answer may surprise you (and if you are a business owner, it may even thrill you). The answer is: spend money.

One of the biggest reasons that economic downturns occur is because people suspect that an economic downturn is imminent so they hang onto their money and spend less. The result is that it becomes a self-fulfilled prophecy: people spend less so there is less need for products which, in turn, means that there is less need for manufacturers to produce… so layoffs occur… which, in turn, scares people into hanging onto their money further.

There may be suggestions that an economic downturn is imminent… fight back by spending more and encouraging your customers to spend more, too!