Everyone is talking about social media these days. Those who haven’t begun to enjoy the benefits of it are more than willing to learn more about it, so they too can turn their start-up or small business into a stable and profitable business.

Just like offline marketing, if you do something wrong in online marketing, you will ruin your business image. Plus, when it comes to online social media, bad news spreads like wildfire. So, if something goes wrong, you will become notorious all over the world before you even know it.
Are You Ready to Promote Your Brand on Social Media?
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I hope everyone had a productive week and I am sure most of you are looking forward to the weekend and maybe some recreation time?!? I wanted to end of the week at YGG with a great interview featuring Andrew Wise, he is doing a great job of living his life on his own terms and building quite a formidable business portfolio. You can check out more about him at his blog!

We know you’re a “Young Go Getter”, but so our readers know, how old are you?

I am 25 years old, and have been out of college for just 3 years.
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I have had the chance to interview Jason Sadler in the past, check it here. But when I heard he had started a new charity to gather shirts for disadvantaged people in Africa I had a few questions for him. So see below for a quick interview!

What prompted you to start 1millionshirts.org?

I’ve worn shirts for charitable organizations on iwearyourshirt.com and knew that it was hard to make an impact for them. You can’t ask people to donate to different causes each week without truly having a connection to them. My life has become all about t-shirts and I thought with the community that I’ve built, I could try to make a difference.

Where did you get the idea?

One of the charities I worked with last year (WaterIsLife.com) asked for the 600+ shirts I accrued and said the t-shirts would be going to Africa. Not only would the t-shirts be providing protection from the elements, they’d also spark some small economy; having people selling and bartering with the shirts. 600+ shirts is a good amount, but I knew I could go bigger. 1MillionShirts was born and I’ve finally had the time and the people to help get it off the ground.

What happens when you get to 1millionshirts? Will you try for 2million?!?

This is one of the things I haven’t thought too much about yet. I’ve been focusing on the launch, on finding partners and finding the right people to help organize t-shirt donation efforts. Then there’s the non-profit 501c3 paperwork, thinking about sponsorship opportunities and getting all the content together for the website and social media sites. We certainly won’t tell people to stop sending shirts in when we hit 1,000,000.

How can people help you get the word out?

The biggest thing people can do is go in their closets/dressers, grab a couple good condition t-shirts, throw a couple $1 bills in an envelope and ship the package to our warehouse in Colorado. All of the information for sending in t-shirts can be found on our Send Shirts page. People can also get involved by setting up t-shirt drives in their area, by getting involved with social media and sharing the idea with their friends. We’re looking for corporate sponsors and just want to help change lives in Africa via t-shirts.

If you get a chance to send in your shirt or can help out in any way please do get involved. Just visit www.1millionshirts.org

Today, consumer attitudes and preferences are increasingly favoring credit cards when paying for their everyday purchases. Expanding your businesses payment options to include credit card processing can improve ROI, increase competitiveness, as well as increase customer loyalty and satisfaction. Having credit card processing in place is a great decision for pretty much any small business no matter what industry or sector you operate within. The first step in processing credit cards is getting your business set up with a merchant account.

A merchant account allows a business to accept payments made by either debit or credit cards. Since credit card companies rarely directly transfer funds into a business’s bank account, a merchant account provider acts an intermediary between credit card providers and the business.

The initial step that you need to take when getting a merchant account is determine the type that best suits the needs and nature of your business. There are a couple varieties of merchant accounts currently available on the market, all designed towards different types of businesses. For example, there is the retail account, which is the most common type of merchant account in use today. These are geared more towards brick and mortar shops and businesses that operate traditional storefront operations. Another type- internet merchant accounts, allows a business to accept credit card payments through their website via a virtual terminal. There are MTO’s(mail order, telephone order), mobile accounts, wireless accounts and other various niche accounts that round out the rest of the market.

Determining the type that will best fit your business will help you figure out what lenders to apply to as well as what services your store will best benefit from. Remember, that there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes to merchant accounts. In making your decision, some factors to take into consideration are the types of products/services your business sells, size of the business, business strength, a provider’s prices and fees, as well as the services they provide. Many of the large merchant account providers offer a range of ancillary products and services including check conversion, fraud protection, and gift & loyalty card solutions.

Prices and fees associated with a merchant account can vary depending on the provider and type. Typically, providers charge a fixed fee for every transaction in addition to taking a percentage. There are also associated setup fees, monthly fees, and some vendors require a monthly minimum amount of orders. For businesses that conduct business on or over the internet (card not present transactions) lenders will apply slightly higher rates and fees. For example, many major merchant account providers like North American Bancard and Pay Pal charge more for “card not present transactions” especially if a business only accepts certain cards.
Below is a list of common fees that providers typically charge:

· Chargeback fees
· Transaction fees
· Discount rate
· Address Verification fee
· Monthly minimum fee
· Statement fee
· Internet Gateway Fee
· Annual fee
· Cancellation fee
· Hidden Fees

Be sure to shop around in order to find the best contract because the costs can vary greatly. While there are a lot of reliable lenders out there offering good deals, there are also plenty looking to take advantage of naïve owners. For more information pertaining to merchant accounts look here: Understanding the basics of a merchant account can help you to select the best option for your business. Take the extra time and conduct proper due diligence when shopping for a merchant account to make the most from your hard-earned dollar.

We know you’re a “Young Go Getter”, but so our readers know, how old are you?
I turned 25 in May, it’s a pretty good age to be.

Can you tell us the quick history about yourself, and what drives you to succeed?
I graduated from college in 2006 with a degree in marketing. After being laid off earlier this year, I decided to start my own business (The Hangover Cure at www.drinkthc.com) instead of trying to find another corporate job. And I think that’s what drives me to succeed, I am so petrified at the thought of having to work for other people for the rest of my life that I really don’t have an alternative in my mind. I don’t know what I would do if I had to go get another office job right now. So my biggest motivator is being as happy as possible at all times, which means working for no one but myself. That’s what drives me, I know I only get one shot at this and I don’t want to spend it doing something I hate.

We know you are a younggogetter, but I am sure there is more to you than that. What are some other things you have done prior to your current job or things you are currently working on?
I worked for a small software company here in Dallas out of college, doing Boiler Room style sales calls all day, which I loved. I was recruited by IBM soon after, where I worked as a software sales rep for two years. Currently, I’m working on an eBook dealing with successful online business creation in plain English, a few new supplement concepts for my company, Apollo Nutrition, and looking for distribution for a canned/ready-to-drink version of The Hangover Cure. We are also working on a few potentially massive distribution deals that I cannot get into right now. But 2010 looks like a very good year for my company.

What has been your biggest asset while building your business?
Probably the support of my family and friends, who I am so grateful for. It took a while to convince some people, like my dad, that I wasn’t sitting around all day watching Sportscenter, but he is on board 100% now. My mom is probably my biggest fan and has always offered unconditional support, so it’s nice to be able to vent to her from time to time. Starting and running a business, any business, is mentally taxing with all the ups and downs, so it’s vital to surround yourself with positive, supportive people to counter-balance all the doubters out there. That’s really all you need; people who care about you. The rest works itself out. Get that strong inner circle and make sure they know they are appreciated.

Adversely, what has been your biggest vice?
I’m not sure if I would call it a vice, but math was always my worst subject in school, so anything involving numbers, and there is plenty of it with what I do, gets really old, but it’s just part of the gig. I’m not a big fan of spreadsheets though.

What can we expect next from the talented Anthony Adams in the near future?
It’s tough to say, with the way technology is changing right now and the fact that I run a primarily online-based business. I’d like to get involved more with social media on a personal level, maybe add a blog to www.drinkthc.com to connect with customers. I have a number of projects in my head I would like to get to at some point soon, I just need to sit down and prioritize my time over the next year.

Everyone starts to feel burn out on a project every now and then. What do you do to keep yourself motivated and focused?
I have a picture of an office cubicle in my office with the caption ‘never go back’ below it. That’s all the motivation I need. No matter what I am doing, no matter how late I am working or how tedious or mundane my current project might be, anything is better than being back in the cube farm. It’s soul crushing. So whenever I find myself tired or burned out, I just look at that picture. It might sound silly but that really is all the motivation I need to keep going.

Can you give us three tools that you use every single day to make your life as a younggogetter more efficient, productive, or fun
From an efficiency standpoint, I use Gmail as an external storage drive, which helps out a lot. I also like Evernote for storing all the random information I come across online that I can’t possibly remember or organize on my own, it’s like my second memory really and I would highly recommend it for anyone running an online business. Finally, I’m a big fan of Twitter. It’s easily the best way I know to generate free buzz for a product or service online and I think we are just seeing the beginning of its real potential.

What is your favorite quote?
Two come to mind: ‘Try again. Fail again. Fail better.’ by Samuel Beckett and ‘Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it’s time to pause and reflect.’ by Mark Twain.

And last but not least, if you could give one piece of advice to fellow Young Go Getters, what would it be?
If you do something you love long enough, you will be successful. I have no doubt in my mind. But it takes time and you will make mistakes, so make sure you are doing something you like, if not love, because you will be doing it at 2am from time to time while your friends are out having fun. Just because the internet removes traditional gatekeepers and puts a wealth of opportunity at your fingertips, you still have to get out there and grab it. No one throws up a website and sits back collecting $10,000 a month with minimal effort. You are still building a business, so be prepared for a marathon.